Investors

InvestMidwest returns to St. Louis May 6-7 for Midwest venture capital forum’s 25th year

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2025

ST. LOUIS — About 50 startups — including some of Kansas City’s most high-profile emerging companies — are expected to pitch to more than 100 investors May 6-7 when the InvestMidwest conference turns St. Louis into the gateway to innovation.  “On the 25th anniversary of InvestMidwest, it’s great to be back in St. Louis where it…

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Midwest-focused M25 rolls out new venture partners across region, adding high-profile STL founder

By Tommy Felts / March 13, 2025

CHICAGO — An influential venture capital firm with portfolio companies in Kansas City and across the region on Thursday announced a St. Louis serial entrepreneur as the latest venture partner joining its mission to back a new generation of Midwest unicorns. Guy Friedman, co-founder and CEO of SteadyMD, brings an invaluable founder’s perspective — plus a…

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Investor market turns Midwest conservative: ‘Everyone here is feeling a changing landscape’

By Tommy Felts / November 15, 2024

After years of soaring valuations across the startup scene, venture firms like M25 are observing a shift to more risk-averse investors and stricter examinations of even the most-exciting company’s worth, said Abhinaya Konduru. “We’re seeing a new normal,” said Konduru, a principal on the influential Chicago-based M25 team and a panelist at Thursday’s MidxMidwest event…

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‘Wonderful things anywhere’: Entrepreneurs share keys to ‘Main Street’ success

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2024

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a member of the Kansas City Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and The Kansas City Beacon. Click here to read the original story. [divide] COLUMBIA, Missouri — When Willy Schlacks noticed what he said were inefficiencies…

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Looking for investors? A startup’s first ask shouldn’t be for money, leading VCs say

By Tommy Felts / January 26, 2024

Most startup founders think of funding as transactional, Darcy Howe shared, but it’s actually relational. “You’ve got to have relationships with people long before they’ll fund and that includes angels and all the others,” the KCRise Fund founding managing director told a crowd gathered at UMKC’s Bloch Executive Hall for Startland News’ Kansas City Startups…

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