Hundreds of investors, entrepreneurs heading to KC for InvestMidwest
March 27, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
A midwestern venture capital forum that has led to over $1 billion in early-stage investments will convene in Kansas City on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 28 and 29.
The 18th annual InvestMidwest conference aims to showcase the best early-stage, high growth tech companies in the region. The event regularly garners more than 300 attendees and is being held at the Sheraton Kansas City at the Westin this year.
Hoping to attract the attention of potential investors in the audience, 45 companies representing 11 states and Canada will give pitches throughout the day. Three industry tracks — life sciences, information technology and food/agriculture/bioenergy — will present simultaneously.
Collectively, companies that have presented at previous InvestMidwest conferences have raised over $1 billion in equity investment over the last 17 years. Seven Kansas City area companies will present, yet the names have not been disclosed.
“This event will reflect a great geographic footprint,” Christine Walsh, executive director of InvestMidwest said in a release. “Over the years, the companies that have applied have shown increased sophistication in approaching the venture capital environment. This process has reflected a substantive strengthening in the Midwest’s entrepreneurial environment.”
In addition to giving high growth firms the opportunity to present to investors, the conference allows for networking and expert speakers. The event kicks off with an opening reception Tuesday evening.
From Kansas City: KCRise Fund managing director Darcy Howe, EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation entrepreneurial advocate Nathan Kurtz will speak at the breakfast on March 29th. As for the luncheon on the same day, Kansas City area speakers include retired JE Dunn Construction CEO Terry Dunn and TechAccel CEO Michael Helmstetter.
The forum alternates between being hosted in Kansas City, Mo. and St. Louis, Mo. each year. To read more about the forum and its history, click here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Heartbreaking but empowering’: Nipsey Hussle’s life, death inspire entrepreneurs to action
The Marathon will continue, Wesley Hamilton said, echoing tens of thousands of mourners now pledging to keep alive the transcendent entrepreneurial spirit of rapper-turned-community leader Nipsey Hussle. Hamilton, founder and executive director of the KC-based nonprofit The Disabled But Not Really Foundation, was among a dozen or more Kansas City entrepreneurs in Los Angeles Thursday…
Inmate to business founder: Determination, Incorporated adds partner with lived experience
Determination, Incorporated’s new partner in compassion places a new lens on the impact the prison-to-founder non-profit could have, said Kyle Smith. “I’ve gotten this non-profit this far, but I can’t do it alone,” said Smith, founder of Determination, Incorporated, which uses entrepreneurship to curate new opportunities for formerly incarcerated people, on the addition of his…
How entrepreneurs are using podcasts to become thought leaders, empower founders
Audiences are moving from eyeballs to eardrums, said Addison Price, and entrepreneurs need to evolve their messaging to compete in a new arena of online engagement. “What’s going to happen when Instagram just isn’t Instagram anymore? What’s going to happen when your Facebook audience just migrates someplace else? Because it will happen,” said Price, podcast…
Open Belly podcast puts voices of immigrant chefs on the menu
Immigrant entrepreneurs have been quietly advancing Kansas City’s food scene for decades, said Danielle Lehman. “When I started hearing the stories of the chefs, I just felt like they were so compelling, and that food is really what connects us,” said Lehman, host of the “Open Belly” podcast and founder of marketing consultancy firm Boxer…