Chicago Capital

Madelyn Rutter is the Director of Collaboration at TechNexus.She supports the Venture Collaborative with everything founder and partner success. That means growth, incubation, marketing, branding, and community, and helping corporate innovators achieve their goals by inspiring them to connect with the right entrepreneurs at the right time.

Rich is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Era ADR, a VC-backed technology company saving precious time and money for individuals and businesses, bringing long-desired yet never-before-seen certainty and predictability to the legal dispute process, up to 90% reductions in time and cost, and revolutionizing how disputes are resolved in the U.S.Previously, he served on executive teams of two VC-backed technology companies that he helped build and scale through rapid growth and one acquisition so far. Before that, he led market development in Asian markets for two companies. 

Manifest enables seamless 401(k) transfers - maximizing retirement outcomes by reducing rollover administrative hurdles. Their team is building the infrastructure to digitize retirement transfers. 

Fox & Robin is an activewear brand that creates top quality products for all levels of activity, whether you're doing high intensity training or, well...not. As a Benefit Corporation, they are committed to conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner.

Ira Weiss is the General Partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on high-growth, mid-continent technology startups. Ira is also a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship and Accounting at The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.In this episode, we discussed the current market downturn and it's impact on  early-stage investing. 

Amplify offers end-to-end strategy, solution design and tactical execution of your optimal revenue solution. Strategy: Refining your Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy based on your industry, customer profile, value prop and competitive position Platform: Combining best in class processes, tools, and analytics to achieve and measure results Talent & Enablement: Designing the optimal talent and enablement strategy for scalable growth Channels: Implementing a targeted channel partner strategy to expand your pipeline

oak9.io is the security leader for all things cloud native. Their platform finds, analyzes and automatically remediates cloud infrastructure security and compliance issues in real-time, continuously learning and monitoring infrastructure as code (IaC) as changes occur - the only cloud native security solution supporting devsecops throughout the entire development cycle. oak9 bridges the gap between dev and security, ensuring dev workloads and architecture are secure by design, while giving security teams complete visibility into the changes dev teams are making day over day, sprint over sprint.oak9 has raised capital from some of the top VC's in the world, including Menlo Ventures. For more leanings on Infrastructure-as-code, please see: Red Hat primer on IAC Primer on DevOps Cloud Primer Primer on Hashicorp

With a background rooted in private equity and venture capital, Connor takes a data-driven approach to investing, but also enjoys observing cultural shifts in consumer behavior and applying those learnings to new investment themes. Connor works closely with management teams to gain insights and improve performance and enjoys the challenge of understanding complex businesses. Connor is a University of Notre Dame graduate and earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.Bridge is a Chicago-based early stage venture fund with a split focus on SaaS and Consumer Brands across a diverse set of end markets. Select portfolio companies include InGoodTaste, EarlyBird, Mack Weldon, Simple Mills, Jiobit, PartySlate, Interior Define, haku, and ConverseNow

Tessa Flippin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Capitalize VC, a pre-seed and seed stage VC fund purpose-built to reduce the racial wealth gap by investing in early-stage Black and Latinx founders, while simultaneously creating access for diverse LPs. Tessa began her career in venture capital as a venture investor at TechNexus, a Chicago-based fund, where she invested in enterprise SaaS technologies at the seed stage. She went on to join Genius Guild Greenhouse Fund as a Venture Capitalist in Residence, investing in Black founders in fintech, health tech and connectivity.Prior to venture capital, Tessa founded La Plataforma, a fintech payments platform, sending international money transfers throughout Latin America. Tessa attended Stanford University for undergrad where she ran Track and Field and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She went on to receive her MBA from Columbia Business School where she studied entrepreneurship, venture capital and social impact. Tessa actively serves on the board of BLCK VC Midwest and the advisory board of Chicago:Blend working to bring diversity to the Midwest tech ecosystem. She is also a member of the Cap Table Coalition investment committee.

