We’ve rounded up a few team predictions for the Midwest in 2023. 🔮 Here are a few hot 🔥 takes with what the M25 team is expecting to happen this year.
Victor: I’m predicting a decline in mega-rounds, unicorn creation and a 50% drop (or more) in VC dollars Y/Y.
For a more positive prediction, I think we’ll see an increase in funding rounds for vertical SaaS companies for ‘antiquated’ or ‘traditional’ industries that the Midwest traditionally thrives in — manufacturing, agriculture, supply chain, auto, healthcare, etc.
Mike: Securing lead investors will be more important than previous years as non-lead investors will be less willing to join party rounds or rounds where the company sets terms.
Abhinaya: We will see more flywheel founders niche down within an industry focused on building painkillers, not vitamins.
Katie: I’m predicting increased investment in the Midwest region with more outside investment. We’ll see a unicorn in St. Louis and an agtech unicorn somewhere in the region.
Leandro: Rise of new wave of angel investors in major Midwest ecosystems by founders with acquisitions in the last 2 years that’ll invest in new founders raising <$500K “friends and family” rounds for their new startups.
The Midwest startup community will embrace their industrial roots and launch/fund companies serving manufacturers, transporters, the trades, etc.
The nation’s VC ecosystem attitude towards “responsible growth” being cool now will draw even more non-Midwest based investor’s interest to the historically capital efficient Midwest founders that have been executing at the Seed+ and later stages.
Spurned by post 2021’s and macro environment’s impact on revenue multiples, valuations, and paper gains, it’ll become more common for founders to take some chips off the table through secondaries when raising Seed+ and later rounds.
Have any predictions for the ecosystem this year? Let us know.
