We recently wrapped up our first VC Huddle, and we want to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone who joined us! We had a wonderful time, and we hope you did too.
Thank you to Balaji Gopinath and Greg White of Kubera Capital, Dan Kerr of Flyover Capital, and Mary Kate Love of Koch Disruptive Technologies. And, of course, thank you to members of the Groover Labs advisory team, which include Dave Cunningham, Mark Janzen, Greg Giefer and Carie Lemack.
This is the first of what will be a series of venture capital-related events we plan to host at Groover Labs. If you weren’t able to join us at the end of June, you’re in luck! We’re hosting VC Huddle: Extended Tuesday July 13, when a panel of venture capital firms will discuss early-stage funding for startups in the Midwest.
Here’s a quick recap of the inaugural VC Huddle:
On Tuesday, the visiting VCs met with the Groover Labs advisory team, founders Curt Gridley and Tracy Hoover, and staff for 30-minute discussions with local technology-related startup founders. Each founder had a few minutes to introduce their startup before answering questions from the visiting VCs and advisory team.
At the end of each session, the founders were asked what kind of help they needed to grow. Some of the more popular answers included ready access to capital, strong mentorship, and more community engagement..
Later in the day, we hosted a networking and social hour for local founders. Curt, Greg, Balaji, and Mary Kate each gave remarks about Wichita’s recent efforts to focus on supporting the entrepreneurial community. The VCs also described their funds and areas of focus. NXTUS president and CEO Josh Oeding was also called to stage to discuss their work connecting founders with resources and Accelerate Venture Partners (AVP).
Wednesday followed a similar format, with follow-on meetings for founders who either couldn’t attend on Tuesday or hoped to continue the prior day’s discussions. A second cocktail hour for accredited investors followed.
The first VC Huddle was a success. We hosted more than 70 attendees. Eight local startups met with three out-of-market VCs and one in-market VC. The Wichita Business Journal published a story about the effort. And perhaps most importantly, we formed new relationships that we can draw on for knowledge, connections, and feedback as we work to foster our startup ecosystem. Those relationships will also inform those outside the Wichita market about our talents and capabilities, and that Wichitans are dedicated to technology and entrepreneurship.