This is Andrew Gunderman’s weekly newsletter, a place to find his upcoming events, news, and to read about technology, business / startups, economics, and investing.

If you haven’t joined yet, join the thousands of other technologists, businessmen and businesswomen, and investors by subscribing below!

👀 Who is Andrew Gunderman?

I am a young entrepreneur who raised venture capital for the first time at 21 and dropped out of college that same year. I sold my first company at 23.

I also host both private and public events for celebrities, professional athletes, influencers, elected government officials, business magnates, and more. Many thousands of people have attended my events all over the country, and I've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorship.

I was named on the Inno 25 Under 25 list for 2023. You can find me in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inno Magazine, and more.

🎉 My Upcoming Events

• The Quarterly Penthouse Series is the premier private event in Chicago aiming to be THE event for the most accomplished people in the city. Featuring professional athletes, celebrities, influencers, business magnates, high ranking and elected government officials, and more. These events feature guests worth billions of dollars and who have millions of social media followers.

  • Likely June - For extremely accomplished individuals in any field

• Renowned Chicago is the premier private community for established influencers & content creators in Chicago. Our community represents a membership with a cumulative 80 million followers on socials.

  • Late April - For established influencers or content creators making any type of content (30k minimum followers or some major accomplishments)

That’s it for now! If you’re interested in attending an event just respond to this email and let me know. However, all of my events are curated for specific groups of people, so if you’re not in an event’s target group don’t expect an invite.

😀 Chicago’s Startup & Venture Capital Ecosystem

Chicago’s startup ecosystem is much more fleshed out than people on the coasts typically give it credit for. While we don’t have as much capital here, and far fewer angels, we still have sizable communities and strong networks.

There are major ecosystem players with large amounts of leverage here that, over time, will play a big role in our growth. I hope to help fuel that with some of the other communities I run. However, this newsletter is focused entirely on VCs & angels here in Chicago. While this list is not comprehensive or in any particular order, these are some of the most active angels & VCs I’ve run across in my time here in Chicago.

I provided a short description about each investor as well. If you like lists like these please let me know. I may release additional lists (angels, top VCs in specific industries, top founders & startups in Chicago, etc) in the future that will help connect Chicago investors & founders.

1. Lightbank
    Founded by Groupon’s Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell; invests across consumer tech, enterprise, and more.

2. Chicago Ventures
    Early‐stage VC focusing on Midwest startups in consumer, B2B, and SaaS.

3. Hyde Park Angels (HPA)
    One of the largest angel groups in the Midwest, investing in tech and healthcare.

4. MATH Venture Partners
    Early‐to‐growth‐stage fund co‐founded by Troy Henikoff; strong focus on tech and e‐commerce.

5. Pritzker Group Venture Capital
    Led by the Pritzker family; invests in digital technology, consumer, and manufactured products.

6. OCA Ventures
    Focuses on early‐stage tech, fintech, and healthcare IT companies.

7. Jump Capital
    Venture arm of Jump Trading; invests in fintech, enterprise IT, and data analytics.

8. Sandbox Industries
    Runs multiple funds, including healthcare‐focused BlueCross BlueShield Venture Fund.

9. Listen Ventures
    Brand‐focused VC supporting consumer‐facing startups.

10. Wintrust Ventures
     Venture and innovation arm of Wintrust Financial, supporting early‐stage entrepreneurs.

11. KDWC Ventures
     Invests in consumer and tech entrepreneurs, with a focus on the Midwest. Usually pursues investments of $1 million - $10 million.

12. MK Capital
     Focus on software, cloud infrastructure, digital media, and education tech with over $500 million AUM.

13. Drive Capital
     The largest VC in the Midwest with almost $3 billion in AUM. They invest in any industry, but are heavily thematic. They have a popular $500k pre-seed program for early stage founders.

14. Valor Equity Partners
     Growth‐stage and early‐stage investor known for past Tesla investments; based in Chicago.

15. Origin Ventures
     Early‐stage VC investing in software, marketplaces, consumer, and real estate tech.

16. New Stack Ventures
     Seed‐stage fund focusing on first institutional checks for innovative founders.

17. Network Ventures
     Seed‐stage, B2B, and SaaS investor with Chicago roots.

18. Guild Capital
     Focus on consumer and media/tech investments with offices in Chicago.

19. M25
     Midwest‐focused Seed and Series A investor based in Chicago.

20. Bridge Investments
     Early and growth‐stage investor across a range of sectors.

21. Impact Engine
     Impact‐focused venture fund investing in for‐profit businesses tackling social/environmental issues.

22. Energy Foundry
     Focus on cleantech and energy startups in Illinois and beyond.

23. DRW Venture Capital
     Investment arm of Chicago trading firm DRW; focuses on fintech, crypto, enterprise software.

24. Relish Works
     Foodservice and retail‐tech innovation hub with an early‐stage fund.

25. Heartland Angels
     Angel group funding Midwestern tech, healthcare, and consumer products.

26. TechNexus Venture Collaborative
     Venture collaboration firm that co‐invests with corporations in early‐stage tech startups.

27. Hyde Park Venture Partners
     Focused on early‐stage, B2B software startups across the Midwest.

28. Illinois Ventures
     Venture arm affiliated with the University of Illinois system.

29. i2A Fund
     Early‐stage fund historically focused on Chicago and Midwestern tech companies.

30. IrishAngels
     Network of Notre Dame alumni investing in early‐stage ventures nationwide, with a Chicago hub.

31. HBS Alumni Angels of Chicago
     Chapter of Harvard Business School alumni investing in diverse startups.

32. BlueCross BlueShield Venture Fund
     Corporate venture arm of Health Care Service Corporation (BCBS), based in Chicago. Investments range from $1 million to $20 million.