86 Repairs is the repair and maintenance management platform built for the restaurant industry. Our tech-enabled solution includes on-demand repair management and preventative maintenance. With 86 Repairs, restaurants have access to data-driven insights and 24/7 support to control their facilities, reduce their R&M costs, and spend less of their team's time on equipment repairs.

Jordan is the CEO and Founder of Rally, a headless checkout for modern brands. The company offers ecommerce merchants a better converting, more profitable, one-click checkout.Rally is on a mission to bring power back to merchants and app developers by equipping them with a headless and fully optimized one-click checkout solution. Rally is central to the modern headless ecommerce ecosystem bridging front- and back-end platforms, and plays a critical role in creating a seamless checkout experience for customers. Rally's team of industry leaders pioneered the post-purchase offer technology for DTC brands, driving over $200m in post-purchase revenue and processed $3B in sales. Rally appreciates a decentralized ethos and is merchant and revenue-focused, always.Jordan's podcast, Boostrapped Web, can be found here!https://bootstrappedweb.com/

Tom Zhang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zenblen. Zenblen is developing a tech-enabled smoothie bar that blends healthy, nutritionist-curated smoothies right in front of the consumer. They partner with high-frequented locations, such as gyms and office buildings, in our mission to make healthy-eating more convenient in everyone's daily routines

Declan Zidar and I sit down to discuss the past, present, and future of Chicago Capital. Tune in for a deep-dive on: Our professional backgrounds Starting a Podcast The catalyst for Chicago Capital Views on Chicago Startup Ecosystem Tips for breaking into VC (Pre-MBA and Post-MBA) General early-career advice Books and Resources we love Special thanks, again, to Kevin Daly for all of this work on the show. Also thank you to everyone who has tuned in and agreed to hop on the show. Cannot wait for what's next.Take it easy.

Thru Shivakumar is the CEO & Co-Founder of cohesion, a smart building SaaS platform at the intersection of green, healthy, and operationally efficient buildings for CRE.With its building experience app, cohesion provides a secure, converged IoT-enabled software solution that unites core building workflows, optimizes portfolio management, and generates actionable insights to increase profitability and create better tenant experiences.The company combines a wide range of capabilities necessary to support the Intelligent Building Platform that include the Internet of Things, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud and Mobile technologies and Machine Learning. Its solution offers a breadth of features for various user roles, comprising the owner, operator, tenant manager, and tenant in a single platform.cohesion's deep building and technology expertise stem from its birth heritage at a global engineering and design firm, combining strategic product elements, including architecture, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, cutting-edge information technology and software engineering capabilitiesThis episode is brought to you by World Business Chicago. As the City of Chicago's economic development organization, World Business Chicago drives inclusive growth and opportunity for our local tech, innovation, and startup ecosystem. They recently announced the 2022 Chicago Venture Summit Future-of-Food, their new flagship conference to highlight why Chicago leads as a the global capital for food innovation. Follow World Business Chicago on LinkedIn and Twitter for event details and other related news about our city's economic progress.

Jithendra Palasagaram is the CEO and Founder of Part Analytics, a Venture-backed startup focused on transforming direct material procurement by digitizing manual processes and harmonizing data from multiple disparate sources. Its AI-powered supply management solution with a modern and intuitive UI enables smarter data-driven decision making to optimize cost and uncover hidden supply risk.

Distributed Ventures invests in companies that are transforming the future of risk across Insurtech, Fintech and Healthtech & Benefits. Their mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary entrepreneurs. They target companies seeking Seed to Series B investments that can benefit from NFP and other LP's distribution, human capital, and unique assets to accelerate their growth. Distributed Ventures has offices in both Chicago and New York.We Discussed: Transitioning from Consulting and Investment Banking to Venture Capital Startup Experience vs. Investing  Distributed Ventures and their Insurtech, Fintech, and Health Tech focus

Actuate's AI software turned existing security cameras that can automatically identify threats and occupant behavior patterns to support security and facilities management teams. Our core capabilities include: gun detection, intruder detection, crowd / loitering detection, social distancing detection, and mask detection.Backed by Tribeca Venture Partners, Scribble Ventures, Bling Capital, Upside Partnership, Tensility Venture Partners, and the University of Chicago.

