Midwest

Michigan

Why Michigan Could Become a Startup Powerhouse

The unicorns in Michigan demonstrate a fertile startup ecosystem with unlimited opportunities. A couple weeks ago, StockX became the state’s newest in a quickly-growing cohort of unicorns, which includes two other startups that also earned the elite status this year. In February, OneStream Software announced that it had not only become a unicorn but that it is profitable as well, an achievement […]

venture returns

Why The Midwest Drives Top Venture Returns

While startup and venture performance in the Bay Area is a valuable datapoint that provides meaningful insights into our industry, I recommend a different strategy for evaluating our respective ecosystems’ health. To get an actionable — not to mention less daunting — perspective of our performance, we must look beyond the Bay and across all […]

May 18, 2019 By Pete Wilkins
Sawyer Bengtson

Why Top VCs from Outside the Midwest Want In

As the Midwest startup ecosystem continues to grow, top investors from outside the region increasingly show that they are watching and want in — especially when a repeat entrepreneur is at the helm of a budding startup. To validate this assertion, my firm, Hyde Park Angels, decided to dig into the numbers. Between 2016 and today, coastal […]