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
Truth, not Troost: Ruby Jean’s founder wants East Side corridor renamed over slavery ties
Despite its widely-known street name, “Troost Avenue” does not accurately represent the small businesses, nonprofits and families along the increasingly dense Kansas City corridor, said Chris Goode. “So many beautiful efforts take place on Troost — from The Combine to Operation Breakthrough or Urban Cafe and Rockhurst University… We are all collectively pushing for community,…
New focus will offer jobs to formerly incarcerated people on the path to second chance entrepreneurship, says nonprofit
Kansas City-based Determination, Incorporated is refocusing its mission with a new social enterprise business that will directly place formerly incarcerated individuals into employment soon after they return home. Strong Start Make Readies is expected to provide jobs to people exiting incarceration as members of make ready crews at Kansas City area apartment complexes, single-family rental…
J. Rieger spices up its strategy with KC culinary star; new tastes already hitting destination distillery’s menu
Deep fried and doubling down, the minds behind J. Rieger and Co. are distilling a new era that’s expected to make the local tourist destination one of Kansas City’s best places to work — and to grab one of its most legendary spicy chicken sandwiches. “If you didn’t already know, you quickly come in here and…
Crush it, live hard and honor the 13 folds: Trio of KC gyms join intense challenge, salute sacrifice
Most Americans don’t know the true weight of these American flags — folded 13 times into a triangle and presented to a fallen service member or veteran’s next of kin, said Josie Buford. To better communicate the heavy burden they represent, she organized a physical challenge that’s uniting three Kansas City businesses. The 13 Folds…