While The Hatchery is the city’s newest hub of food entrepreneurship, it’s certainly not the first. familyfarmed has been leading in this space for more than 20 years. The organization is about to graduate its fifth cohort of the Good Food Accelerator, which includes partners like Whole Foods and KeHE. Meanwhile, familyfarmed’s Good Food Financing and Innovation Conference is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Taking what he’s learned to the next level, familyfarmed’s CEO and founder Jim Slama is partnering with other leaders to launch Naturally Chicago, a natural foods entrepreneurship program.

Similar to Slama, in 2015, the CEO of McDonald’s, Don Thompson, left his post to form Cleveland Avenue. Applying his expertise in the food space, Cleveland Avenue serves as both an accelerator and investment fund for some of the most innovative food startups, such as Beyond Meat and Farmer’s Fridge. Just last month, Cleveland Avenue led a $12 million round in San Francisco-based corporate catering startup ZeroCater.

Not all change makers are leaving the corporate world altogether to focus on food innovation, however. Rather, corporations are increasingly investing in food innovation and entrepreneurship themselves. For example, Chicago-based Mars-Wrigley’s President of Global Business Development Keith Levy oversees innovation and growth for the Mars-Wrigley Confectionary, which took a big stake in Kind in 2017. Mars also created a new food accelerator called Seeds of Change to help fast-track early-stage food businesses that are transforming how people eat.

Although many of these organizations are focused on supporting entrepreneurship in food innovation through physical spaces, many Chicago corporations focus their efforts on supporting outside food innovation through Chicago-based corporate venture capital (CVC) arms. Earlier this month, Kraft Heinz’s new CVC arm, Chicago-based Evolv Ventures, announced its first investment in a food startup. This $25 million Series C investment in San Francisco’s GrubMarket is significant and further illustrates that Chicago venture capital strengthens startups on the coasts, as well as those in our own ecosystem.

Similarly, while Tyson Foods is headquartered in Arkansas, the company opted to launch its CVC arm, Tyson Ventures, in Chicago in 2016. This $150 million fund was dedicated to innovation in agriculture technology, alternative protein sources, and other food sustainability practices that will help shape the future of food consumption. It also helped build on the momentum of Chicago’s strength in food-based entrepreneurship.

A more recent example of corporate investment was last month when Chicago’s Valor Equity Partners received a $100 million commitment from Starbucks to anchor the firm’s new food-focused fund. Valor, which invests heavily in technology and food based-companies like WowBao and Fooda, has been a steady hand in Chicago’s food venture scene.

Finally, Chicago also boasts traditional venture firms that are purely focused on food investing. S2G Ventures, which has offices both here and in California, invests in food and agriculture companies that innovate to meet the shifting consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food. Earlier this year, S2G led a $50 million round in Boston-based GreenLight BioSciences, a startup that develops RNA solutions for plants, animals, and humans without damaging the environment. The Managing Director of S2G is Chuck Templeton, the founder of Chicago’s OpenTable and one of the first Board Members of Grubhub.

Another key Chicago-based food and agriculture investment firm is Cultivian Sandbox Ventures. Like S2G, Cultivian is laser-focused on investing in companies that solve the need for increased food production and sustainability. Just this month, the firm announced that it had closed its third fund at a whopping $135 million, bringing their total raised to nearly $300 million. One of the startups that recently got investment from Cultivian is San Francisco-based Phylagen, a company that digitizes catalogues of dirt, soil, dust, and other materials that have unique genetic footprints impacting the colonies in which they live — and the food that grows around them.

With decades of support for entrepreneurs in the space, Chicago has proven itself to be a continually-growing hotbed of food innovation investment. From launching accelerators, to hosting industry conferences, to leading late-stage investment rounds from coast-to-coast, Chicago’s a driving force in increasing good-for-you and sustainable food that will help businesses new and old evolve to meet consumer — and planetary — needs.

Originally featured in Forbes.

There are a number of firms throughout Chicago that operate more under-the-radar while producing impressive returns to LPs, supporting exciting companies, and garnering the respect and recognition of their peers. In fact, many of these firms are setting an important standard for venture success by putting women at the forefront of their organizations. And while these Chicago-based firms may not be household names (yet), entrepreneurs and venture peers across the globe certainly know them well. In the interest of highlighting their remarkable work, here are 11 “under-the-radar” Chicago venture firms that drive both investor and entrepreneur excellence worldwide.

Adams Street Partners

Kicking off our list is Adams Street Partners. With more than $36 billion in assets under management for more than 400 pension plans, endowments, and other institutional investors, Adams Street is primarily known as a premier fund of funds. However, Adams Street is also in the growth equity business. Just last month, Adams Street led a $75 million Series E in London’s GoCardless, a local payment solution for global businesses, and the firm participated in a $43 million Series C round in PerimeterX, an Israeli-based cybersecurity startup. Earlier this year, their portfolio company TrendKite, which provides digital PR software solutions, was acquired by Cision, the leading provider of tools for marketing communications professionals around the world. The firm’s activity in both investments and exits this year alone signals its success in the VC world.

ARCH Venture Partners

Also receiving recognition in the VC world is ARCH Venture Partners. Just last month, the firm was named the 2019 Venture Firm of the Year Award by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).This NVCA honor is awarded to firms that foster entrepreneurial innovation and advance technology, and ARCH has certainly earned that distinction with portfolio companies like Seattle-based Juno Therapeutics. A cancer-fighting biotech company, Juno went public in 2014 and then in 2018 was acquired by Celgene for $9 billion. ARCH’s momentum is still strong; just this week, the firm led a $68 million Series B round in Boston-based Karuna Pharmaceuticals.

Baird Capital

Another firm that invests with an eye toward healthcare is globally-reaching firm Baird Capital. Baird has been a consistent investor across a host of industries, including technology, industrial solutions, and healthcare. One of the firm’s most recent investments was in Boston’s GreenLight Biosciences. GreenLight’s proprietary cell-free bio-production platform produces RNA-based solutions for agriculture and pharmaceutical applications. Baird participated in the startup’s $53 million Series C earlier this year.

