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January 27, 2023

Serial Entrepreneur Gabriela Isturiz Turns Investor with The Fund XX

Serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor Gabriela Isturiz, who founded two high-growth technology companies that she sold to Fortune 500 companies, recently co-founded The Fund XX, which makes...

By Adam Burroughs

November 11, 2022

Young People See Startups As A Way To Make An Impact

Ohio Innovation Fund Principal Faith Voinovich on changes she's seen in early-stage investing and shares her view of the broader startup picture....

By Adam Burroughs

November 4, 2022

Pitch perfect: The need for newbie entrepreneurs to improve their talk track

Project Olympus' Kit Needham on the areas where fist-time entrepreneurs stumble when seeking their earliest funding rounds....

By Adam Burroughs

October 14, 2022

Michael Sirpilla On Society Brands’ $204M Raise

Society Brands CEO Michael Sirpilla spoke on Dealmaker TV's DealTalk program about the company’s $204M raise and its growth since its launch in 2020....

By Adam Burroughs

October 7, 2022

From funder to fundraiser

MOBILion's Dr. Melissa Sherman on growing the company and how she's adapted to the fundraising process....

By Adam Burroughs

September 15, 2022

CreativeCo Capital finds early success through data-driven outreach

CreativeCo Capital's Ashley Gautreaux on the progress her firm has been able to make in a short time and why. ...

By Adam Burroughs

September 15, 2022

ESG’s increasing impact on investment decisions

Black Brain Trust's Angel St. Jean on the rise of ESG, her company’s growth, and the challenges of fundraising. ...

By Adam Burroughs

August 26, 2022

Building a culture of support for startups

Wisconsin Startup Coalition Co-founders Matt Cordio and Peter Welch on the progress the organization has made since its launch in 2020, and how creating a network of support could lead to putting Wisconsin on investors' maps. ...

By Adam Burroughs

August 26, 2022

Pushing through the noes

Immaculate Cleaning Founder and President James Barnes on his entrepreneurial journey and the importance of pushing through the noes to get to the all-important yeses....

By Adam Burroughs

August 12, 2022

Engineered From Personal Need, Nollapelli Is Ready To Grow

Nollapelli founder Allison Howard talks with the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast about how she created Nollapelli and prepared the company for early-stage investing. ...

By Dan Pender

August 11, 2022

Archetype Solutions Pursues A Unique Approach To Investing

Archetype Solutions Group CEO Chetan Bagga on launching Archetype Solutions and its unique approach to investing....

By Adam Burroughs

July 29, 2022

Dan German on lessons learned launching Orthobrain

Orthobrain's Dan German on launching Orthobrain, fundraising, and how the lessons he learned growing and selling German Orthodontics are informing his new venture....

By Adam Burroughs

July 22, 2022

Been there, built that

Rextar's Bill Fox on how his earlier experience forming, growing and exiting GoIndustry is informing how he's building and growing Rextar....

By Adam Burroughs

July 22, 2022

When Three Little Pigs Went To Market

Village Gourmet's David Kemp and Gemini Investors' James Goodman on buying Three Little Pigs, growing it into Village Gourmet and taking that company to market....

By Adam Burroughs

July 14, 2022

Ascender Lifts Early-Stage Entrepreneurs

Nadyli Nuñez, executive director, Ascender, has guided hundreds of early-stage entrepreneurs through her incubator, co-working programs, and numerous early-stage investments to position them for add-on capital as part of their growth journey from scale-up to the middle market. She has a detailed, hands-on approach to ensure the success of her clients. ...

By Dan Pender

July 6, 2022

Reasons to be excited, cautious, when launching a business with family

Geneoscopy's Andrew Barnell on launching Geneoscopy, structuring the business and working with family....

By Adam Burroughs

July 6, 2022

Family must earn their way into Archangel's CEO seat

Archangel Protective Services' Ken Thomas on how the company got its start, the importance of getting help along the way, succession planning and the ways he's helping others get their entrepreneurial start. ...

