What's Next For VentureNext
This spring, we convened the VentureNext membership for a ‘What’s Next For VentureNext’ discussion. Executive Co-Chair, Liz Todia, and I presented some background on the community and our vision for the community moving forward. We believe that this community has the potential to change the landscape for venture capital in the Midwest by making the industry more inclusive, collaborative and diverse.
History
VentureNext began in 2017 in collaboration with Venture Ohio as a group of up-and-coming venture capital investors in the state of Ohio. This group would regularly convene to share Ohio-based deals and learn about the best practices of early-stage investing.
Quickly after launch, VC’s from other states began joining into the deal flow calls. VentureNext officially expanded throughout the Midwest and quickly has become a premiere community for venture investors in the Midwest. To-date, we have accomplished the following:
· Grown membership to over 200 individual members in 26 states, across 138 venture funds representing over $40B in management – all with a focus on Midwestern early-stage investing
· Through our mentorship program, matched 40 mentees with mentors
· Shared over 1,000 deals on our monthly deal flow calls
· Held educational sessions around raising a first-time fund and personal branding in VC
· Aided in the syndication of numerous venture rounds for some of the Midwest’s most successful start-ups
What’s Next?
In building on the success to date, the mission for VentureNext is to elevate Midwestern VC’s and start-ups through the power of community, collaboration and capital. Over the next 18 months, we hope to accomplish three overarching goals to fulfill this mission:
1) Continue to explore new ways to deliver value to members
On this front, VentureNext is officially organizing as a non-profit entity so that we can expand the possibilities of increasing events, touch points among members and engagement with start-ups. In the short-term, we have launched our quarterly newsletter to keep members updated on all things VentureNext and our Programming chairs are in the process of organizing an annual summit on October 27th in Indianapolis.
2) Empower members to engage and reap the benefits of the community
While our Executive Committee is continually working hard to explore new ways that VentureNext can deliver value to members, we want all members to feel empowered to organize and collaborate with VentureNext on anything they are working on, or anything they might want to make happen. We have ideas around expert-led sessions, hosting office hours for start-ups, organizing localized IRL events; but if any members want to organize or lead an effort on behalf of the group, the door is always open to engaging with any of our Executive Committee members on that front.
3) First close on VentureNext Midwest Fund I
VentureNext has launched its inaugural VentureNext Midwest Fund. The goal of the fund is to leverage the power of community and collaboration to invest in the best deals across the Midwest. The fund will provide VentureNext a vehicle to syndicate investments with member funds and will provide community members and opportunity to work with peers across the region, expand their networks and continue to hone in on best practices in VC. We have a number of community members who have already signed on to be advisors to the fund and help with due diligence and portfolio support.
On behalf of the entire Executive Committee, we thank you all for being an integral part of a collaborative and supportive community. We look forward to building with you all and making the Midwest a world-renowned tech hub.