Energize Ventures

Focusing on digital solutions that drive affordability, reliability, and security in the energy industry is woman-led firm Energize Ventures. The firm raised a $165 million fund last fall and has already made eight investments — three of those in 2019 alone. The startups Energize has empowered this year include Aurora Solar, the top software platform for distributed solar energy; Zededa, the leader in edge virtualization software; and Jupiter Intelligence, a provider of predictive data and analytics for climate risk. Energize led each company’s rounds, $20 million, $16 million, and $23 million, respectively.

Energy Foundry

Another energy-focused venture firm with a powerful woman Managing Director who is infusing capital into startups is Energy Foundry. Earlier this year, the firm led a $5.5 million Series A investment in NanoGraf Technologies, which makes longer lasting and faster charging batteries. Last November, Energy led a $9 million Series B in FLEx Lighting, which creates mobile device displays that use significantly less energy than what are used currently.

First Analysis

Boasting a 30+ year history with nearly $800 million deployed, one of the longest-standing venture firms in Chicago is First Analysis. First Analysis closed its 13th fund last summer, with $91 million of committed capital. The firm invests in environmental technology, healthcare, and software companies, such as Chrome River. Chrome River is an expense and invoice automation software company that streamlines organizations’ accounts payable processes. Just this month, the company merged with Certify in a transaction valued at over $1 billion.

Impact Engine

Another important Chicago player that recently received recognition by its venture peers is Impact Engine, a women-led impact investing fund that focuses on driving both financial and social returns. Last month, the firm was named to the global ImpactAssets50 list, which is an annual showcase of the impact firms that are investing in meaningful ways. One of Impact Engine’s most recent investments is CancerIQ, a startup that helps people identify and build health plans around their cancer risks.

Method Capital

Next on this list is the only firm that focuses primarily on the Midwest, Method Capital. Investing in the technology sector, the firm has seen two recent, successful exits by companies based here in Chicago. One was CityBase, a payment, analytics, and communication platform for cities and utility companies that was acquired last year by GTY Technology Holdings. The other recent exit was HighGround, an employee engagement and development platform that was acquired by YouEarnedIt, a Vista Equity portfolio company.

MK Capital

With offices in both Chicago and Ann Arbor, MK Capital invests nationally. Boasting a 25-year history of steady investments, MK primarily focuses on software and cloud service companies that are working to usher in the digital economy, such as high growth portfolio companies Llamasoft and Zefr. MK led both companies’ Series A rounds. While the firm infuses capital across the country, the partners fund great Chicago startups like Lightstream, which closed an $8 million round last month.

Sandbox

A venture firm that started in healthcare but has been steadily expanding is Sandbox Industries. The firm has three venture arms, including Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners, its original healthcare focus; Sandbox Insurtech Ventures, an InsureTech fund focused on helping people obtain better insurance coverage; and Cultivian Sandbox, a food and agriculture technology arm investing in improved industry sustainability. Just this month, Cultivian closed its third venture capital fund.

Tensility Venture Partners

The final firm on our list is Tensility Venture Partners, which is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm focused on AI-enabled enterprise software companies. Some of their key investment themes are cybersecurity, healthcare, and profit-optimization across industries where AI can significantly innovate and disrupt. The founding partners have invested in over 30 data-intensive startups and have seen two unicorn exits, including DocuSign and Duo Security. A Tensility portfolio company driving toward unicorn status is Anokiwave, a startup whose technology is playing a significant role in transitioning mobile consumers to 5G.

With steady investment hands across a wide variety of regions and industries, these Chicago-based firms are key players in supporting entrepreneurs worldwide. Although they may not constantly be in the Chicago venture limelight, they certainly brighten the paths of the entrepreneurs they serve, making it easier for them to find success. And they do all of this while making the venture community stronger, driving positive investment outcomes and with more women in the front seat.

Even better is the fact that these progressive and successful Chicago-based firms are not alone. There are many active angel investors, corporate VC firms, micro-VCs, and specialty sector VCs that are all driving innovation and contributing to the city’s strong venture capital ecosystem. I’ll feature many of them in future articles. While I can’t cover them all, you can learn about all of Chicago’s most active venture investors in PitchBook’s 2018 Chicago VC Ecosystem Report. Spoiler alert: Chicago’s investors are driving some of the best investment multiples in the country.

Originally featured in Forbes.

When thinking about the successes that we, as an ecosystem, can build upon, I was reminded of an entrepreneurial ecosystem where I continually see significant leadership among women: our fellow Midwestern city of Detroit. Although Quicken Loans CEO Dan Gilbert receives a great deal of recognition for driving the city’s economic resurgence (understandably so), there are a number of women whose initiatives are powerful winds behind Detroit’s sail. So in the spirit of highlighting successes and in honor of International Women’s Day, here are 10 women who are at the helm of fueling an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Detroit:

Talent Incubation

April Boyle, Founder & Executive Director of Build Institute

Kicking off our list is April Boyle, the Founder and Executive Director of Build Institute. Founded in 2012, Build Institute provides classes, events, funding, and mentorship to help aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful companies. April and her team are doing their part to foster a more equitable and inclusive entrepreneurial community in Detroit. More than 80% of their aspiring entrepreneurs are women, more than half are ethnic minorities, and nearly 75% come from low- to moderate-incomes. Build then helps these graduates launch companies through a small business microloan program, which has a 98% repayment rate.