By Adam Burroughs

June 17, 2022

Founders helping founders

Ilana Diamond on launching 412 Ventures, its investment thesis, and how their collective experience as founders might give them an advantage....

By Adam Burroughs

June 2, 2022

It’s All About Partnerships and Pitch Decks for Rambus

Mykolas Rambus is a serial entrepreneur who founded and sold two previous companies, including Wealth-X, where he served as CEO until its 2016 sale for more than $20 million. Most recently, Mykolas raised early-stage rounds of capital in 2021 to build out Hush, a company that offers cybersecurity services. Though the capital raise process went well, Mykolas talks about how better pitch materials would have made for a smoother raise. ...

By Dan Pender

April 28, 2022

Capital alignment and speaking investors' languages

Amicus.io CEO and Co-Founder Cor Hoekstra, talks prior to the company's acquisition by TIFIN about attracting investors, differentiation, and what he sees as the future for the company. ...

By Adam Burroughs

March 24, 2022

When PE goes downstream

North Coast Ventures Managing Director Todd Federman on the deal year for early-stage companies, as well as the trends he's seeing on that end of the M&A spectrum. ...

By Adam Burroughs

March 11, 2022

Raising capital as a startup is about more than money

Rabbu CEO Emir Dukic talks about the process of raising capital and how he went about doing diligence on potential investors....

By Adam Burroughs

March 11, 2022

Even for the best entrepreneurs, raising capital is always harder than it looks

Bloomscape Founder and CEO Justin Mast spoke with Dickinson Wright's Zan Nicolli about his venture and the process of raising capital from investors....

By Adam Burroughs

February 11, 2022

City Shoppe's Ash Cintas on Investors as Coaches

Ash Cintas, founder and CEO of City Shoppe, talks about her experience launching the company, fundraising, and what she looks for in an investor....

By Adam Burroughs

February 11, 2022

When pitching nascent opportunities, explain it so grandma would understand

Play One Up CEO Brandon Pitts talks about the growing esports industry, building Play One Up and how he pitches investors who might not be familiar with the opportunity....

By Adam Burroughs

January 7, 2022

Three mistakes that signal you're unlikely to get funded

Serial entrepreneur Bob Norton talks about what investors really look for in a pitch, the team and the concept, as well as where most entrepreneurial ventures stumble and fail....

By Adam Burroughs

December 2, 2021

How Chris Molaro launched NeuroFlow

NeuroFlow co-founder Chris Molaro on changing the way mental health care is delivered, his most recent M&A deal, and the company’s future. ...

By Adam Burroughs

October 8, 2021

Shane Bigelow on launching CHAMPtitles

CHAMPtitles Shane Bigelow talks about the venture, its recent raise and progress in the market, as well as the challenges of being based in Ohio....

By Adam Burroughs

September 3, 2021

Will Zell sees exuberance in venture capital

Will Zell, founder of Zell Capital and Executive Chairman at Nikola Labs, offers his take on the view from the early stage....

By Adam Burroughs

August 27, 2021

Nat Clarkson on the impact of investor moves downstream

CFV Ventures Managing Partner Nat Clarkson on what he’s seeing at the seed stage, and how firms at his level may look to adjust their strategies if larger firms became a player in the mix....

By Adam Burroughs

August 13, 2021

Feuer Innovation Accelerator Fund Gives UH Leader Power To Promote Ideas From Within

A $2 million gift to University Hospitals by serial entrepreneur Michael Feuer and his wife Ellen aims to enhance the hospital’s ability to spur innovation by giving UH’s CEO the financial and decision-making latitude to back strong ideas. ...

By Adam Burroughs

July 29, 2021

Luke Cooper on how pluck and luck helped him sell Fixt to Assurant

Luke Cooper talks about Fixt’s sale to Assurant, strategies for fundraising as well as an initiative that’s underway to help connect African-American entrepreneurs with Fortune 500 companies....

By Adam Burroughs

July 29, 2021

How Wisr used pressure to distinguish serious investors

John Knific talks about fundraising and Wisr's deal with EAB. ...

