Matthew Kee

🚀 Elevate Your Investment Game with Hyde Park Venture Partners🚀 Join top-tier investors in backing the Midwest's premier early-stage venture capital firm, Hyde Park Venture Partners (HPVP), as they close their impressive $98 million Fund IV. 🤝“A lot of institutional LPs seem to be focused on existing managers,” Turner said. “That being said, we’re really happy with how the fundraise turned out for us and we were able to bring out a lot of great institutions that were new to our funds and to our firm. We’ve been building over the years and have seen larger funds become more institutionalized. That’s important for funds and geographies like ours.” The limited partner makeup for this fund includes approximately 25% institutional, 35% family office and the remainder is ultra high-net-worth individuals. Led by Managing Partners Greg Barnes and Guy Turner, along with Partner Allison Lechnir, HPVP is a force to be reckoned with in the world of technology investments. 💼💰 HPVP often leads deals, writing average check sizes between $500,000 and $4 million. The new fund will be deployed into 20 to 22 companies.📝 🔎With a keen eye for spotting promising startups in the Midwest and Toronto, HPVP has already deployed capital into two groundbreaking companies: Diffit and CivCheck. These investments showcase HPVP's commitment to supporting innovative solutions, leveraging generative AI and urban development technologies, respectively. 🎤"Our companies go through similar challenges, which gives us valuable insight when fundraising," says Greg Barnes. "We're thrilled to have new institutions backing our fourth fund, including NVNG Investment Advisors, LLC and Cintrifuse Capital." They join repeat backers, including the @Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund, RK Mellon Foundation, and Renaissance Venture Capital. 🦸‍♂️Hyde Park Venture Partners boasts a remarkable track record, having been early backers of successful startups like ShipBob, FourKites, Inc., G2, LogicGate, and Dentologie. Their investments have paved the way for notable exits, such as Workday VNDLY and Tock, solidifying their reputation as a powerhouse in the VC world. As the Midwest emerges as a hotbed for startup innovation, HPVP remains at the forefront, leveraging its extensive network and expertise to fuel growth and success. With a focus on bringing top talent to their portfolio companies, HPVP is committed to nurturing the region's burgeoning tech ecosystem. 🌟Congratulations to the Hyde Park Venture Partners team! 🌟 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #HydeParkVP #VentureCapital #InvestmentOpportunity #TechStartups #MidwestInnovation

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Congrats to Eniac Ventures seeded Nirvana on their big A! 🚀 "Nirvana, a startup aiming to give health care providers and consumers the price of treatment before an appointment, raised $24.2 million in Series A funding, it tells Axios exclusively. Why it matters: The raise comes amid a push for greater transparency in health care bills, with one new government rule put into effect in 2021 and more being considered today. What they're saying: "In some weird behavioral way, people were used to the fact that you would sit in a waiting room for six hours and get the bill six weeks later," says Nirvana CPO Kelvin K Chan. "Looking back, that's incredibly strange and archaic, but I think that mentality is starting to shift." How it works: Embedded into health care providers' websites, the software reduces the chances that an insurance claim will be denied after the fact. It does so by using the patient's name, date of birth, and ZIP code to verify a consumer's coverage, Nirvana says. Traditionally, providers required the insurance ID card, which the company's executives say is susceptible to human error. Combining that with information from the provider about the consumer's condition, Nirvana offers an estimate of the appointment cost at the time of booking. Northzone led this round, joined by Inspired Capital, Eniac Ventures and Surface Ventures." Akshay Venkitasubramanian https://lnkd.in/ewznnP3y https://lnkd.in/ey4DPNBE

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If you missed SEED CRUST: State of the Seed Venture Market event last week, you can download the report and watch the recording. Here's what I expect to see in the coming year as it relates to Seed *phase* venture capital: 🐖 The "pig in the pipe" (the exit backlog) will clear this year, which is great for late stage, but it won't be felt at Seed until next year. 🔁 Which means more of the same this year for Seed: more shut downs 😢, more extension rounds 🌉, more pressure on founders to stretch their existing capital 💸. It also means the bifurcation at Seed will continue through this year. 💫 3-Round Seed is the new normal. Pre-Seed, Seed, Seed 2, call it what you will, Series A isn't coming back down to $20-30m valuations. Mind your dilution to make that work. 📈 Seed 2 valuations will continue to go up over the next year, covering territory in the $20-30m post range that used to be a small Series A. 📉 But there will be less capital available in the Seed phase than in the last three years, and less of that will be deployed into first checks. How did we end up here? Here's the full story: https://lnkd.in/gwuGVSii What do you think? What would you add to this? Check out the recording to hear the full presentation and get Peter Walker's take on it, too. (Thanks for coming Peter!) #venturecapital #vc #fundraising #seed #startups