Amy Kaherl, Director of Curation at Ponyride & Co-Founder of Detroit SOUP

Next on our list is Amy Kaherl, who helps run Ponyride, a Detroit non-profit focused on making success a realistic opportunity for all. Amy and the Ponyride team make Detroit’s space accessible to artists, non-profits, and entrepreneurs who are working on social missions. Their space offers resources, community, diversity, and collaboration to help make Detroit a better place to thrive in all aspects of life. Amy also co-founded Detroit SOUP, which is a community-driven microgranting dinner where Detroiters support fellow Detroiters in funding projects across a variety of sectors. Winners of these dinners have gone on to create non-profits, businesses, after-school initiatives, and more.

Amanda Lewan, Co-Founder & CEO of Bamboo Detroit

Also incubating talent is Amanda Lewan, the Co-Founder and CEO of Bamboo Detroit. Bamboo was the first co-working space in the heart of downtown Detroit and has been recognized as one of the country’s top shared office spaces. Bamboo’s entire mission is centered around fostering inclusive entrepreneurship and economic impact. Amanda and her team execute this by helping companies of various sizes to launch, learn, and expand in Detroit. And when those companies outgrow Bamboo, Bamboo connects them with partner resources that help companies secure spaces that will take them to the next level.

Capital

Patti Glaza, Managing Director of Invest Detroit Ventures

It’s not enough to simply have an idea and the talent to strategize it, of course; entrepreneurs often need capital to help them execute on their strategy. In recent years, Detroit’s capital has increased to support its entrepreneurs. A notable leader in this is Patti Glaza, the Managing Director of Invest Detroit Ventures, which has invested in more than 100 Michigan-based companies in the last eight years. Patti and the ID Ventures team focus on supporting Michigan’s high-technology startup ecosystem. They do this not only through venture capital funding but by managing the Hacker Fellows program, which connects software developers to Michigan startups, and the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which brings together key ecosystem stakeholders for the purpose of catalyzing entrepreneurial growth through both expert mentorship and capital.

Pamela Lewis, Director of New Economy Initiative

While Detroit has seen an influx of venture capital, there are other programs that infuse significant capital into the growing ecosystem as well. Pamela Lewis is the Director of the New Economy Initiative, which is a $159 million philanthropic program that drives inclusive entrepreneurship and small business growth in Southeast Michigan. Pamela and her team award grants to a wide array of initiatives, from small hackathons, to university research parks, to venture capital funds. NEI’s support of more than 100 organizations has in turn helped nearly 10,000 businesses in the region either start or scale their operations.

Monica Wheat, Managing Director of Backstage Capital Detroit

Working on a new initiative to drive venture capital to Detroit is Monica Wheat of Backstage Capital Detroit. Monica has a deep history of supporting inclusive entrepreneurship throughout the city. As the Diversity & Inclusion Advisor at Detroit coding bootcamp Grand Circus, which focuses on giving individuals of all backgrounds access to tech jobs, Monica has helped support tech diversity for many years. As such, it is no surprise that she would lead Backstage Capital’s new Detroit accelerator. Officially launching in Detroit next week, Monica and the Backstage team are strategically building a bridge between the Bay Area’s financial resources and the underrepresented entrepreneurs driving Detroit innovation.

Ecosystem Support

Olivia Guterson, AfroTech Organizer

In addition to those women working to increase Detroit entrepreneurs’ access to capital and talent resources, there are women leaders in the community who strategically work to support the region as a vibrant hub of innovation. One of them is Olivia Guterson, who organized the first ever AfroTech conference held outside of the Bay Area. AfroTech’s mission is to support the black tech community, and after attending its San Francisco conference in early 2018, Olivia strategized to host the event in Detroit just a few months later. A community builder, former startup employee, and artist, Olivia is on a mission to leverage Detroit’s strengths to make it the black tech capital of the country.

Emily Heintz, Founder & Managing Director of EntryPoint

Also supporting Detroit-based events (among other key initiatives) is Emily Heintz, the Founder and Managing Director of EntryPoint. EntryPoint’s mission is to promote inclusive entrepreneurship in Michigan. Although based in Ann Arbor, Emily and her team at EntryPoint have spent the last year putting a special emphasis on Detroit. They partnered with Invest Detroit to run the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which I mentioned above. EntryPoint also conducted a significant research study that culminated in the 2018 Detroit Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report. This report is the first of its kind for the city and allows investors, civic leaders, startup operators, and community supporters alike to better understand the entrepreneurial opportunities that exist in Detroit.

Lauren Hood, Community Development Consultant

In the same vein of supporting how people think about growing Detroit’s entrepreneurial community is community development consultant, Lauren Hood. A Detroit native, Lauren focuses on helping the city’s economy grow equitably by increasing awareness about how to enter Detroit thoughtfully and respectfully. Leveraging her expertise in both community engagement and economic development, Lauren empowers organizations to thoughtfully strategize how they can preserve the city’s rich heritage and build with the long-standing Detroit community, rather than displace it.

Jeanette Pierce, Founder & City Institute Director of Detroit Experience Factory

Also native to Detroit, Jeanette Pierce founded Detroit Experience Factory (DXF) with a goal of helping both Detroit locals and visitors have a deeper respect for and understanding of the city’s roots and growth. Jeanette and her team offer free, ticketed, and custom private tours that are led exclusively by Detroit local experts. These experts give attendees insight into the city’s rich history, its development, and how that development has impacted the local community. Of note is their Innovation tour, which takes attendees to some of Detroit’s most innovative hubs in order to highlight the city’s burgeoning entrepreneurial talent and traction.

Each of the women in this list contributes meaningfully and substantially to Detroit’s entrepreneurial resurgence in their own ways. What is special about them, however, is that they also work together. These leaders are helping Detroit build on its existing strengths through the collaboration of its talents, the sharing of its resources, and the common value of fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial community. They’ve had an undeniable impact on nurturing Detroit’s ecosystem of resources, and the city’s entrepreneurs — as well as our broader Midwest ecosystem — are better for their vision and leadership.

Originally featured in American Inno.