TrueToForm is a body scanning and data management platform that helps businesses create and sell clothing that fits.Their mobile application generates highly accurate avatars for apparel design and fitting. They use proprietary algorithms and computer vision to capture body shape and size in 3D, along with full body measurement extraction. Anywhere, any time. They help businesses get access to the body data they need to improve fit, expand reach, and reduce waste across the product creation lifecycle. 

Heyday is the first interactive strength home gym for the 60+ to train for real life. Strength is the most important workout for better aging. Heyday is revolutionizing aging experience by making strength training safe, effective and fun. With low impact workouts, workout parties, encouraging trainers and personal resistance guidance, Heyday redefines strength training to be more inclusive and social, without compromising intensity.The company is founded in 2021 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

Garmentier is the first retail technology platform to transform the 1:1 shopping experience into scalable selling technology. They are an enterprise software company with marketplace capabilities, giving superpowers to stylists, salespeople and retailers alike. Garmentier enables a new level of personalization and humanization in omni-channel customer experiences. They remove growth roadblocks, open exciting new sales channels, and help our customers grow their businesses by delivering an unparalleled shopping experience: all in 1 simplified platform.They're fundraising - and hiring! Contact them: info@garmentier.co

Jason Starr is the founder of CompanyFirst, a venture capital firm focused on investing in and building emerging consumer brands and companies. Before CompanyFirst, Jason was the fund manager at CircleUp in San Francisco, through which he invested in dozens of consumer ventures. Prior to CircleUp, Jason spent over eight years at Winona Capital Management, a consumer-focused private equity firm in Chicago with over $300 million under management. Before Winona, Jason worked at venture capital firm Opus Capital in Silicon Valley and was a founder or early employee at several high-tech start-ups in Denver including BoldTech Systems, a “Deloitte Tech Fast 50” and “Inc. 500” company that was acquired by Perficient (NASDAQ PRFT). Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Jason spent over five years at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) where he was a project manager and software engineer. Jason graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA and holds a BSBA and MAS from the University of Denver, where he was an alumni scholar and graduated summa cum laude.

Ben Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Spruce, which develops a platform that enables individuals to receive services in their homes through a mobile app. From full housekeeping to a quick tidy-up or a dog walk for your furry friend, Spruce is available to residents on-demand.  At the end of 2020, Spruce raised an $8M Series A, led by Mercury Fund.Ben spent a little over 5.5 years at ING working on digital banking before starting Spruce. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and got his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.Earlier this year, the company purchased The Minte, a Chicago-based startup known for their hotel-style apartment cleaning services, which also enabled the Spruce team to officially expand into the Chicago market. And now, after tallying up their various wins from the year so far, including a 400% YOY growth in revenue, the Spruce team has announced that they are officially the nation's largest tech-enabled apartment amenity provider, serving more than 450,000 apartment homes in 15 markets across the country

Chris Deutsch is the Founder of Lofty Ventures, which works with passionate creators, disruptive enterprises, and forward-thinking organizations to help them change the world. Focused on first-check to seed investments in early-stage entrepreneurs based in Chicago. 84 percent of Lofty's 61 startups are based in Chicago, and 74% are led by minority founders.In this episode, we covered: Pathway to Entrepreneurship and VC Angel Investing Re-Founding TeaBot The Status of the Chicago VC ecosystem And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Chris on his Linkedin & Twitter.  You can also find Lofty Ventures on Linkedin, Twitter, their website. In 2021 alone, local founders have raised more than $5 billion in VC dollars – making Chicago a national destination for founders, investors, and innovators. As the City of Chicago's economic development organization, World Business Chicago drives growth and opportunity for our local tech economy and innovation ecosystem through its flagship programs: the Chicago Venture Summit, Startup Chicago, ThinkChicago, and Venture Engine. Learn more via WorldBusinessChicago.com

