The 2021 Midwest Venture Showcase, a partnership between the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) and InvestMidwest, will showcase 57 companies actively seeking funding to an audience of top-tier investors, entrepreneurs, researchers and business executives at the virtual event on April 27 to 28, 2021.
The Midwest companies in the Showcase span the life sciences, medical device, agriculture/food and tech industries. Of the 57 companies, 37 are seeking seed stage funding and 20 are seeking Series A/B funding. The companies hail from 15 states, including Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Alabama, Nebraska and Pennsylvania.
The virtual event will also feature 20 to 25 Tech Transfer spinouts from top research universities seeking pre-seed and seed funding. Participating universities include University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, University of Chicago, University of Louisville, University of Minnesota, Wayne State University and Western Michigan University.
The Showcase kicks off on April 27 with a morning keynote conversation with Darren Cohen, co-head of Growth Equity in the Merchant Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. Following the keynote will be an exciting lineup of panels on the benefits of investing in the Midwest, the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in investing, and a special profile featuring Midwest unicorns.
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Company pitches in Life Science, Medical Devices, Tech, and Food/Ag tracks will take place in the afternoon. Presenting companies’ innovations include:
- An agriculture tech company that reduces the labor shortage in the livestock industry and improves animal well-being through the fusion of cutting edge technology and farmer common sense
- The market leader at interpreting genetic data to determine the biological dysfunction driving a patient’s chronic condition and aligning therapy to restore function
- A medical device company transforming the dental experience by identifying and treating pre-cavities earlier, eliminating the need for painful and invasive dental procedures later
- The first smart lock company to offer a unique solution to OEMs by offering white labeled smart locks and seamless software integration into existing smart home platforms
On April 28, the morning includes talks from several sponsors, ranging from Julie Harris, Bank of America’s head of Global Banking Digital Strategy, to panels from CBIZ, Husch Blackwell and Canada. The Tech Transfer pitches are held in the afternoon.
“We’re excited to bring together this mix of speakers and companies,” Phyllis Ellison, executive director of InvestMidwest, said. “This is an interesting lineup of topics and speakers, as we start to consider what the venture capital markets look like post-pandemic and after a record year of investing in 2020.”
For more information and registration, please visit midwestventureshowcase.com.
StartupNation is a platinum sponsor of the 2021 Midwest Venture Showcase