To give you a taste of why these VCs and their startups matter — not just in Chicago but to innovators and investors from coast to coast — here’s my overview of some of the region’s key VC players and an example deal from each of their portfolios. It’s important to note that there are several other under-the-radar Chicago VC firms as well, and I’ll cover them in the second part of this two-part series on VCs of Chicago.

7wire Ventures

A venture firm focused on healthcare, 7wire Ventures has a unicorn in its sights. Livongo Health, which received an $800 million valuation last April, combines data science with behavioral signals to help patients see a positive clinical impact on their chronic health conditions. Founded by Glen Tullman, the former CEO of Allscripts and Managing Partner at 7wire, the startup has a wealth of expertise in not only healthcare but in how to fuel startups to positive exits.

Chicago Ventures

Also creeping toward unicorn status is G2 Crowd, a very high-profile investment for Chicago Ventures. G2 Crowd closed a $55 million Series C last year to help expand the company worldwide. An enterprise software marketplace, the startup is a smart bet for Chicago Ventures. G2 Crowd has dual headquarters, one in the Bay Area, close to top tech talent and venture capitalists, and one in Chicago, close to a huge swath of Fortune 500 companies that can use G2 Crowd to evaluate software. Moreover, the company’s co-founder and CEO Godard Abel has ushered startups to positive exits before.

HPA

Another investment in a repeat entrepreneur is HPA’s backing of Catalytic. Like G2 Crowd’s Godard Abel and Livongo’s Glen Tullman, Catalytic CEO Sean Chou previously helped lead Fieldglass to a $1 billion exit. Catalytic develops people-friendly automation software that frees up humans from working on mundane processes to instead focus on value-add business contributions. Its recent $30 million Series B led by Intel and previous backers like NEA will allow the company to expand globally.

Hyde Park Venture Partners

Hyde Park Venture Partners has made some strong bets in Chicago’s logistics industry, most recently with FourKites. Just last month, the company closed a $50 million Series C round. HPVP was an early believer in FourKites and the company’s ability to achieve its aggressive growth plans. Moreover, FourKites is one of several Midwest-based startups that have received substantial dollars to innovate in the logistics industry.

Jump Capital

Jump Capital, which invests in a wide range of sectors including enterprise infrastructure and FinTech, kicked off the new year strong by co-leading a $20 million Series C investment in EdTech startup BenchPrep. A platform that allows educators and training program providers to create more engaging learning environments for students, BenchPrep is based in Chicago but also received strong support from coastal investors.

Lightbank

Founded by Groupon co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell (who’s also the CEO of Uptake), Lightbank continued to back Tempus. Lefkofsky is the CEO of Tempus, a unicorn that raised a $110 million Series E round last year and is now valued at $2 billion. The Chicago-based healthcare tech startup uses genomic sequencing technology to more successfully battle cancer and will use its new funding to expand to additional illnesses.

Listen Ventures

Also in the healthcare space, Listen Ventures was an early investor of Calm, an app that provides its users meditation techniques that increase mindfulness and help put a focus on mental health. Based in San Francisco, Calm is focused on leveraging technology to make the world healthier and happier. The startup, which reached unicorn status in its latest round announced last month, is a perfect match for Listen, which focuses on consumer products and goods that have a strong focus on branding.

MATH Venture Partners

In a similar “peace of mind” play, MATH Venture Partners recently backed IoT startup Jiobit. Jiobit allows parents to monitor their children’s — and pets’ — locations with a small tracking device and corresponding mobile app. A Chicago-based startup, Jiobit took on $6.5 million of new funding in November of last year.

OCA Ventures

Our last notable investment in the healthcare category is OCA Ventures’ backing of Regroup. Regroup is an integrated telehealth and telepsychiatry startup that is innovating to democratize mental healthcare. The company closed a $5.5 million round of funding last summer to make mental healthcare available to people everywhere via video conferencing.

Origin Ventures

Shifting gears entirely, Origin Ventures invested in social media marketplace startup Cameo last year. Cameo allows users to purchase personalized shoutout videos from their favorite musicians, actors, athletes, and influencers. While Cameo is one of Chicago’s sweetheart startups, the nature of its platform ensures that it has strong connections (including an office) in Los Angeles.

Pritzker Group Venture Capital

Chicago is among the top financial markets, so it’s no surprise that Pritzker Group Venture Capital, one of the city’s most active investors, would be keen on backing a top cryptocurrency startup, Coinbase. Coinbase, a San Francisco-based unicorn that trades digital currency, also opened a Chicago office, where it can grow a technology team in the heart of a strong financial market.

Valor Equity Partners

Finally, we have Valor Equity Partners, which led a $23 million Series C round in San Francisco-based Mode Analytics earlier in February. Mode allows those who rely heavily on data to easily collect, analyze, and share that data through a connected platform. Valor Equity Partners has invested heavily on the coasts, including in well-known, high-tech companies like Tesla and SpaceX.

These notable investments by some of Chicago’s top venture firms highlight the city’s deep strengths, such as healthcare, as well as its broad reach. It’s a strong sign of Chicago’s growing strength that a lot of our capital is being put to work in our own ecosystem and has reached the point of being able to strengthen Bay Area companies as well.

Note: Several of the companies associated with each venture capital firm have received investment from other firms on the list as well. For example, HPA invested in FourKites and Regroup as well.

Originally featured in Forbes.

Among that list are 11 Midwest companies that are not only top in the region but leaders in the world. G2 Crowd’s CMO Ryan Bonnici spoke of these companies’ strength, saying “Since G2 Crowd is headquartered in the Midwest, we hear about these companies all the time and certainly think they’re impressive. Nevertheless, it’s amazing to see them win so many awards, which is clear evidence that their customers love them and recognize their value as well. We don’t pick the winners. Real customers and users do, which is a real statement to the quality of their software.”

Marketing

More than one-third of the Midwest software companies that received Best Software Awards operate in the marketing space, and all of those companies call Chicago home.

