Chicago Capital

Abhinaya Konduru is a Senior Associate at M25, a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on Midwest-based startups. Abhinaya is also a Board Observer at Mission Control GG and an Associates & Analyst Moderator at Women in VC.

In this episode, we covered:

• From YouTube to VC
• Her Life Thesis
• M25’s Scoreboard Analysis
• Collaboration in the Ecosystem
• Lessons Learned as a Young VC

And much more.... Please Enjoy!

You can find Abhinaya on Linkedin & Twitter and M25 on their website, Linkedin, & Twitter.

Abhinaya’s Medium & Blog about the Four Lessons from being a VC out of Undergrad

Sushi Restaurant Recommendations: ARAMI & SUSHI-SAN

Content Recommendations: The Sandhill Newsletter 

Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Ari Perlin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vaizianl, a medical software company that helps ER doctors rapidly diagnose and treat patients by statistically assessing clinical data. Their patent-pending technology reduces the medical risk and waste commonly associated with ambiguous ER conditions like chest pain.

Gale Wilkinson is the Founder & Managing Partner at Vitalize Venture Capital,  a seed-stage investment firm focused on the future of work and education. Gale is also a Board member at Chicago:Blend, a NFP dedicated to increasing diversity in tech & VC. She contributes to a YouTube series named Talking Venture & even offers office hours for founders and aspiring VCs.

In this episode, we covered:

• Investing with Angel Investors vs. Venture Capital
• Focusing on the Future of Work & Education
• The Importance of Data in Investing
• Themes Coming out of 2020
• Increasing Diversity in Startups & Venture Capital

And much more.... Please Enjoy!

You can find Gale on Linkedin, her website, & Twitter and Vitalize Venture Capital on their website, Linkedin, & Twitter.

Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Leo Mindyuk is the CEO & Founder of ML Tech, a FinTech startup building the next-generation trading platform within the crypto asset space. ML Tech's vision is to combine colocated trading infra speeds with cloud intelligence into a single “package” and make it accessible to seasoned quant researchers worldwide. Their platform leverages cutting-edge AI solutions and allows researchers to produce new strategies at an industry-leading pace. Strategies can rely on their robust HFT capabilities to generate steady and consistent returns.

Brian Luersson is the Co-Founder of Draftbit & General Partner at LongJump. Draftbit is a Chicago Startup that helps create, customize, and launch mobile apps all from a browser, with source code included. LongJump is a Chicago-based founder-led fund that invests in the next generation of entrepreneurs. They offer funding, connections, and community to help creators take the first steps toward developing scalable, fast-growing businesses.

In this episode, we covered:

• The Origin of Draftbit
• Low-Code & No-Code Businesses
• Balancing Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital
• Founder-Lead Venture Capital
• The Chicago Startup Circle

And much more.... Please Enjoy!

You can find Brian on Linkedin & Twitter, Draftbit on their website, Linkedin, & Twitter, and LongJump on their website, Linkedin, & Twitter.

Restaurant Recommendation: J.P. Graziano for the Mr. G Sandwich.

Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Sebastian Rivas is the Founder & CEO at Andes STR, a PropTech startup dedicated to providing investors turnkey access to Short Term Rentals as an asset class.

Sebastian led the Andes team through Polsky Center's New Venture Challenge, achieving 1st place in the largest competition to date and obtaining commitments for over USD $1.8M during fundraising

Prashant is a Vice President at Origin Ventures, joining the firm as Senior Associate in May 2017. He serves as a board director for Origin portfolio company BlackCart and board observer for 15Five, Blueboard, Glimpse, Everee, Pronto, Measured Insurance, and Trala.

Prashant started his career at Bain & Company. During his time at Bain, he advised telecom, healthcare, & education clients, but spent most of his time on a large technology client dealing with strategic questions around emerging technologies. After Bain, he joined San Francisco-based startup Metromile in 2012 as the first product manager, building a pay-per-mile auto insurance product. Prashant helped scale the company to over three hundred employees as it took in over $200m in venture capital financing.

In this episode, we covered:

• Politics vs. Venture
• Value-Add Investing
• Signs of Product-Market Fit
• The emergence of the Creator Economy 
• Chicago’s Ecosystem

And much more... Please Enjoy!

You can find Prashant on Linkedin & Twitter and Origin Ventures on Linkedin, Twitter, and their website.

Restaurant Recommendations: RPM, Ema, Aba, Momotaro, Galit, The Spice Room, Vajra, Roister, and Alinea.

Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group

Neural Trend is on a mission is to help retailers manage products that maximize sales while reducing go-to-market time.

Using cutting-edge AI technology, Neural Trend offers unparalleled data analytics in record time, equipping their clients with the power to match product design with market demand, quickly and accurately.

The strength of Neural Trend technology at your fingertips: their practical and customizable user interface empowers you to easily access our deep learning market analytics and helps you apply them directly to your product line.

With Neural Trend, you have the power to expedite, simplify, and strengthen your retail process.

Ezra Galston is the Founding Partner at Starting Line, a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in leading consumer products and brands.

In this episode, we covered

• Fundraising Resiliency 
• Starting Line Fund II
• Building to Conviction 
• Post-Investment Value-Add
• The Challenges of the VC Feedback Loop
• State of Chicago Tech

And much more.... Please Enjoy!

You can find Ezra on Linkedin & Twitter and Starting Line on Linkedin, Twitter.

Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.

Hallow is a Chicago-based startup building a Catholic prayer & meditation app to help you find peace, deepen your relationship with God, and sleep soundly every night.

Alex Jones is the CEO and Co-Founder and joined by his Co-Founder and Head of Growth & Finance Alessandro Disanto.

Manifold Group is a venture holding company based in Chicago with offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and soon Atlantic Canada. Early stage private investments represent an extraordinary investment opportunity, but existing investment models in the space leave much to be desired.Manifold is a new model for growth in the new economy, designed to create and capture value at the early stage through synergies across its venture fund, incubation and acceleration studio, and advisory firm. Learn more about Manifold at https://www.manifold.group.