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September 14, 2023
For A Successful Sale, Know What You Want
With early-stage tech companies, it's important to figure out what the entrepreneur wants because often the entrepreneur is near burnout, says Sig Mosley, managing partner of Mosley Ventures....
By Adam Burroughsd
June 12, 2020
Early-Stage Entrepreneurs Need To Focus On Creativity, Mitigating Risk To Close Deals
The landscape for showcasing early-stage companies to potential buyers and investors has changed dramatically in the face of COVID-19, says David Weaver, chief investment officer at City Side Ventures....
By Dustin S. Klein & Mark Scott
June 1, 2020
VentureOhio closes; young professional program continuing
VentureOhio’s board has decided to sunset the trade association, which advocated for increased capital and greater collaboration. The decision to wind down VentureOhio came following CEO Falon Donohue’s departure earlier this year, assessing the impact of COVID-19 and recognizing Ohio’s regional entrepreneurial support organizations are well-positioned to advance VentureOhio’s mission....
By Jayne Gest
May 21, 2020
Jay Katarincic shares the methods behind early stage VC investing
With early stage investing, it’s not about hitting every single time in order to have a successful fund, says Jay Katarincic, managing director of venture capital firm Draper Triangle. That's because it's often more art than science....
By Jayne Gest
May 13, 2020
Deal Pulse: April M&A Activity in Central Ohio
The state of Ohio was under a stay-at-home order for the entire month of April, with many businesses shut down. While middle market M&A activity has severely slowed in Central Ohio, notable deals included Break Trail Ventures, Nationwide Ventures and Midwest Equipment Sales....
By Michael Shaw
April 27, 2020
MWE Sales recapitalizes with funding from Provariant, Tecum
Midwest Equipment Sales has taken on investment partners in order to grow the Columbus-headquartered business. The funding was led by Provariant Equity Partners, with investment from Tecum Capital Partners, the existing CEO and Centerfield Capital Partners....
By Jayne Gest
April 1, 2020
Drive Capital’s Chris Olsen on how coronavirus impacts VC
Drive Capital partner Chris Olsen talks about the state of dealmaking, what portfolio companies should expect from their shareholders and his advice for investors....
By Adam Burroughs
March 19, 2020
Chip McClure: Dealmaking Can Open The Door To New, Innovative Business Opportunities
Discipline is a crucial component to being an effective dealmaker, says Michigan Capital Advisors’ Chip McClure....
By Mark Scott
March 3, 2020
Rev1 Ventures participates in Upshift’s $3.7M funding round
Cincinnati-based startup Upshift raised $3.7 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Indeed, according to PitchBook. Columbus startup studio Rev1 Ventures participated in the round....
By Jayne Gest
February 27, 2020
Michael Redd: Applying lessons from the NBA to the venture world
Michael Redd is often more concerned about the leaders than the product; if the product isn’t right, the company can pivot. The angel investor and venture partner shares what he's learned about investing and how his experience as a professional athlete in the NBA frames it....
By Jayne Gest
February 6, 2020
CitySide Ventures’ David Weaver: When Your Plan Doesn’t Work, Be Ready To Pivot To Something New
Longtime dealmaker put more than three decades of diversified management experience to use to help early-stage companies connect with the resources they need to grow their businesses....
By Mark Scott
February 4, 2020
Rich Lunak on the hot technology market in Pittsburgh
The market for technology companies and disruptive startups remains red hot in Pittsburgh. Innovation Works' Rich Lunak shares what he's seeing in terms of valuations and deal flow....
By Jayne Gest
January 24, 2020
Nationwide invests in Vesta Healthcare, KINETIC
Nationwide Ventures has invested in the $30 million Series A round for Vesta Healthcare, while also partnering with KINETIC. This is part of Nationwide’s commitment to invest more than $100 million of venture capital in customer-centric solutions....
By Jayne Gest
January 21, 2020
Drive Capital closes fund with $300M raised
Columbus venture capital firm Drive Capital recently closed its OverDrive Fund I, PitchBook reports. The fund targeted $400 million in its original paperwork but closed with $300 million....
By Jayne Gest
January 20, 2020
Birchmere Ventures to top off fund with $10M
Pittsburgh’s Birchmere Ventures is raising another $10 million with its BV5 Annex LLC that goes along with its active Birchmere Ventures V fund, according to a SEC filing....