Raking in four awards on G2 Crowd’s list is Chicago-based ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign brings together three fundamental marketing tools: email newsletters, marketing automation, and a sales CRM. The result is human interaction maximized by automated marketing that drives personalized customer experiences at scale. Given their ability to help companies expand their customer communications leanly, it’s no surprise that ActiveCampaign has earned the favor of small-to-medium businesses.

Also driving marketing innovation is Sprout Social, which streamlines social media management and provides deeper insights into customer interests. A late stage startup, Sprout Social closed a $40.5 million Series D round last month, which it will use to further deepen its platform abilities and expand into new markets. Customers already find great value in what Sprout Social offers, however; the company was listed among the Top 50 Products for Marketing.

The third Midwest marketing company that earned G2 Crowd awards is digital media platform Centro. Centro allows customers to manage their digital marketing planning, reporting, and financials in a single, comprehensive place. Founded in 2001, Centro grew up in the digital age and has been deeply embedded in the digital media and digital marketing evolution. This expertise earned the company two different Best Software Awards.

Finally, the Midwest company that took home the most G2 Crowd awards was Cision. An established pillar in public relations, Cision creates public relations distribution and monitoring software. Headquartered in Chicago, the company received five separate awards for how its products help businesses target and engage their audiences.

Employee Support

Another sector in which Midwest leaders emerge is employee support software.

Indianapolis startup Lessonly is a leader in the team development and training space. The company’s learning management software helps companies to onboard new employees and get them up-to-speed quickly and efficiently. Lessonly has raised modest venture capital — and the company has put that capital to good use. The startup received a Top 50 Fastest Growing Products award, as well as a Top 50 SMB Products award.

Boasting a longer history supporting back office human resource operations is Chicago-area’s Paylocity. Paylocity has transformed the HR software market by combining both technology and services into a one-stop solution for companies. The company, which went public in 2014, has been a consistent force in Chicago’s tech ecosystem. It received three awards on G2 Crowd’s list, including Top 100 Software companies.

Employee Productivity

While Midwest companies are driving innovation in employee support at the HR level, they also shine in driving employee productivity. Notably, some of these companies have been anchors in their spaces for a long time.

Newer to the group is Chicago’s Basecamp. While the company was originally a web design consultancy, it has since transformed to produce tools that facilitate project management and team communication. Its flagship product, which eventually became the company’s namesake, helps teams to work cohesively and transparently. Basecamp received a place on the Top 100 Software Companies list.

Okemos, Michigan’s TechSmith was founded in the 1980s and develops video editing software Camtasia and screen capturing and screencasting software SnagIt, the latter of which got the company placed on G2 Crowd’s Top 100 Software Products list. The company was also listed among the Top 100 Software Companies. These are both remarkable accomplishments, particularly in a small city that doesn’t boast a huge tech talent pool.

An even older mainstay on the employee productivity list is the Chicago-area’s Cleo. Founded in the 1970s, like TechSmith, Cleo has weathered the tech booms and busts — and remained strong. The company develops a cohesive integration platform that allows small- and medium-sized businesses to connect their data across various systems. Their ability to do this exceptionally well earned them an award in the Top 50 Mid-Market Products.

Agency Support

The final area in which Midwest software companies scored high based on consumer recognition is in agency support.

One of those companies is Chicago’s BigTime, which produces time tracking and invoicing software to help agencies and professional service firms accurately track and bill for their time. The company was founded in 2002 and pivoted their entire customer base to a SaaS model to keep up with the transforming digital business landscape. The disruption to the customer base seems to be a challenge that the company successfully met, however. Their customer recognition earned them two G2 Crowd awards, including Top 50 SMB Products.

Last but certainly not least is a Chicago-based company that innovates in the insurance agency space. Applied Systems offers a variety of products to help connect companies that operate in insurance, a space in which Chicago has shown innovation. Applied System’s tools empower insurance agencies to access better data, communicate with stakeholders, and create greater customer value. The company’s product Epic earned a place on the Top 50 SMB Products list.

The strengths that these Midwest companies bring to their products are earning the respect and commitment of customers around the world. In turn, these companies further reinforce the Midwest as meaningful — and top performing — players in the tech ecosystem. The next step is to not let our feet off the gas pedals, so that we see even more Midwest companies on G2 Crowd’s lists in 2020.

Originally featured in Forbes.

6. Wisconsin

Coming in at number 6, the largest VC investment in Wisconsin was in Propeller Health, with a $20 million round, led by AptarGroup, with participation from Safeguard Scientifics, Social Capital, Hikma Ventures, 3M Ventures, and SR One. The company planned to use the money to expand its medical treatments beyond asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Just last month, however, Propeller was acquired by ResMed, a company that supports millions of people who suffer from respiratory disease. The addition of Propeller Health will help position ResMed as leaders in COPD patient management.

5. Indiana

Ahead of Propeller Health is Indiana’s Scale Computing, which according to an SEC filing closed $21 million of a strategic funding round in October. Scale Computing uses machine virtualization and data analysis to help IT administrators scale their operations. This latest round was led by Lenovo. The companies are strategically working together in direct competition with VMware.

4. Michigan

The largest VC deal in Michigan last year was an investment in Detroit-based StockX, a stock market of authenticity-guaranteed goods, like rare sneakers, watches, and designer clothes. StockX closed a $44 million round of funding that was co-led by Google Ventures and Battery Ventures. Also participating in the deal were Detroit Venture Partners and notable individuals like Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, rapper Eminem, and actor Mark Wahlberg.

3. Ohio

Cracking the nine-figure mark is Columbus, Ohio’s Root Insurance. Root closed a $100 million Series D round in August that was led by Tiger Global, with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and others. Root uses machine learning to develop personalized insurance quotes based on individuals’ driving behavior and has received a great deal of investor interest. In addition to the $100 million round in August, the company closed a $51 million round in March.