George Khalife is the Vice President, Midwest U.S. at TMX Group, a Canadian Financial Services Company that administers global markets and creates digital communities and analytic tools to help businesses, traders, and investors fund, grow, and succeed. George is also the Host & Founder of Let's Grab Coffee, a podcast that strives to interview successful people from many fields. In this episode, we covered: Starting a Podcast Toronto & Chicago The Mandate of TSX Prodcast Strategy & Distribution And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find George on his Linkedin, Website, Blog, & Twitter.  You can also find TMX Group on Linkedin, Twitter, their website and Let's Grab Coffee on Linkedin, Apple Podcasts, and their website.In 2021 alone, local founders have raised more than $5 billion in VC dollars – making Chicago a national destination for founders, investors, and innovators. As the City of Chicago's economic development organization, World Business Chicago drives growth and opportunity for our local tech economy and innovation ecosystem through its flagship programs: the Chicago Venture Summit, Startup Chicago, ThinkChicago, and Venture Engine. Learn more via WorldBusinessChicago.com

Lava is a mobile app that empowers you to create, share, & discover social audioYour voice has a lasting impact on Lava. Record and share social audio seamlessly on our mobile app then go viral through the global feed that highlights audio clips from creators around the world. Build your audience through your profile and follow along as new communities form around topics such as technology, art, sports, and science.With Lava, anyone has the potential to be a social audio creator without equipment, commitment, or investment. Simply download Lava: Social Audio on iOS or Android to connect with friends, share your thoughts, and find your voice.

Hunt Club is a new category of search firm.Cold calling, spamming on Linkedin, impersonal mass reach out, treating candidates like a transaction v. a person... These methods no longer work in today's fight to attract the best talent.Hunt Club helps companies find amazing passive talent + give well-connected individuals (influencers) a direct channel to help their network find amazing jobs. Hunt Club delivers white-glove service throughout the entire process.Referrers get rewarded, candidates get great opportunities and companies land passive talent. Everyone wins.

Lindsay Knight manages CV's Platform, or the firm's “post-investment” team. She works directly with the firm's 50+ active portfolio companies on matchmaking talent; connecting into customers; marketing, communication and PR; and building community, content, and events to help scale up and skill up more efficiently. She's also a Kauffman Fellow, Class 23.Prior to joining Chicago Ventures, Lindsay spent time at Ocean Tomo, an intellectual property merchant bank, where she was part of the team that launched the industry's first live patent auctions. She later joined CHOUmedia as Vice President, where she worked with clients in the IP industry on marketing strategy and execution.We discussed:-Her early career in Marketing and Comms-The Platform Model in VC-Her daily workstreams at Chicago Ventures-Founding Chicago:BlendIn 2018, Lindsay launched the non-profit Chicago:Blend, a collaborative effort of venture capitalists in Chicago who know that diverse teams and inclusive environments are critical foundations for both the startups we invest in and our own venture firms. She's a former Chair of the VC Platform Global Community and serves on the Governing Board at Lookingglass Theatre, a Tony-award winning theatre that focuses on the spectacular and the physical. She graduated from the Miami University Honors Program with degrees in English/Journalism and Strategic Communication.

Patrick Larsen is the CEO and co-founder of ZenLedger.io, a blockchain saas company that delivers tax and accounting services to individual and cryptocurrency investors as well as to CPAs and crypto hedge funds.The company works with Big 4 accounting firms (high net worth practice), crypto whales, CPAs, and everyday traders. Zenledger has integrations with hundreds of exchanges and wallets and thousands of cryptocurrency tokens/coins.Zenledger is hiring in software development (front and back end), product management, customer service, brand and analytical marketing, and business development.Investors include: Vestigo Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Sally Nordstrom, and Ben Davenport.www.ZenLedger.io

