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
Peek inside: Engenious Design expands its hands-on R&D collaboration space in Prairie Village
A 56,000-square-foot design center for his business is about more than just space, said Chris Justice; it’s what’s inside the high-tech facility by design: people. “Our work of designing, prototyping and testing is hands-on with specialized tools and equipment. That means our team works together, in person,” said Justice, co-founder, principal and CEO of Engenious…
How a Missouri native’s high-tech, faith-based bracelet company found inner peace in California
The emotional rollercoaster of social media can take a toll on mental health, said Gary Rakes, a Raymore, Missouri, native who saw an opportunity to create a digital safe space — one that lives on a user’s wrist. His business, Free Luma, offers a line of RFID-enabled bracelets designed to connect others through positivity and…
Mayo Clinic research: Missouri startup’s VR tech can help calm patients’ pre-surgery jitters
A recent study from the renowned researchers at the Mayo Clinic suggests a dose of virtual reality can help reduce pre-op anxiety in older patients undergoing their first open-heart surgery — and their findings come after testing with technology from Columbia, Missouri-based Healium. “While much of the research to date using VR involved younger patient…
City Market eats: Master roaster hopes hungry Kansas Citians will flock to Murmuration
A new eatery and cocktail bar that now shares a space with the popular City Market Coffee Roasters is designed to reflect a vision of bringing people together, fostering connection, and embracing the diversity that makes the City Market so special, said master roaster Nikole Ammer. Plus, the people are hungry — from day to…