2. Illinois

In second place is Chicago’s Tempus Labs, which raised a $110 million Series E round last August. Tempus uses machine learning and health care data to provide actionable medical insights that drive better outcomes for individual patients. Baillie Gifford led the round, with participation from existing investors NEA, T. Rowe Price, and Revolution Ventures. The company plans to the use the investment to expand into non-U.S. markets and provide insights about other diseases. Tempus had previously announced an $80 million round of funding in March, bringing its total 2018 funding to $190 million.

1. Minnesota

Finally, at $200 million, the largest VC deal the Midwest saw in 2018 was Minnesota’s Bright Health. Bright Health is transforming the U.S. health insurance and health care industries by making them both more affordable and more accessible to individuals. Declaration Partners and Meritech Capital were new investors in this round, which included renewed backing from Bessemer Venture Partners, Greycroft, NEA, and Redpoint Ventures. The company will use the money to expand its offering to more markets and accelerate business growth.

The major investments we saw in these startups in 2018 further reinforce the Midwest’s expertise in industries like health care, insurance, and marketplaces. It will be interesting to see what these companies — and others emerging and gaining traction in the Midwest — do in 2019.

Originally featured in VentureBeat.

We are witnessing an interesting and exciting shift in how technology influences consumer behavior. Consumers are moving from looking at their fitness performance and nutrition retroactively to leveraging advancements in technology to proactively improve their health and performance in real-time. And the Midwest is right in the heart of it.

Livongo, which is dually-located in Chicago and the Bay Area, uses aggregated and analyzed health data to provide insights that help those with chronic health conditions to live better and healthier lives. The company’s pioneering of what it terms “Applied Health Signals” has attracted the attention of major investors. General Catalyst, which invested in fitness class app ClassPass, and Kinnevik co-led the company’s $105 million Series E round earlier this year.

In addition to strengthening the company’s growth through financial capital, Livongo strategically acquired Chicago-based startup RetroFit earlier this year. RetroFit leverages technology to provide personalized, holistic weight management solutions for individuals and employment groups.

While many fitness technology companies seek to help consumers lose weight, Bulk, a Michigan-based startup, creates tailored workout programs and meal plans for those with no prior fitness experience to gain muscle. Using AI that learns individuals’ eating and training behaviors, Bulk recommends workout adjustments to users in real-time. Bulk is very early, but it has already received in-market attention through the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and other Midwest startup events.

Getting its start as a fitness-supporting app, Chicago’s Rise harnesses the science behind sleep to give you insights into how you can improve your sleep tonight to ensure excellent performance tomorrow. Rise pioneered its approach to sleep with elite athletes, ensuring that they receive the necessary rest to perform their best. The company is now expanding its expertise and applications to the busy professional.

Expanding beyond fitness is Chicago’s health technology startup higi. higi has deployed more than 11,000 smart and connected kiosks across the country to allow users to affordably and conveniently understand and improve their health. higi’s kiosks are located in grocery stores, pharmacies, and other public locations that enable individuals to easily, accurately, and securely check basic health vitals like blood pressure, heart rate, and BMI. higi users can measure their health trends and track activity in the higi mobile app, which also allows them to connect, share, and compete with others. Healthcare-focused investors like Flare Capital Partners, 7wire Ventures, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners have all thrown money behind higi’s growth — to the tune of more than $60 million.

It’s exciting to see health technology startups expand beyond simple food- and step-tracking apps into increasingly-robust analytical apps that have a more direct impact on human behavior. It’s even more exciting to see so much of that health innovation happening right here in our own backyard. If you have a health resolution for the new year, chances are that there’s a Midwest-based startup whose technology can support your goals.

Originally featured in Forbes.

1. Marketplaces remain one of the strongest tech sectors

Cameo may be the first social media marketplace in the Midwest, but it is certainly not the first marketplace startup to get traction. Chicago in particular has a storied history in successful marketplace plays like Cars.com, Apartments.com, and Groupon. Moreover, several repeat founders are building marketplace startups that saw significant traction and funding in 2018.

Among those startups is Grubhub cofounder Mike Evans’ new company Fixer, an on-demand handyman service marketplace that raised $4 million this year, led by Founder Collective. Sam Yagan, who founded OkCupid (which was acquired by Match.com), returned to lead ShopRunner, a marketplace that connects top retailers to online shoppers. Last month, ShopRunner announced its $30 million funding, which was led by August Capital. Another major marketplace funding this year went to enterprise software marketplace startup G2 Crowd, which raised a $55 million series C led by IVP. The founders of G2 Crowd previously founded Big Machines and Steelbrick, which were acquired by Oracle and Salesforce respectively.

The Midwest’s marketplace traction is not exclusive to Chicago, however. Michigan’s StockX, a marketplace for buying and selling items like sneakers and watches, received a $44 million round of funding, which is one of the 10 largest rounds the Midwest saw this year.

As one of the Midwest’s original technology strengths, marketplace success and future exits in this sector should be ongoing for the years to come.

2. Health care gets even hotter

As in 2017, health care continues to be another popular area for investment in the Midwest. In fact, of the top 50 funding rounds in the Midwest this year, 29 were in health care companies creating new technology for managing health care, new drugs, and/or new treatment methodologies.

We see this activity across different stages of success. The first- and third-largest 2018 funding deals in health care went to Chicago-based Tempus, which in total raised nearly $200 million this year (with rounds led by Baillie Gifford and T. Rowe Price, respectively) to collect and analyze large volumes of molecular and clinical data. Indiana’s On Target Laboratories, which uses targeted fluorescent dyes to improve outcomes in cancer surgeries, closed a $44 million round of funding. On the earlier side of the fundraising spectrum is Michigan’s BlueWillow Biologics, which develops vaccines that are designed to prevent respiratory disease. BlueWillow raised a $10 million series A this year, led by North Coast Technology Investors.