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I really enjoyed recording this episode of The Digital Industrial Podcast with Ty Findley. We talked about common misconceptions for deep tech, the "Why Now" for the category, and differences between investor diligence for deep tech and traditional tech. https://lnkd.in/eKtwjauu

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165. Software is Feeding the World 1. Leaf Agriculture led by G. Bailey Stockdaler raised a Series A round led by Spero Ventures, and includes S2G Ventures, SP Ventures, Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, Radicle Growth etc. Leaf is offering to take on more of the data management workflow for agribusinesses and food companies, and going after use cases in crop insurance. Which other directions can Leaf go in? Are they truly creating lego blocks for digital ag infrastructure? 2. The pace of LLM agents in agribusiness continues with Agrisearch Assistant for mostly public datasets from Stratovation Group and Goose from AgVend Most agents fall in the category of "help me learn" or "automate a boring task", but depending on where they are being used, they might be used for product placement by input companies and retailers. How should input companies engage with all these different agents? 3. One of the key problems in AgTech has been the challenge to attribute value to your solution, which has made value capture difficult. I use Farmblox and Nathan Rosenberg as an example of a company which makes attribution very clear. In maple syrup farming lines get damaged which kills the vacuum which reduces sap flow, and increases energy consumption. Maple syrup producers spend huge labor to find those leaks. With a simple IoT based solution, Farmblox is able to reduce yield risk, and save on labor. Link in the first comment #agtech #digital #infrastructure #agriculture

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The entrepreneurial journey is one of grit, passion, and unwavering belief. I'm truly excited about what Raj Shekhar Singh, Jyotika Gupta , and Sudarshan Ravi Jha are building with z21 Ventures. Their vision resonates deeply with me. As a founder, I know firsthand the rollercoaster of highs and lows that come with building something from the ground up. It's a path that tests you in ways you never imagined, but it's also incredibly rewarding. We've been fortunate to have exceptional investors like Sumir Chadha and WestBridge Capital in our corner. Their support went beyond just capital - they've stood by us through our triumphs and, more importantly, our setbacks. That kind of belief in your vision is invaluable. I'm hopeful and confident that Raj, Jyotika, and Sudarshan will create similar transformative experiences for a new generation of purposeful founders. They understand that true innovation often comes from those daring to challenge the status quo, those driven by a desire to make a real impact. To all the founders out there: Your journey may be hard, but it's worth it. Stay true to your purpose, embrace the challenges, and remember that your ideas have the power to make meaningful change in the world. With supporters like z21 Ventures backing you, there's no limit to what you can achieve. Let's build a future where innovation thrives and where purposeful entrepreneurship creates lasting positive change. The road ahead may be tough, but with determination and the right support, anything is possible.

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🌟 Looking to secure first-round funding? Check out these essential tips to perfect your pitch from the team at Ascend Venture Capital. From finding the right investor to crafting a compelling story and nailing down financial details, these insights will help you stand out and succeed in your fundraising efforts 🚀 #StartupFunding #InvestorPitch #VentureCapital

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🚀 Startups, don't let loan covenants catch you off guard! Having advised numerous startups, I understand the pressure of managing finances while scaling. Knowing the ins and outs of financial covenants can prevent your startup from falling into default. Stay ahead of the game by checking out our comprehensive guide. Link to the article in the original Kruze Consulting post. #StartupFinance

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Well-written and sourced article describing what's going in seed-stage venture market. At 9point8 Collective we tend to orbit the seed-stage (both ideating and developing companies to reach seed and helping post-seed companies refactor and scale in anticipation of A) and for many companies it's a critical inflection point which determines their long term success or failure. The main takeaways I was able to gather: 1️⃣ Many startups that raised seed rounds in 2021-2022 are struggling to secure Series A funding due to tighter market conditions and increased investor expectations. 2️⃣ Seed investors are becoming more cautious, leading to longer diligence processes and a preference for startups with strong traction or experienced founders. As a result, valuations have stayed relatively high even as deal flow reduces. 3️⃣ Startups are adopting various strategies to navigate this challenging environment, including cutting costs, raising bridge rounds or convertible notes, and M&A/acqui-hires. 4️⃣ Despite the challenges, there are opportunities for both startups and investors in this new landscape, particularly for those who can adapt to the changing market conditions. Investors are accumulating dry powder -- and with rates on the decline -- will be looking to deploy into companies with stronger fundamentals than their 2021-2022 counterparts.

