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Research: State Funding Report for the Silicon Prairie
2018 was a terrific year for the Silicon Prairie regarding venture dollars deployed. More than $6.1B was deployed in the region. While the number of companies receiving funds was about 8% lower (approximately 1450 companies were venture backed in the region), the amount of funding was up more than 34.5% from 2017 to 2018. Thus,…
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Precision Farming Startup Receives Funding
Winnebago, Minnesota-based AgTech-startup, Aker Technologies (formerly Leading Edge Technologies), announced on August 27th that it has raised equity financing of $2.6M to further develop its crop diagnostics and analytics platform, specifically its TrueCause™ and Aker Pest Network™ services. The company also recently set up offices in Creve Coeur, Missouri, part of Greater St. Louis, to…
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Join Pipeline, Change Your Entrepreneurial Trajectory
Today, August 28th, the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship is opening its application for 2020 fellows. Pipeline is the premier networking, mentoring, and entrepreneurial encouragement program in the Midwest. It has effectively helped build a network throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. In so doing, Pipeline has helped, inspired, networked, and shaped individual entrepreneurs that have collectively created…
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St. Louis Company Raises $13+ million
Capacity raised $13.2 million from Midwest investors. The company has a strong pedigree with the co-founders each having successful ventures, including a large exit. However, the firm went about this differently. They had their 50+ employees help in the fundraising efforts by arming each employee with the pitch and presentation. This is an unusual strategy…
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Benson Hill Biosystems continues strong fundraising efforts
In early August 2019, Benson Hill Biosystems filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the firm had raised $32 million in incremental funds. This fundraising filing follows a November filing of a $65 million raise, including regional funds – Mercury Fund, iSelect Ventures, and Lewis & Clark Ventures. The company provides a variety…
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First fundings research report
In talking to Jessica Straus, Dundee Venture Capital’s new Venture Partner, it occurred to me that we should write an update on first fundings in what Straus called the “mighty middle”. This paper describes first fundings. First fundings are a recordation of companies that raise capital for the first time. This paper uses Pitchbook data…
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Compat.io: cloud-based software increasing revenue and margins of businesses
Compat.io, a Springfield, Missouri based company, recently raised $890K in late June. The purpose of the funding was to help the one-year-old company generate revenue and was completed by an individual angel investor. Compat.io improves the omnichannel retail experience by providing highly accurate product recommendations that increase per-transaction revenue and reduce the costs of product…
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Healium: powering virtual worlds with the brain
StoryUP, the makers of a virtual stress relief product called Healium, has made some serious headway recently. The Missouri-based startup was selected from a pool of 5,000 applicants from 120 different countries to present at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the Hague in the Netherlands June 3-5. “We were delighted to be selected and even…
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Flywheel’s New Owner: About WP Engine
Flywheel is an Omaha-based startup that has helped designers create, build, host, and manage WordPress sites. The deal was described as the largest of its type in the WordPress industry in a press release by the acquiring company – WP Engine.
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QA with Paul Jarrett: Moving forward and his ‘aha’ moment that led to Bulu’s success
Bulu, Inc. has been in the news recently with announcements of private label Subscription Boxes for some major clients. Co-Founder Paul Jarrett recently moderated a panel of big brand representatives at SubSummit, a three-day conference in New Orleans devoted to connecting and growing the Subscription Box industry. SPN caught up with Bulu CEO & Co-Founder,…