While these investments are key in signaling the Midwest’s strength in health care, what solidifies it is the clip of big health care exits that we saw this year. Pharmacann, a medical cannabis cultivation center in Chicago, was acquired by MedMen for $682 million. Minnesota’s NxThera, which developed a urological medical device, was also acquired for $406 million.

Among these exits were also a couple of health care IPOs in Chicago. Aptinyx, which develops drugs for disorders of the brain and nervous system, saw an IPO valued at $509 million. Xeris Pharmaceuticals, which innovates in injection therapies, had an IPO of $315 million.

Home to some of the best hospitals in the country, the Midwest is a prime location for continued health care investment. As more of these companies gain traction, I anticipate that the Midwest will see even more health care exits and emerging startups in the months and years to come.

3. Logistics keeps on truckin’

With a strong history of logistics expertise and success in companies like CH Robinson and Echo Global Logistics, it is not surprising that the middle of the country continues to drive innovation in how objects move throughout the world.

Three of the largest rounds of funding raised by Chicago startups were in logistics this year. Top VCs across the country are looking to the Midwest for innovation in this space, and they have found it. Project44 closed a $45 million round led by OpenView, ShipBob* closed a $40 million led by Menlo Ventures, and FourKites* closed a $35 million round led by August Capital. Project44 and FourKites are innovating on end-to-end predictive supply chain visibility, while ShipBob enables small to medium business to offer Amazon Prime-like shipping speeds to their customers.

While the Midwest has not seen a major logistics exit since Coyote Logistics’ $1.8 billion acquisition in 2015 by UPS, we can surely anticipate new — and potentially big — movement in this space in the coming years.

4. Big bets on enterprise software continue

The enterprise software market continues to innovate and expand, with new startups helping businesses to optimize their operations and create more successful work environments. With that innovation — and the Midwest’s close proximity to a huge swath of Fortune 500 companies — has come notable funding.

Indiana’s Scale Computing, which uses virtualization and data analysis to help IT administrators scale their operations, closed a $21 million round that was led by Lenovo. That was one of the largest rounds, but machine learning is a key driving force behind the next wave of enterprise software in the Midwest.

On the forefront of this machine learning wave are Chicago’s Catalytic* and Logicgate. Both startups closed rounds in 2018. Catalytic’s was led by NEA, while Logicgate’s was led by Jump Capital and High Alpha Capital. These startups’ new funding will help them further enable businesses to leverage automation that improves and scales company performance.

The largest enterprise exit this year was Ceridian, a Minnesota-based human resources software platform that had an IPO valued at $2.8 billion. Notable among enterprise acquisitions this year is Michigan’s Duo Security, which creates enterprise cybersecurity software. Cisco acquired Duo for $2.35 billion, taking Michigan’s first unicorn startup and turning it into the Midwest’s largest acquisition of 2018 — and one of the largest startup acquisitions in the country this year. Chicago also saw an acquisition in this space. CloudCraze was acquired (for an undisclosed amount) by Salesforce, which is looking to expand its Chicago presence and become one of the city’s largest offices.

5. Consumers drive new insurance models

While just six funding rounds in the Midwest this year went to the insurance technology sector, three of them were among the top ten deals. This signals an emerging Midwest trend in insurance technology — in how consumers purchase insurance and in how much they pay for it.

Like Tempus in the health care sector, two of those large rounds went to a single unicorn: Ohio’s Root. Root is an automotive insurance startup that uses mobile device analytics and data science to weed out high-risk drivers and provide coverage only for good drivers, who in turn get more affordable insurance rates.

The Midwest’s insurance innovation is not exclusive to the automotive industry, however. Minnesota’s Bind offers on-demand health insurance, which captured the interest of investors to the tune of a $70 million funding round this year.

While we have not yet seen insurance technology exits in the Midwest, the increasing rate of venture capital funding going to insurance startups in the Midwest is promising for future success. American Family Insurance, based in Wisconsin, recently led a $11.5 million round in Chicago’s *Clearcover, Meanwhile, Chicago’s Kin Insurance, which allows people to purchase homeowners insurance with less friction, raised a $13 million round over the summer.

There is good reason to believe that this trend will root itself in the Midwest for some time.

* indicates my firm, Hyde Park Angels, is an investor

Originally featured in VentureBeat.

The leadership committee that the city assembled for the Amazon bid included many of the same leaders who are at the helm of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club’s P33 initiative, which endeavors to make Chicago a top global innovation hub by 2033. These leaders — who include former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, repeat entrepreneur Chris Gladwin (whose company Cleversafe was acquired by IBM for $1.3B), and former General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce Kelly Welsh — are strategizing how to collectively apply their respective expertise and success for the greater good of the community. If successful, their strategy will lift all boats — including their own — in the end.

What’s unique about P33’s leadership is that these individuals are intimately familiar with the Amazon bid — and loss. This gives them an advantage in setting up P33 for success. They can take what they learned about Chicago’s challenges, create a plan to overcome those challenges, and then leverage their leadership and positions of power to galvanize the city around stronger programs and policies that will make Chicago a global hub that both retains and attracts the world’s best people and companies. But they cannot achieve this alone, and P33’s leaders know it.

They have assembled an expert team to help engage all of the key stakeholders that are necessary in order for an undertaking of this magnitude to achieve a successful outcome. The team includes nation-leading academics, top venture capitalists (myself included), industry experts from the private sector, policymakers, and top technological talent.

These are the people behind some of Chicago’s most successful (or equally-promising) initiatives and programs. This expert group now has the opportunity to collaborate with each other, to identify both synergies and challenges across the initiative, and to use those findings to accelerate Chicago’s innovation in a way that is inclusive, equitable, and creates a strong and thriving technological ecosystem.

While becoming a global technology hub by 2033 is an aggressive goal, the people of Chicago have every reason to believe that it’s doable. Not only does the city have leadership that can guide the initiative toward success; the city already has a strong foundation to build on.

