InvestMidwest says in-person capital conferences are back; returning to Kansas City in 2024
November 15, 2022 | Startland News Staff
A long-running investment conference that previously showcased Kansas City startups to crowds of regional and national funders is expected to resume its in-person events this spring in St. Louis.
The InvestMidwest event series — which rotates between Missouri’s two major startup hubs — is set to return to Kansas City in 2024. Exact dates for the conferences have not yet been released.
“InvestMidwest provides startup companies access to their first institutional capital and facilitates networking among entrepreneurs, VCs and strategic acquirers, while showcasing elements of the innovation ecosystems in Kansas City and St. Louis,” organizers said in an announcement Tuesday.
The event last came to Kansas City in 2019.
Click here to learn more about InvestMidwest.
Claire S. Kinlaw has been named executive director of the rebooted conference and the organization behind it, the announcement said.
Claire S. Kinlaw, InvestMidwest
“I am very pleased for the opportunity to work with the InvestMidwest Advisory Board and other stakeholders in the innovation ecosystems of St Louis and Kansas City to relaunch InvestMidwest as a vital in-person event,” said Kinlaw. “Bringing entrepreneurs and investors together from across the Midwest will further the commercialization of technologies in three important industry areas: agriculture, healthcare, and technology, including an emerging geospatial sector.”
Kinlaw has been chief scientific officer at Zea Biosciences, an early-stage agricultural biotechnology company, since late 2021. She will continue to serve the company part-time.
She previously served as director of Innovation Commercialization with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, where she helped scientists bridge from their discoveries to commercial opportunities. Among her career and educational credentials, Kinlaw also has an MBA from the Walter Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.
“We look forward to Claire’s leadership in continuing the forum’s efforts to narrow the funding gap in our region compared to the Coasts by attracting more early-stage capital to worthy startups,” said Maria Meyers, advisory board member for InvestMidwest and associate vice chancellor of UMKC and executive director of UMKC Innovation Center.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Simplifying access: PayIt teams with KCK Unified Government for enhanced myWyco app
Interacting with state and local government can and should be seamless, said Monica Harrell of PayIt, a KC tech firm that partnered its statewide iKan app with Wyandotte County’s myWyco app to create enhanced access for residents. “It’s a more streamlined experience,” said Harrell, senior client manager for Payit, “Especially because residents are not usually…
WATCH: No reason for ‘lone wolfing’ the startup grind, LaunchKC past winners say as application window narrows
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by LaunchKC but was independently produced by Startland News. With a July 11 application deadline nearing, LaunchKC past winners emphasized the popular, high-profile grants contest is about much more than chasing a payday. “There’s the community piece. There’s the exposure piece. But once you win — or even once…
Accelerate Tech Learning targets the (urban) core of KC’s programmer shortage
Training would-be programmers from Kansas City’s urban core isn’t about getting rich, said Joshua Clark, co-founder of Accelerate Tech Learning. But unfortunately that means it can be tricky to get underestimated students the costly education to become a certified developer in the world of information technology, added Mauri Trent, Accelerate Tech’s executive vice president of…
With Hy-vee Arena, KC Star project, southward expansion, KC Crew plans to double its players
Where KC Crew plays, growth and development follow, said founder Luke Wade. The adult sports and event company filled Kansas City’s Parade Park every night before the Urban Youth Academy broke ground on East 17th Terrace, for example, Wade said. “So it’s kind of that economic development. The same thing happened with the riverfront when…