Excoastal #18
Debut funds from Grand Ventures and H Venture Partners, several series A raises, and a $10M seed for Edify Labs
Welcome to Excoastal, a newsletter covering deals, startups, venture capital, and more from Chicago to Boulder, Detroit to Columbus, and beyond. I’m Evan Lonergan, a native Midwesterner.
This newsletter is the collision of my Chicago/Michigan roots and a love of all things startups and venture capital. It’s inspired by Brendan Boken’s excellent newsletter The Strand, which covers the thriving tech scene in LA. The catalyst for its creation was VC University Live at the University of Michigan, where one of the focuses of the conversation was on building stronger startup communities in the Midwest. From what I’ve seen demonstrated by the #givefirst ethos in Boulder, and from what I’ve observed across other tech hubs, strong communities are often the products of individuals who care enough to invest not just resources, but time and energy. Bringing it home, I wanted to do something to contribute to the ecosystems between the coasts, Excoastal is the start.
You can connect with me on Twitter @evanjlonergan, on Medium, and send deals/jobs/intel to evanlon92@gmail.com.
Whats New
Excoastal Stats 📊
Subscribers: 112
Last Week’s Open Rate: 64% 📈
Last Week’s Views: 154 📉
Excoastal News Roundup
The 2019 Best of the Midwest: Startup Cities Rankings are out. These rankings are complied by Chicago-based firm M25 VC. You can read more about this years rankings in this Medium post. Notable: Chicago ranks number one, Ohio has three cities in the top ten, and the Quad Cities region in Iowa made the biggest jump (9 places). Have thoughts on the rankings? Let me know!
Flyover Fintech, a conference focused on all things Fintech will take place November 11 – 12 at Lincoln’s Pinnacle Bank Arena and the UNL Innovation Campus.
Justin Kaufenberg, founder of SportsEngine has joined Minneapolis-based Rally Ventures as a partner.
Missed this last week: Wichita-based Alyss Analytics raised an early stage round of around 500K.
A request
I’m exploring potential internship opportunities for a legal or compliance role in the venture/accelerator/non-profit space. If anyone knows of a general counsel or legal department that is willing to take someone on, I’d be grateful for an intro!
Now to the good stuff…
Venture Capital Deals
Chicago-based, NOCD, a digital behavioral health company focused on identifying and managing obsessive-compulsive disorder, raised $4 million in Series A funding led by Chicago Ventures.
Kenzie Academy, an Indianapolis-based online and in-person coding school, raised $7.8 million in Series A funding. ReThink Education led the round, and was joined by investors including Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. Term Sheet
Edify Labs, a Carmel, IN and Santa Monica, CA-based software company focused on customer engagement and cross-team collaboration, raised $10 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital.
BurstIQ, a Denver-based provider of secure blockchain software solutions for the healthcare industry, raised $5.5 million in Series A financing from Elsewhere Partners.
Geneoscopy, a St. Louis-based developer of diagnostic tests for GI health, raised $6.9 million in Series A funding co-led by Cultivation Capital and NT Investments. Axios
Private Equity Deals
Francisco Partners agreed to buy Orchard Software, a Carmel, Indiana-based maker of workflow software for clinical and pathology labs.
Cerberus is in talks to buy Indianapolis-based packaging company Closure Systems International from Rank Group for upwards of $1 billion, per Bloomberg.
Ntiva, which is backed by Southfield Capital, acquired 3Points, a Chicago-based managed IT services provider. Term Sheet
New Funds
Grand Ventures, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based early-stage VC firm, raised $28 million for its debut fund.
HKW, an Indianapolis-based mid-market private equity firm, has raised $365 million for a fifth fund, HKW Capital Partners V, L.P.
Cincinnati-based H Venture Partners is targeting $100 million for a debut fund focused on consumer tech.
Harbinger Ventures, a Boulder-based growth equity firm funding female-founded consumer brands, has closed a $21.7 million second fund.
What I’m Reading
2019 Tech Between the Coasts Report
4 Key Trends Impacting the Midwest Venture Landscape
Thought Leadership vs. Cult of Personality
Startup/VC Twitter
Culture Break
📚Read- Don’t have a new reading rec this week, but everyone seems to be enjoying Super Pumped.
🎬Watch- Documentary Now on Netflix
🎧Listen-
🧐Think- What if Your Abusive Husband Is a Cop?
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