By Jayne Gest
January 9, 2020
J.D. Vance launches Ohio VC fund
Investor J.D. Vance, who wrote “Hillbilly Elegy” has raised $93 million to start a venture capital firm, Narya Capital, based in Cincinnati, according to a SEC filing. Along with co-founder Colin Greenspon, Columbus’ Falon Donahue has been named as a partner after leaving VentureOhio....
By Jayne Gest
January 7, 2020
Lear Corp. Invests In SV-Based Autotech Ventures
The investment is being made through Lear Innovation Ventures, which was launched one year ago, to identify advanced development teams and early-stage technologies and provide direct capital to innovation initiatives....
By Mark Scott
December 19, 2019
Equity funding up in Detroit, Pittsburgh
The greater Detroit area and Pittsburgh have grown the most in the amount of equity funding they attract by percent, year over year, a report by Crunchbase states. The greater Philadelphia area ranked No. 5 on the list....
By Jayne Gest
December 19, 2019
Ovid’s Matt Geiger: Focus On Finding Ways To Get The Deal Done
Matt Geiger has experience as both an entrepreneur and an investor. When he’s an entrepreneur, he’s learned the value of letting the investor be the smartest one in the room....
By Mark Scott
December 11, 2019
MissionOG closes $93M fund
The new fund provides fast-growing B2B technology companies in financial services and payments, data, and software with investment capital to accelerate their businesses....
By Adam Burroughs
December 10, 2019
Buddy Flerl: Whether investing overseas or in the PE secondary market, people are the key
Buddy Flerl acts as an investor and limited partner in institutional funds in the secondary market, providing liquidity to PE firms. He also has experience investing overseas. In both scenarios, he says, it comes down to people....
By Jayne Gest
December 6, 2019
Kraft Heinz-backed VC fund invests in Zippin
Zippin, a San Francisco startup enabling cashierless checkout for brick and mortar retail, recently closed a $12 million in Series A funding, led by Evolv Ventures, the venture fund backed by Kraft Heinz....
By Jayne Gest
November 5, 2019
Drive Capital closes $350M fund
Drive Capital has successfully raised $350 million for its third flagship venture capital fund, according to SEC paperwork. The Columbus VC firm remains in the midst of raising its first opportunity fund....
By Jayne Gest
October 30, 2019
Winbridge’s Chris MacLaren: Due Diligence Should Always Rate High On Your M&A Priority List
Chris MacLaren crunches the numbers at Winbridge, enabling PE/VC firms time to raise capital and source new deals....
By Mark Scott
October 3, 2019
TriPower Capital's Robert Sharpe: Capitalizing on Underserved Markets
The TriPower founding partner talks about his eye for making deals in the food and beverage space and one of the most common problems with today’s business landscape....
By Mark Scott
September 6, 2019
Svoboda Capital's Jeff Piper: Culture, Leadership Are Keys
Managing Director Jeff Piper about Svoboda Capital Partners' formula for identifying good investment opportunities and what entrepreneurs can do to capture the eye of investors....
By Mark Scott
August 29, 2019
Peninsula Capital's Ty Clutterbuck
Peninsula Capital Partners' Ty Clutterbuck talks about his approach to making and assessing acquisition opportunities....
By Mark Scott
August 22, 2019
For Startups, Value Attracts Funding
Focusing all your attention on fundraising can actually make it harder to close your next funding round if it distracts you from creating the value investors want, writes JumpStart's Jerry Frantz....
By Jerry Frantz
August 16, 2019
Buying a business? Better have a plan
Companies preparing themselves for their first acquisition might appreciate Don Caldwell’s advice: “The plan comes first.”...
By Adam Burroughs
August 6, 2019
Collaboration, corporates draw Heartland Ventures to Columbus
South Bend, Ind.-based Heartland Ventures, which focuses on connecting startups to corporations, picked Columbus out of 15 Midwest cities for expansion because of the corporate involvement in the city's collaborative early-stage community....
By Jayne Gest
June 19, 2019
Non-control Capital Offers Liquidity Option For Family-Held Companies
Many family-held businesses don't realize there are minority investors out there, says Nicholas Stone, managing director at Cyprium Partners....
By Mark Scott
June 18, 2019
PLSG invests in four regional life sciences startups
In the first half of 2019, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse has invested $155,000 in four startups — Health IT companies RIMSYS and Clinical Platform, therapeutic company CytoAgents and medical device company Neuro Kinetics....
By Jayne Gest
June 13, 2019
Woodward Angels Ready To Spark Entrepreneurial Growth
Lauren Hoffman of Woodward Angels and Tim Parker of Grand Angels talk about their effort to make connections and spark more early-stage entrepreneurial growth in Southeast Michigan....
