Mid-America Angels race for record-setting investment year
April 30, 2015 | Bobby Burch
After investing nearly $1 million in the first quarter of 2015, regional investment network Mid-America Angels is on pace for its best year yet.
Mid-America Angels injected $870,000 of funding into two area companies during the first three months of 2015, which sets it on a pace to surpass $3 million in investments for the year. Mid-America Angels — whose investments include such companies as EyeVerify, Novita Therapeutics, RareWire and others — is managed by the Enterprise Center of Johnson County.
The investment group recently backed Olathe-based TVAX Animal Health with a $696,000 investment that will offer the company funds to kickstart clinical chemotherapy testing in dogs. TVAX Animal health is a subsidiary of Lenexa-based TVAX Biomedical.
Mid-America Angels also supplied $178,000 to Kansas City-based Rawxies, which makes raw, vegan snacks. The new funds will allow the company to build out its sales and marketing channels, as well as expand its product offerings.
“We’re proud to welcome two additional companies to our MAA portfolio, and look forward to working with the management teams of TVAX Animal Health and Rawxies to ensure both their continued growth and job growth in our region,” ECJC CEO George Hansen said in a release.
Featured Business

2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
LaunchKC lands keynote speaker from NASA; Techweek queries two Google developer advocates
Pitch Day for LaunchKC is expected to lift off next month with an opening keynote address from NASA executive Kira Blackwell. Remarks are expected to delve into NASA iTech, a year-long effort to find innovative ideas that address challenges and fill gaps in five critical areas identified by the space agency as having a potential impact…
CBD startup: Young father sees Native Hemp Co. as the launch of a health revolution
At 21 years old, Rich Dunfield IV felt like an absentee father, he said. Struck in his prime with painful ailments after a tick bite — nerve and belly problems, anxiety and depression — he was home but not present. “My entire life was rooted in fatherhood. I started young, but I embraced it. Lyme…
25th anniversary: Roasterie founder Danny O’Neill recalls humble start with just ‘nickels and pickles’
Brewed in a recession, Danny O’Neill wasn’t sure The Roasterie would sell a single cup of coffee, let alone percolate into an iconic Kansas City brand, the founder said as he reflected on the regional coffee titan’s 25th anniversary. “The only idea I had was coffee,” O’Neill said of his decision to jump ship from…