Peter Johnson is a Partner at Jump Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in data-driven software startups in the FinTech, IT & Data Infrastructure, B2B SaaS, and Media industries. They also invest in crypto startups and projects that are redefining what is possible in an open financial and decentralized network future. Jump makes high-conviction investments and has assisted in the scaling of some of the industry's leading businesses.In this episode, we covered: Crypto Jump Capital's New Fund Stablecoins Cross-Border Transactions Advantages in the Chicago Market And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Peter on his Linkedin & Twitter and Jump Capital on Linkedin, Twitter and their website.Jump Capital's Insights page and his blog on Stablecoins.In 2021 alone, local founders have raised more than $5 billion in VC dollars – making Chicago a national destination for founders, investors, and innovators. As the City of Chicago's economic development organization, World Business Chicago drives growth and opportunity for our local tech economy and innovation ecosystem through its flagship programs: the Chicago Venture Summit, Startup Chicago, ThinkChicago, and Venture Engine. Learn more via WorldBusinessChicago.com

Dominic Go is the founder & CEO of Tambr, a streaming music service built for enhanced social connection while empowering the artistic community.

Alyssa Jaffee is a Partner at 7wireVentures, an early-stage healthcare venture fund. She focuses on digital healthcare and technology-enabled services that enable customers to be better stewards of their health in today's shifting healthcare ecosystem. Alyssa serves on the boards of Higi and Ayogo Health, as well as Zerigo Health, NOCD, RecoveryOne, and Jasper Health as an observer.In this episode, we covered: 7wireVentures Thesis Trends in digital healthcare and technology Healthcare Industry in Chicago And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Alyssa on his Linkedin & Twitter and 7wireVentures on Linkedin, Twitter and their website.In 2021 alone, local founders have raised more than $5 billion in VC dollars – making Chicago a national destination for founders, investors, and innovators. As the City of Chicago's economic development organization, World Business Chicago drives growth and opportunity for our local tech economy and innovation ecosystem through its flagship programs: the Chicago Venture Summit, Startup Chicago, ThinkChicago, and Venture Engine. Learn more via WorldBusinessChicago.com

Tom Shea is the Co-Founder and COO of Adgile Media Group, the first ever tech-enabled, nationwide truckside advertising company. With data at the center of all that we do, Adgile delivers advertisers the biggest bang for their advertising dollar.

Justin Strausbaugh is the Founder and Managing Director of Lakeshore Ventures, which is part of the Alumni Ventures Group family of funds, one of the most active venture firms in the world with +$500 million AUM, 700+ portfolio companies and a community of 550K alumni from other top tier universities.Alumni Ventures was the #1 most active venture capital investor in the US in 2020 and is comprised of 20+ funds from the alumni communities of leading universities (including Stanford, Harvard, University of Chicago, MIT, and others). AVG co-invests alongside top leading investors and complements them with a network of 550K+ alumni to help portfolio companies with customer introductions, fundraising, recruiting, and identifying advisors.The philosophy is to provide a frictionless investment process for startups and co-investors while bringing a force-multiplying network that gives entrepreneurs a competitive advantage.

Troy Henikoff is a Managing Director at MATH Venture Partners, a Chicago-based venture capital business that invests in startups and early-stage companies.In this episode, we covered: Ted Lasso VC as an Ex-Operator MATH 100 Setting Numeric Goals for Founders Early-stage Financial Modeling Techstars in Chicago And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Troy on his Linkedin & Twitter and MATH Venture Partners on Linkedin and their website.We are proud to be sponsored by World Business Chicago, the City of Chicago's public-private economic development agency.The 5th Annual Chicago Venture Summit was officially sold out. 450 plus VC and start-up founders, investors and innovators connected over the three-day flagship venture capital conference led by World Business Chicago, the City of Chicago, and sponsors. Follow World Business Chicago on LinkedIn and Twitter for news, announcements, and data from this week's Summit, and for news and announcements from the city's tech, innovation, and venture ecosystem.