By Mark Scott
June 11, 2019
Dale Buckwalter on buying and selling companies with high valuations
3 Rivers Capital co-founder Dale Buckwalter shares his thoughts on how to make returns in the current market of high valuations....
By Jayne Gest
June 10, 2019
SeventySix Capital’s Wayne Kimmel leverages social capital of athletes to rise above noise
SeventySix Capital Managing Partner Wayne Kimmel discusses how celebrity can help investors and startups stand out in a noisy media landscape to create opportunities for all parties involved....
By Adam Burroughs
June 6, 2019
Arsenal’s Maria Thompson: Investors Want Businesses That Solve Problems
Investors aren’t looking for unique business opportunities, says Arsenal venture partner Maria Thompson. They want business models that solve problems, preferably big ones....
By Mark Scott
June 3, 2019
FS/KKR Advisor LLC merges four nontraded business development companies
Philadelphia’s FS Investments and New York’s KKR Credit Advisors are merging four non-traded business development companies to form the second-largest BDC by assets under management, with over $9 billion in assets....
By Adam Burroughs
May 17, 2019
Blue Olive’s Ed Weinfurtner takes hands-on approach to investing
Ed Weinfurtner is a dealmaker who likes to get his hands dirty. If the company is being marketed for sale or has a book that pitches the acquisition opportunity, he’s not interested. “I’m trying to find a diamond in the rough,” he says....
By Mark Scott
May 16, 2019
Two Akron investment funds merge into $3M fund
Akron Fusion Investment Partners LP I, the largest fund to come out of the Akron region, is merging with the Akron Bioinvestment Fund II, growing the fund to $3 million and bolster its impact....
By Adam Burroughs
May 14, 2019
Pipeline Angels: Driving change in Detroit’s angel investor community
Kerry Ann Rockquemore and Pipeline Angels bring needed guidance to help young entrepreneurs shape their vision and target markets that offer a better chance for success....
By Mark Scott
May 7, 2019
Yvonne Campos' Next Act Fund gives women seat at dealmaking table
Yvonne Campos is an accomplished businesswoman who built and sold a successful market research and strategy firm. In all her experiences, though, she was never asked to participate in a deal or invest...
By Jayne Gest
May 1, 2019
Drive Capital closes $307M fund, while raising another
Drive Capital has closed its third flagship fund at $307 million and raised nearly $251 million for its first overdrive fund, according to SEC filings....
By Jayne Gest
April 25, 2019
JumpStart's Cathy Belk: Plan Your Exit Before You Start Your Business
You can’t start a business these days without planning your way out.For early-stage entrepreneurs, thinking about a potential exit from the business starts before the company is even launched.“Many of...
By Mark Scott
April 19, 2019
Chris Rizik: Honesty Is The Best Policy When Pitching VCs
Chris Rizik shares his insight on how to make a better pitch to investors, as well as the growth opportunities that exist in Detroit’s VC community....
By Mark Scott
April 18, 2019
Female founders on rise, as women-focused angel group disbands
Although X-Squared Angels disbanded at the end of last year as membership fizzled, early-stage and startup female founders appear to be on the rise. We talk to Cindi Englefield and Mary McCarthy of the Women’s Small Business Accelerator....
By Jayne Gest
April 10, 2019
Acquisition strategy: Have discipline, retain talent and avoid dishonest negotiators
Investor Lee Zapis shares tips for making better acquisitions, lessons learned from mistakes and the evolving role of culture in the dealmaking process....
By Mark Scott
April 5, 2019
Rev1 Ventures hits $2B in economic impact in 6 years
In 2018 alone, Rev1 clients generated more than $123 million in revenue and attracted more than $157 million in capital to the region....
By Jayne Gest
April 4, 2019
Kraft Heinz fund makes first investment
Evolv Ventures was part of a $25 million Series C round investment in GrubMarket, a farm-to-delivery food service....
By Adam Burroughs
March 22, 2019
Lear invests in Israeli Venture Fund in Mobility Space
Lear has invested an undisclosed amount in an Israel-based venture capital fund managed by Maniv Mobility that is focused on advancing mobility technology....
By Adam Burroughs
March 22, 2019
BlueTree's big 2018: A unicorn, strong exits and new investors
It’s been an exciting and unprecedented year for Catherine Mott and BlueTree Capital, including her venture fund's first unicorn holding....
By Jayne Gest