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Join SpringTime Ventures (virtually) on Thursday, May 2nd at 11:00am MT // 1:00pm ET as we talk through the current #startup #fundraising market conditions at Seed. There are countless startups grinding it out from Pre-Seed, to Seed, to Seed 2, to Seed 3, to every possible take on "bridge" and "inside" rounds. Why are so many startups circling around, unable to break through to Series A? We call this the Seed Crust. What are the market forces driving this? What are the paths forward for founders? Are there rays of hope breaking through the crust? Join us next week: https://lnkd.in/g9FyiEps

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What I learned this week…. As the economy works to eliminate the healthcare cost of poor nutrition, there is no simple set of instructions to follow. There is an abundance of AgTech, FoodTech and HealthTech innovations touching a piece of the bigger equation. But each is driven by divergent signals (GLP-1 vs. sustainable fuels). If this were a large corporation, its R&D group would coordinate the various parts to fit a broader objective. But there is no Bell Labs of longevity or nutrition. The master architect is 350k years of human evolution encrypted in our DNA. Without a large R&D lab or a master plan, it comes down to early adopter customers as our guide. And up to capital providers to see the knowledge arbitrage and invest. We are assembling Food is Health from a pile of Lego blocks. 1) The most legitimate startup investor is a customer. Why don’t we have a tool like PitchBook to find early adopter customers? 2) Nutrient test assays, and many assays, measure a proxy attribute to estimate the target nutrient (i.e. protein). NIR and other spectroscopy are non-destruction and measure a wider array of orthogonal attributes. With the addition of AI, increasing correlations expect an acceleration of valuable insights linking soil, crop genetics, bioavailability, nutrients, health, and longevity. And ultimately, affordable nutrition. 3) Intermittent fasting plus protein pacing (consuming protein at consistent intervals), may boost weight loss and gut health. Perhaps important to GLP-1 treatment and boost to Fairlife Core Power Elite. 4) If we can monitor crops for expression of nutritional qualities (Macro and Micro) during the growing season, we could dynamically modify inputs to modulate nutritional density in season or as a training set for the next season. (John Kempf) 5) Architectural Innovation: Vogue wasn’t replaced by a fashion media company, it was replaced by 10,000 influencers. Salesforce will not be replaced by another CRM. Clayton Christensen and Rebecca Henderson are both right. 6) Taylor Swift’s tour in the US generated $5 billion in consumer spending over 6 months. Who is the Taylor Swift of nutrition? 7) The net demand from the addition of New York to California’s Renewable Diesel standards, by some estimates, would consume the entire US production of soybeans. 8) United Airlines is using the 100k seat back video screens to micro-target consumers with advertising. 9) A plane uses 15%-20% of its fuel during takeoff 10) People who majored in Journalism in the 90’s have seen social media decimate their industry. What college majors will disappear with the Creative Destruction of AI? 11) When playing with Legos, some people follow the instructions precisely, and some do not. I never did. H/T: Erin Martin Ellen Brown Brad Fruth Katie Stebbins More commentary on Creative Destruction: https://lnkd.in/g-vQpF9d

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"I don't even know what a venture capitalist does most of the time." - Tim Walz Here you go Tim: Zoom calls. Tech conferences. Pop by startup events for free drinks. Be part of the VC echo chamber on social media. Say no to entrepreneurs 99%+ of the time. Pick out new Patagonia vests. Touch base with the ghostwriter. "Add value" in board meetings. Pay it forward by giving a guest lecture to MBA students at the local business school. Dinners with LPs. Occasionally make an investment. Lunches with service providers. Get the latest gossip about the ecosystem in WhatsApp groups. Reach out to founders you previously ghosted when you hear a big name firm is now talking with them. Give some cookie cutter comments to tech journalists. Hear pitches from companies you'll certainly never invest in. Give long maybes instead of a quick no. Tell anyone who'll listen about how your portfolio will eventually be at least 3x. Blame market conditions for having no real DPI yet. Plan your next working holiday. The list goes on, but you get the gist. 😉