In 2015, Nate and his three close friends co-founded Crafty to help companies create welcoming and healthy workplaces through a thoughtful food and beverage offering.Crafty's platform provides a full-service food & beverage management experience: their on-site teams streamline daily operations, their Account Management teams regularly evolve their client's offering, their technology streamlines oversight and reporting across all locations, and their entire organization is constantly finding ways to surprise and delight their clients with new products, a beautiful aesthetic, and a warm smile from their team.

Samara Mejia Hernandez is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Chingona Ventures, a Venture Fund that focuses on rapidly changing sectors and founders with experiences that uniquely position them to build startups in underserved growth markets.In this episode, we covered: Salsa Dancing to VC The COVID Effect The Growing Interest in VC Chingona's 5P Due Diligence Framework Advice for Aspiring VC's And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Samara on her Linkedin & Twitter and Chingona Ventures on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.Samara's Organization Recommendations: Chicago:Blend, Angeles Investors, and Latinx VC.

Konrad Waliszewski is the CEO & Co-Founder of Tripscout - the #1 ranked trip planning app and a Top 5 content app in the AppStore with millions of users, 15M+ Instagram followers, and $6m raised in venture capital. He has visited approximately 100 countries and Forbes named him “the modern day Marco Polo.” Positioned at the intersection of consumer trends and travel tech, Konrad is a regular speaker and commentator on major media outlets about the future of travel.

Vic Pascucci is the Managing Partner of Energy Capital Ventures, a Venture Fund dedicated to the natural gas industry's ESG imperatives and digital transformation. They provide the newest ideas and technological advances to the natural gas market by investing in category-defining companies.In this episode, we covered: State of ESG Investing Transitioning from Law to VC The Need for Curiosity in Venture Fundraising in 2021 And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Vic on his Linkedin & Twitter and Energy Capital Ventures on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

We have hit the official 6-month mark on the show. We decided to round up the most downloaded episodes and my personal favorite moments from each of those episodes. I think the following excerpts do a good job of encapsulating the amazing and brilliant people that I have been lucky to interview in the past 6 months.This episode features: Ezra Galston @ Starting Line (2:48) Trey Calver @ Michael Best (6:06) Jackson Bubala @ Motivate Venture Capital (8:46) Ari Perlin @ Vaizian (19:56) Joe Dwyer @ Manifold Group (22:09) Jackie Dimonte @ Chicago Ventures (31:28) Rick Desai @ Listen Ventures (36:55) Gale Wilkinson @ Vitalize Venture Capital (39:19) Cristin Pacifico @ TechNexus (41:16) Ira Weiss @ Hyde Park Venture Partners (46:25) Jason Heltzer @ Origin Ventures (49:30) Kathleen Brown @ buddhi (58:06) A sincere thank you to every one of my guests over the past six months. This has been an incredible journey and I owe each and every one of you for that.

Yelena Shkolnik is a Partner at Jump Capital, a venture capital firm concentrating in Series A/B and growth stage investments, with a thesis-driven and sector-focused approach. Jump makes data-driven technology investments in the FinTech, B2B SaaS, IT Infrastructure, and Media industries.In this episode, we covered: Her Dreamworks background and a walk down Hollywood Jump Capital and their thematics driven Thesis  The recipe for innovation Sports betting (and generational differences) And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Yelena on her Linkedin & Twitter and Jump Capital on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

A1Logic offers A1FILO Data Breach Prevention. A1FILO uniquely secures your data "​in use"​, along with data "at rest"​ and "​in transit"​.It stops data breaches from Malicious Insiders Compromised Devices Compromised Networks

Steve Sanger is the General Partner of Evolv Partners, a $100 million corporate venture fund that invests in early-stage digital businesses that are changing the food sector.In this episode, we covered: Scaling GrubHub Business Development within Startups State of Foodtech Corporate VC Breaking into VC And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Steve on his Linkedin & Twitter and Evolv Ventures on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.Steve's article on Life in Business Development at a Startup. How it's Different From Sales. Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

buddhi is the digital platform reimagining support for people coping with cancer. The company bridges the disconnects caused by cancer through content, community and curated products.  They are on a mission to support healing across your entire cancer experience — regardless of time, diagnosis or geography. Because everyone could use a bud.  

