KU Innovation Park launches Oread Angel Investors network to boost Jayhawk startups
September 30, 2024 | Startland News Staff
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.
LAWRENCE — A newly announced angel investor network is expected to support high-growth tech and bioscience startups linked to the University of Kansas, said Adam Courtney, opening greater access to capital for companies aligned with the rapidly expanding KU Innovation Park.
Adam Courtney, KU Innovation Park
“The launch of the Oread Angel Investors network is a significant new step in the Park’s mission to create, recruit, grow and retain technology and bioscience businesses in our region,” said Courtney, CEO of KU Innovation Park, which sits just off campus in Lawrence. “Our partners from across KU will help bring this initiative to life and provide vital support to boost our entrepreneurial efforts in the region.”
The network is intended to create connections with alumni, faculty and friends who are engaged with the university to invest in KU-affiliated startups. The membership-based network allows startups to regularly present investment opportunities to prospective investors. Angels do not commit to a specific fund through the model, but instead make individual investment decisions.
Click here to explore funding and investment offerings through the network.
Angels are typically among the first to invest in a new business, offering not just capital but expertise, mentorship and industry connections, Courtney said.
The KU Innovation Park team will provide company sourcing, screening and due diligence, member recruitment, event management and communications to members.
Chris Rehkamp, KU Innovation Park; Startland News photo
“The angel network will engage the extensive alumni community and create new opportunities to invest during the critical early stage for KU-affiliated startups,” said Chris Rehkamp, director of business services for the KU Innovation Park. “This network will provide crucial funding, invaluable mentorship and resources to help startups thrive.”
ICYMI: KU Innovation Park hires former Tech Venture Studio leader to support its entrepreneurs
A grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce supported the development of the angel network. The KU Innovation Park is working in partnership with the University of Kansas, the KU Alumni Association and the Digital Health Co/Lab at KU, among others, to amplify the network’s reach and impact.
The KU Innovation Park is a nonprofit economic development organization and business incubator in Lawrence that already is home to more than 70 companies — including Icorium, InnovaPrep, and Invary (one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024) — that employ 730 people, supporting an annual payroll of $48.5 million.
Click here to learn more about the portfolio of businesses at KU Innovation Park.
It works toward building a more modern, resilient and diverse regional economy for Lawrence, Douglas County and the state of Kansas. A public-private partnership, the KU Innovation Park has four founding partners – Douglas County, the City of Lawrence, the Chamber of Lawrence and the University of Kansas.
This story is made possible by Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures.
Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV) is a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. NetWork Kansas promotes an entrepreneurial environment by connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with the expertise, education and economic resources they need to succeed.
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
PHKC earns more state funding for 811 Retail Incubator; MTC boosting small biz
Another round of financial support from the Missouri Technology Corporation proves state economic development leaders understand that innovation also runs along main street, said Dan Smith. The Porter House KC — which just opened its 811 Retail Incubator in late July — is among seven entities just awarded a total of $1.8 million in Physical Infrastructure…
MTC just awarded $2.6M in investments; three KC tech startups earn state backing
As Advoteck works to bring its app to market later this year, an equity investment from the Missouri Technology Corporation is expected to help the Kansas City-based startup expand its reach nationwide in the fight against cyber crime. MTC on Tuesday announced $2.6 million in investments across seven Missouri companies — primarily focused on fostering…
KC Chamber, businesses: We won’t back down from DEI initiatives; city’s top diversity advocates honored
LeAna Flores knows those three little letters — DEI — can trigger a lot of people these days, she said. “For me, as a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) practitioner, I live and breathe by this quote — especially in the climate that we have right now — ‘They tried to bury us, but they…
‘We are each other’s bootstraps’: Pay-It-Forward cafe says pressure to serve neighbors is back
The reopening of Thelma’s Kitchen — a pay-it-forward restaurant on Troost Avenue — not only flips the menu on the “soup kitchen” concept, but serves as an anchor of compassionate, community-focused care in the face of neighborhood gentrification, said Father Justin Mathews. “We view what we’re doing here as kind of like urban acupressure,” said…