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Health tech founders: Are you tired of the endless fundraising cycle? Here's why your pitch deck isn't cutting it anymore and what you need to do instead: 🔔Ditch the generic investor outreach 🔔Leverage the Capital Readiness Scorecard 🔔Streamline due diligence (save 118+ hours!) 🔔Master every funding stage from pre-seed to Series C In today’s #LinkedinAudio event, we dive deep into the challenges and strategies of capital fundraising in health tech. Here's what you'll learn: 💰Why many startups get caught in a perpetual fundraising cycle 💰How to target the right investors and stand out from the crowd 💰The power of the Capital Readiness Scorecard in streamlining due diligence 💰Key strategies for successful fundraising at every stage Don't miss out on these game-changing insights! Tell us: What is one of the biggest frustrations when fundraising for your innovative solution? Can't make it to the Audio event? Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast app. It will be published on Sep 17th. See the specific link in the comments below. #HealthTech #Fundraising #StartupAdvice #CapitalReadiness

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🌱 For founders taking on venture debt, covenants are the fine print you cannot afford to ignore. 📃 They set the boundaries for how you can operate and manage your company’s finances. If you don’t play by these rules, the consequences can be pretty dire. It’s all about negotiating terms that align with your startup’s financial health. Be sure to read the original post by Kruze Consulting to get the full breakdown. Link in the 1st comment. 👇 #StartupFinance

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Why Fargo ND? I get this at least once a week. The reason… The lack of capital availability and quality deal flow in the upper Midwest. At BisonX we designed an ecosystem to start chipping away at this problem and keep the talent and ventures in the upper Midwest. -Too many founders take thier ideas to the coasts, tap into other ecosystems or outsource the talent to bigger “startup centric cities”. -I’ve been on panels and it’s the same VC firms and so may are stuck in traditional investing terms- no venture debt, small checks, not much capital in cycle -There are plenty of talented companies in the upper Midwest, but frankly we see the same companies at the same events. But… it’s starting to change and BisonX is right there in the fray! That’s why it’s important, and pay attention to Fargo and the upper Midwest. -More firms are opening up shop and targeting Midwest founders- BisonX’s answer was building an ecosystem for grants on through growth stage investments in sports, medicine and real estate -Founders are getting more vocal- showing up to events, wearing the Midwest badge and we have even helped relocate some companies to our 5 state region. In fact… we have seen so much that we are filled until the New Year. Since we are in the middle of it, if you have questions, need help, trying to open a firm/venture in the upper Midwest… Reach out! It’s growing and you should get involved!

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Big rounds are back. VC Funding is flowing. In April, there were 28 fundraising rounds announced with >$10M in funding. We've seen private market (pre-launch) deals valued >$3B recently. Private Markets are hot. Public Market comps (FDVs) are hot. But who will buy our multi-billion dollar bags? Deal Flow Digest April w/: - Recap of largest web3 funding rounds - Airtable with ALL the data - Hackathons & Demo Days - VC Fundraises Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g7V4KrAj

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Ok... I'll say it. Even when they say they will, investors rarely make introductions to other investors unless one or more of the following conditions are met: 1. The first investor has a strong personal relationship with you and is willing to use their reputational capital to vouch for you with the second investor. 2. The first investor has conducted a reasonable amount of due diligence on your deal and believes it would be relevant or intriguing to the second investor. 3. The first investor is either committed to investing in your company or is seriously contemplating doing so. So when you spam a hundred investors and some of them respond back with "hey, thanks for reaching out... not a fit for us", it's a questionable move to reply with, "yadda yadda, would be great if you would share our deal with other investors you know."

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📊 Founders, don't miss out on understanding your authorized shares. It’s not just about legal limits, but about saving significant tax dollars! 🎥 Check out the video and see how choosing the right method to calculate Delaware franchise taxes can benefit your startup. Link to the article in the original Kruze Consulting post. #Startups #VC #Finance #Taxes

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I have this rule where if I see/hear the same thing 3x in 1 week (ex. hear someone's name 3x, hear operators at diff co's are facing the same problem 3x, hear the same hot take 3x, etc)... then I carve out 3+ hrs & dive deep You have to notice repetition & action on it

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