Last year, Chicago saw the most corporate expansion and relocation projects in the country. The city is second in the nation for number of undergraduate computer science degrees. It’s home to the country’s third-largest collection of Fortune 500 companies. At $651 billion, the city has the fourth-highest gross regional product in the nation. And notably, Chicago’s startup growth rate is the fifth-highest in the nation.

It’s not enough to have a strong foundation to facilitate growth, however. In order to feel confident in what’s possible for the city’s future, the people of Chicago should also want to see past and present success among those who are leading the P33 charge. The good news is that they can. These individuals are already helping to put Chicago on a global stage and realize the city’s full potential.

Earlier this year, the city — with help from P33 co-chairs — began a collaboration with Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build a high-speed transit tunnel between O’Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago. The goal is to help people affordably get from the most-connected airport in the country to the city’s economic heartbeat in 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s universities are bridging the gaps between academia and industry in order to catalyze entrepreneurship. For example, the University of Illinois launched its Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) last year. The vision of DPI is to bring together thousands of academics, industry experts, and students to foster a multidisciplinary innovation hub that solves large-scale problems across the globe. The potential this has — for creating entrepreneurs, connecting them to established corporations, and both attracting and retaining the nation’s top talent — is enormous.

In the midst of all of this collaboration and innovation in Chicago is a changing of the governmental guard that has the opportunity to support the P33 initiative at the highest level. A notable community builder and supporter of entrepreneurs, Governor-elect JB Pritzker was instrumental in the launch and support of 1871, which in just a few years earned the ranking of the number one business incubatorin the world. Pritzker understands the importance of supporting bold innovation initiatives. He and the future mayor of Chicago have the unique opportunity to build on what Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already done to move the city to a place where innovation and technological leadership can thrive.

Finally, when considering the potential for P33’s success, it’s worth noting that Chicago has a history of undertaking enormous projects and executing them. In fact, P33 it is not the first time the Chicago Civic Committee itself has collaborated to make the city a beacon of global innovation. P33 gets its namesake from the 1933 World’s Fair, when the city earned the title of “World’s Brightest Spot.” Leading up to that accomplishment in the early 1900s was a Civic Committee collaboration called the Burnham Plan, which sought to make Chicago a beautiful place to live and work and to improve its viability as a hub of commerce.

So while Amazon HQ2 would have been an exciting win for Chicago, Chicago is nothing if not resilient. Unique among all of the Amazon HQ2 location hopefuls, Chicago’s leaders are already working together to arrive at an even bigger solution. If this leadership takes advantage of the opportunity, rises to the occasion, and collaborates effectively for the greater good of our ecosystem, Chicago will be positioned for far greater success than Amazon alone could have ever ushered in.

This is one of the largest rounds in Chicago this year, which led me to consider: What are some of the factors driving investor confidence in G2 Crowd?

Market Opportunity & Success

As I mentioned above, G2 Crowd is tackling a $3.7 trillion market opportunity, and they’ve established strong traction in that market. Enterprises are digitizing their operations, and with that comes wasteful spending on underused software as well as lost productivity due to unreliable or underperforming software.

Enter G2 Crowd, which built a trust framework for businesses to discover and vet software solutions, similarly to how Amazon helps consumers vet products. With over 500,000 verified customer reviews about nearly 60,000 products, the company’s proprietary algorithm captures real-time qualitative data about product user satisfaction and usability (among other factors). The result for G2 Crowd is that traffic to their enterprise technology marketplace has more than doubled year over year. This up-and-to-the-right growth is sure to get the attention of any investor, and G2 Crowd has earned that.

Experienced Team

While G2 Crowd certainly seems to have found a great market opportunity, investors look for the right team to meet that market need, and they’ve found that at G2 Crowd. G2 Crowd’s founding team — Godard Abel, Tim Handorf, Mark Myers, Mike Wheeler, and Matt Gorniak — certainly understand their market. They were co-founders and entrepreneurs together at BigMachines, which Oracle acquired in 2013. Abel and Gorniak then went on to co-found Steelbrick, which Salesforce acquired in 2015.

These founders’ deep understanding of the products that G2 Crowd now evaluates (including the founders’ very own software from previous companies) — as well as their expertise in serving their enterprise customer market — is key to their ability to grow the business successfully. Moreover, the fact that G2 Crowd isn’t the founding team’s first time together at the helm of growing a successful startup gives investors good cause to be confident in their ability to see a successful outcome again.

Location Strategy

Perhaps the least-apparent factor working in G2 Crowd’s favor with investors is the fact that the company has two headquarters: one in Chicago and the other in San Francisco, allowing them to capture the best of both worlds. Home to successful startups like Grubhub, Groupon, and Raise, Chicago’s strongest sector is online marketplaces. Having an office in Chicago puts G2 Crowd in the epicenter of experienced marketplace talent. Additionally, given that the Great Lakes Region is home to a huge swath of Fortune 500 companies, G2 Crowd’s Chicago office puts the team close to its target customers and a talent pool that has sold to them at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, and others that have a significant presence in Chicago.

Meanwhile, having a major presence in San Francisco is not to be diminished. With a headquarters in the Bay Area, G2 Crowd is able to tap into a wealth of tech talent. However, it also puts the company close to the major investors that have helped it scale as it’s matured. IVP, Accel, and Emergence Capital are all in the Bay Area. With offices in both cities, G2 Crowd is able to build both the depth and breadth of talent and resources to fuel and support the company’s success. The strength of that network is powerful, particularly when an investor evaluates a team’s ability to scale a business through its later stages.

While investors can never fully predict the outcome of a startup, to the G2 Crowd team’s credit, their strategy thus far has worked in their favor. Those of us in the Chicago ecosystem are looking forward to what the company does next and how it leverages this new round of funding. After all, every startup success in the ecosystem further fuels the success of the ecosystem itself.