Modeled after two top performing venture franchises - we are a hybrid of Y-Combinator and The House Fund.
We are a community-driven fund.
We give founders capital and create an environment where they can thrive alongside their portfolio peers.
We give them access to mentors, advisors, and a winning playbook and then make intros to investors and customers – and we do it all under one roof in downtown St. Louis.
We invest in extraordinary founders out of the Midwest's best talent pool - its universities.
What we care about (the six T's):
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Timing - startups must have an MVP
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Thesis - startups must have a differentiated VP
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Team - startups should have founder/market fit
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TAM - startups building in big markets
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Tech - startups should have some defensibility
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Traction - positive stickiness signals
What we don't care about:
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Industry - Bright minds dictate how and where technology is leveraged, not the other way around.
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Your current location - If you are affiliated with a university/college from Missouri or one of its eight bordering states, you are eligible to apply
We're here to help fill the Midwest's pre-seed funding gap.
Our region’s higher ed institutions are doing their part by continually investing resources in entrepreneurship programs.
Many pre-seed investors have moved downstream, looking for more mature companies with less risky profiles.
The remaining pre-seed investors are limited in scope and volume, which translates to less capital to go around.
The pre-seed funding gap leads founders to pursue funding on the coasts. With fewer innovative startups, there are fewer jobs. This exacerbates the Midwest's talent deficit and contributes to stagnation of the regional economy.
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