33. ARCH Venture Partners
     Large deep‐tech and biotech investor founded at the University of Chicago.

34. PSP Capital Partners
     Part of the Pritzker network, occasionally invests in early‐stage companies.

35. Linseed Capital
     Angel investment group active in Chicago tech and real estate segments.

36. Purple Arch Ventures
     Northwestern alumni–focused venture fund under the Alumni Ventures umbrella.

37. West Suburban Angels
     Angel group based in Chicago’s western suburbs, investing in early‐stage entrepreneurs.

38. gBETA Chicago (gener8tor)
     Pre‐accelerator program connecting founders to investors; part of the broader gener8tor network.

39. mHUB Product Impact Fund
     Manufacturing‐focused accelerator and early‐stage fund for hardtech startups.

40. Motorola Solutions Venture Capital
     Corporate venture arm investing in public safety tech, IoT, and communications solutions.

41. Cultivian Sandbox Ventures
     Focus on agtech and foodtech; affiliated with Sandbox Industries.

42. First Analysis
     Chicago‐based VC/PE firm that invests in emerging tech, healthcare, and chemical sectors.

43. LongJump
     A Chicago‐based rolling fund launched by local founders, investing pre‐seed/seed in diverse teams.

44. CMT Digital
     Venture arm of CMT Group, focusing on blockchain and crypto startups.

45. Lakewest Venture Partners
     Primarily invests in digital, consumer, and technology startups at early stages.

46. Elmspring
     Real estate–focused accelerator and investment group.

47. Abundant Venture Partners
     Early/growth‐stage investor focused on healthcare, media, and tech.

48. Prota Ventures
     A venture studio providing capital and resources to early‐stage startups in Chicago and beyond.

49. Cornerstone Angels
     Angel group investing in healthcare, IT, clean tech, and consumer products.

50. CME Ventures
     Venture arm of Chicago Mercantile Exchange, investing in fintech, crypto, and related tech.

51. Allstate Ventures
     Corporate venture arm of Allstate Insurance, focusing on insurtech, fintech, and data/analytics solutions that can complement Allstate’s core business.

52. Barrel Ventures
     Seed‐focused fund investing in companies solving global food issues, creating new markets, and improving the supply chain, focused on the Midwest.

53. 81 Collection
     Early‐stage investment firm investing in un-sexy and difficult industries, created by the founder of Tide Cleaners and others.

54. SNAK Ventures
     Angel/seed investment group backing category-defining digital marketplace startups.

55. Forum Ventures
     Formerly known as Acceleprise, a B2B SaaS–focused accelerator and seed fund, providing capital and mentorship to early‐stage founders.

56. Alumni Ventures
     A network of alumni‐based funds investing across sectors and stages, with multiple region‐ and school‐affiliated venture funds.

57. Bluestein Ventures
     Focuses on early‐stage food, beverage, and related technology ventures, including innovative consumer products and supply chain solutions.

58. Coinflip Ventures
     Affiliated with the Chicago‐based crypto ATM company CoinFlip; invests in blockchain, crypto infrastructure, and fintech startups.

59. Polotsky Ventures
     Family office and venture investment firm supporting a range of early‐stage startups, with a flexible approach to sector and stage. Founded by Daniel Polotsky, who founded Coinflip.

60. LeapYear
     LeapYear, founded by Hank Couture, invests in early stage student founders across any industry so they can build something ambitious in one year.

61. Mohit Bathija
     Active angel investor and startup advisor in the Chicago ecosystem, focusing on emerging tech, consumer, and SaaS opportunities.

62. Vitalize Angels
     An angel group affiliated with Vitalize VC, investing primarily in early‐stage B2B and future‐of‐work startups, often at the pre‐seed level.

63. Chicago Arch Angels
     Angel network investing in a variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, and consumer products, mostly at early stages.

64. Lofty Ventures
     Early‐stage Chicago‐based investment firm and startup community builder, focusing on tech founders with high‐growth potential.

65. Supply Change Capital
     Invests in the future of food, supply chain, and sustainability, with a focus on diverse teams and impact on global food systems.

66. Corazon Capital
     Early‐stage firm led by former Lightbank partners; invests in consumer tech, marketplaces, and software, often with Chicago or Midwest roots.

67. Second Century Ventures
     Strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors, focusing on real estate, property tech, and adjacent software solutions.

68. Midwest VC
     An investment group/fund (sometimes used as a collective term) that backs Midwestern tech and high‐growth startups.

69. Molgaard Brothers - Mika Brands
     Two brothers who built a large cabinet manufacturing company, who now invest through an entity called Mika Brands. They are industry agnostic and invest mostly in early stage.

70. Earth Foundry
     An emerging venture initiative or accelerator focusing on climate and sustainability solutions.

71. Cleveland Avenue
     Founded by former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson, invests in food and beverage, restaurant tech, consumer packaged goods, and emerging brands.

72. Energize Ventures
     Focus on digital solutions for energy, industry, and sustainability. Backs growth‐stage startups in climate tech, energy, and related infrastructure.

73. Propellant Ventures
     Seed‐stage fund targeting B2B tech startups across fintech, healthcare, enterprise software, and consumer, with Midwest emphasis.

74. S2G Ventures
     Leading food and agriculture fund investing across the supply chain—from inputs and agtech to food brands—with a sustainability focus.

75. Chingona Ventures
    Pre‐seed and seed‐stage fund backing diverse founders in consumer, fintech, edtech, and health/wellness, founded by Samara Mejia Hernandez.

🫠 What I Need Right Now

• Nothing!

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