Midwest VC, area startup vet join Firebrand Ventures following $17.7M fund raise
April 25, 2018 | Bobby Burch
On the heels of smashing its fundraising goal, Firebrand Ventures has added a pair of new team members.
The Kansas City-based seed fund is welcoming Cincinnati venture capitalist Wendy Lea as an advisor and Kansas City startup vet Maranda Manning as fund associate, said managing director John Fein.
Lea brings a wealth of investment and business experience as well as a global network to Firebrand’s already impressive advisory board. She is now CEO of Cintrifuse, a public-private partnership organization that helps build the Cincinnati tech scene. Lea is also a board member of Techstars and several startups. In 2012 and 2013, Lea was recognized as a Women of Influence in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
Lea joins a powerhouse advisory board at Firebrand. Techstars CEO David Cohen, Kansas City venture capitalist Keith Harrington, Brian McClendon, former Uber vice president of maps, and Next Coast Ventures co-founder Tom Ball each help Firebrand via its advisory board.
Manning previously worked with Fein while he served as managing director of the Techstars-led Sprint Accelerator where she led day-to-day operations of the program. Most recently Manning served as director of marketing for Kansas City-based tech startup SquareOffs.
”I’m very excited to be working with Maranda again and to welcome Wendy to our stellar advisory team,” Fein wrote in a company blog. “I look forward to the great things I know both will bring to the fund’s mission of investing in exceptional founders!”
Firebrand recently raised $17.7 million for tech ventures in the Midwest, exceeding its initial goal by about 250 percent.
The Firebrand Ventures fund will invest its $17.7 million in about 10 to 12 Midwest startups per year with an average check size of $200,000, Fein said. The fund’s portfolio currently includes 12 companies, including Super Dispatch, FitBark and Sickweather, which call the Kansas City metro home.
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
NXTSTAGE taps trio of KC entrepreneurs to help their companies grow revenue, scale
WICHITA — Three Kansas City startup founders are among 20 early-stage companies selected for the latest NXTUS program aimed at boosting innovation from within urban and rural areas throughout the state of Kansas. Joining the 2024 NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort: Joy Broils, Hustle & Ground, Shawnee; Mark Lukenbill, Mpruv Sports, Basehor; and Crystal Webster, Sharing…
Study with USDA researchers affirms startup’s AI-powered facial recognition for cows can detect sick animals
A collaborative study between an Overland Park animal agtech startup and the U.S. Department of Agriculture successfully corroborated MyAnIML’s predictive ability to proactively manage devastating disease outbreaks in cattle production, the company announced this week. MyAnIML uses first-of-its-kind, proprietary facial recognition and deep learning technology to analyze cow muzzles — accurately predicting Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis…
Meet customers where they are (and they’re on TikTok): Marketing experts urge startups to invest in brand building
Like it or not, “TikTok remains king,” said Mikita Burton, encouraging startup founders to balance negative headlines about the video-sharing social media platform with its incredible potential for reaching their most-sought-after audiences. “We don’t just get to pick our customers’ favorite platforms, so you need to be where they are,” Burton, a social media strategist…
Bo Lings owners adapt to lifestyle trends with new fast casual concept in River Market
A new City Market dining option from the couple behind the Bo Lings restaurant chain is serving up fast casual Chinese dishes with authentic flavors and familiar tastes, said Richard Ng. “It’s a new concept, and we hope it takes off,” said Ng, co-owner of Bo’s Kitchen at 108 E. 5th St. in the River…