By Adam Burroughs

July 9, 2021

Women and the unique challenges they face in their entrepreneurial pursuits

Linda Pringle Evans, CEO and Founder of Pringle Business Consulting, and the Director of Education at Empowering a Billion Women, discusses the state of female entrepreneurship in the U.S. ...

By Adam Burroughs

June 18, 2021

Pivoting during the pandemic saves the year for early-stage SaaS companies

Wendy Jarchow, chief investment officer at River SaaS talk about how early-stage companies fared during the pandemic, what she expects from that segment in 2021 and the factors that could influence their year....

By Adam Burroughs

June 18, 2021

To build your pipeline, write the checks

Marcus Whitney, founding partner, Jumpstart Health Investors on how technology helped him make some 80 investments in his first couple years at Jumpstart Foundry, and his newest fund, Jumpstart Nova....

By Adam Burroughs

June 11, 2021

Ryan Green continually adjusts his model to find success

Gridwise co-founder Ryan Green continues to evolve his business, using customer feedback and adjusting to the market to find success....

By Adam Burroughs

June 4, 2021

Dana Guthrie on the state of startups

Dana Guthrie, managing partner of Gateway Capital Partners, talks about how her firm got its start, how it addresses funding gaps in the market, and her sense of how the startup community is working through the challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic....

By Adam Burroughs

May 21, 2021

Louis Foreman on how IP strategy creates value

Enventys Partners CEO Louis Foreman CEO on where startups struggle, and how they find success....

By Adam Burroughs

April 30, 2021

Carrie Thome on the state of her state’s VC community

Carrie Thome, managing director at NVNG Investment Advisors, talks about the state of the venture world in Wisconsin....

By Adam Burroughs

April 23, 2021

Eric Johnson on staying connected with Nashville’s business community

Nashville seems to have a healthy homegrown ecosystem, but Eric Johnson, Dean of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt, says there’s always room for improvement....

By Adam Burroughs

April 16, 2021

BlueTree Allied Angels’ Sreekar Gadde urges entrepreneurs to see IP differently

BlueTree Allied Angels’ Sreekar Gadde urges entrepreneurs to stop think about IP only in terms of protection, and instead create a holistic strategy to maximize long-term value....

By Adam Burroughs

March 18, 2021

Capital Midwest’s Dan Einhorn sees value in significant upfront investments

Dan Einhorn, Capital Midwest’s general partner, focuses his focus on the long-term interest of its portfolio companies early on. ...

By Adam Burroughs

March 5, 2021

Stuart Sorkin on why disruption is overrated

Former Affy Tapple CEO Stuart Sorkin talks investment approach and deal criteria, and why disruptors are overrated....

By Adam Burroughs

March 5, 2021

David Brophy says organize the venture world!

David Brophy, Professor of Finance, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, talks about the venture capital ecosystem and what its continued growth means for Michigan, the Detroit region, and the scale-up community that’s looking for growth capital....

By Adam Burroughs

February 12, 2021

Dan Roselli talks COVID vs VCs

Dan Roselli talks about the effect of COVID on early-stage investments fundamentals, the eagerness (or timidity) of capital, and the sectors with early-stage businesses that are attracting the most investor interest....

By Adam Burroughs

January 22, 2021

Raise capital, gain market validation with crowdfunding, says Louis Foreman

Louis Foreman, CEO, Enventys Partners talks about product innovation, raising capital, recent patent activity trends and the commonalities among his 15 clients who appeared on the TV show Shark Tank....

By Adam Burroughs

October 30, 2020

Brock Leonti on the importance of intellectual capital

Perscribe FIT's Brock Leonti on what it’s like to be a startup during a pandemic, and how funders factor in to the company’s success during turbulent times....

By Adam Burroughs

April 24, 2020

Jake Loosararian bets on himself — and Gecko Robotics

Jake Loosararian turned down an offer for Gecko Robotics in 2015 and stuck with the principles of why he started the company. He shares how that decision has paid off....

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