TL;DR — Register here for the in-person event and here for the virtual event.

We hope you enjoyed our VC Huddle a few weeks ago. If you missed it, we invited national and regional venture capital firms to Wichita for a three-day scouting trip. They met with local entrepreneurs and investors as well as other organizations who are working hard to bolster Wichita’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Today, we’re excited to announce VC Huddle : Extended, a panel discussion and networking event with another set of venture capital firms. The event takes place at Groover Labs on Tuesday, July 13, from 4-6 p.m., and we hope you’ll join us. This event will take place in person, but we will also have a virtual option. The discussion, titled “Early-stage Capital for Midwest-based Startups,” will feature:

Mike Freeman, CEO, Innosphere Ventures

Maggie Kenefake, General Partner, Royal Street Ventures

Mark Janzen, Vice President of Engineering, Avalara

The panel will be moderated by Rob Gerlach (Executive Director of Tech Transfer and Commercialization, Wichita State University). Stick around after the discussion for networking, drinks, and snacks.

From the Chung Report to the Chapman Report, over the past several years, Wichitans have come tor realize that if we want to diversify our economy, courting existing business to move here is not enough. We must band together like several of our peer cities have done to support, foster, and grow our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Groover Labs is the central gathering point for entrepreneurial activity in the region. We offer programming like Campfire and Office Hours, which are designed to reach entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their startups. VC Huddle and VC Huddle: Extended provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and founders to meet with and learn from firms outside the local ecosystem who want to invest in the Midwest.

If you’re free on July 13, and you want to learn about early-stage capital for startups based in the Midwest in person, register here. If you’d like to attend virtually, click here. Tickets are $10. And make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow our social accounts for more information about Campfire, Office Hours, VC Huddle, VC Huddle : Extended, and Maker Labs opening plans.