Sean Johnson is the Founding Partner of Manifold Group, a Chicago-based venture holding company. He is also a Partner at Founder Equity and an Adjunct Professor at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business.In this episode, we covered: The Studio Model of Manifold Finding Operational Leverage in Startups Marketing Through Podcasts And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Sean on his Linkedin, website & Twitter and Manifold Group on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.Sean's podcast: The Disruptors - Innovation, Startups, and GrowthManifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Matt Silver is the founder and CEO of Forager, a logistics tech company that simplifies the process of shipping goods between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Before founding Forager in late 2018, Silver spent over a decade at Coyote Logistics where he led the expansion of their business in Mexico and Canada. Now with purpose-built technology and industry expertise, Forager and Silver are setting the new standard for cross-border shipping.He brings over a decade of industry experience, and invaluable expertise having worked in roles spanning every aspect of the logistics business. Under his leadership and vision Forager is working to innovate and automate the movement of freight across The United States, Mexico and Canada by developing ground-breaking technology that will transform the cross-border logistics industry and offer customers a fast and seamless solution for international shipping.

Jason Heltzer is the Managing Partner at Origin Ventures, a Digital Native economy-focused early-stage venture capital firm that invests in software and marketplace startups. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.In this episode, we covered: Mixing Disciplines as a VC Origin's Investment Mandate Breaking Into VC Chicago's Integrated Economy And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Jason on his Linkedin & Twitter and Origin Ventures on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Buoy is designing the simplest, yet most comprehensive revenue management tools for the global vacation rental market

Kurt Johnson is the Managing Partner, CEO, and Founder at 11.2 Ventures, LLC, a Venture builder studio specializing in artificial intelligence startups. Kurt is also the Managing Partner & Founder at Trivium Fund and a Venture Partner at Purple Arch Ventures. In this episode, we covered: Transferable Sales Skills for VC His Passion for Writing 11.2 Venture's Area of Focus Venture Builder Studios And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Kurt on his Linkedin and 11.2 Ventures, LLC on their website and Linkedin.Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Ira Weiss is the General Partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on high-growth, mid-continent technology startups. Ira is also a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship and Accounting at The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.In this episode, we covered: From Shoe Salesman to VC Developing a Market View Advantage Metrics in Valuations Keys to Success for Unicorns Improving Chicago's Ecosystem And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Ira on his Linkedin & Twitter and Hyde Park Ventures on their website, Twitter, and Linkedin.Ira's Favorite Thought Leadership/Resources: The 20 Minute VC, a16z Podcast, Fred Wilson, Brad Feld, Mark Suster, & Ajay Agarwal's WritingManifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Valqari's patented intelligent mailbox that accepts manned and unmanned deliveries, such as drones and autonomous vehicles.Valqari Features and Benefits:Vault feature allows traditional deliverers to make theft-free deliveriesAllows customers to make direct returns to shippers.Valqari's mobile application allows for customers to digitally sign for packages from anywhere in the world, reducing failed delivery attempts.Valqari provides the infrastructure and communication for unmanned delivery modes to enable safe, secure, and reliable deliveries.

Abhinaya Konduru is a Senior Associate at M25, a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on Midwest-based startups. Abhinaya is also a Board Observer at Mission Control GG and an Associates & Analyst Moderator at Women in VC.In this episode, we covered: From YouTube to VC Her Life Thesis M25's Scoreboard Analysis Collaboration in the Ecosystem Lessons Learned as a Young VC And much more.... Please Enjoy!You can find Abhinaya on Linkedin & Twitter and M25 on their website, Linkedin, & Twitter.Abhinaya's Medium & Blog about the Four Lessons from being a VC out of UndergradSushi Restaurant Recommendations: ARAMI & SUSHI-SANContent Recommendations: The Sandhill Newsletter Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.