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All the creativity and innovation you can fit between 4 Great Lakes. Follow @midwest_house as they document their time at SXSW. Powered by @handcar.co

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🚨 🗣️ SPEAKER DROP 🎤 🚨
Some post 4th of July fireworks for you...speaker announcements round 3 for Midwest House Summit Ohio (July 29–31, Columbus). Today’s group covers capital, health tech, deep tech, and the infrastructure that makes ecosystems work.

Kim Patel — Working with early-stage founders in the Midwest for J.P. Morgan, helping them find clarity at the intersection of institutional capital and entrepreneurial ambition — because the biggest banks in the world are paying attention to what gets built here.
Alex ‘Fro’ Frommeyer — Founder and CEO of Stack Health Inc. and co-founder of Beam Benefits, which he scaled from a Columbus startup into a national insurtech company — now building the operating system for personalized, individually-owned health coverage.
Julia Dewey, MPH — Chief Partnerships Officer at Rev1 Ventures, our Summit co-host and Columbus’s home for venture development — the person connecting founders, investors, and institutions across one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the country.
Tim Grace — Managing Director at Techstars Columbus powered by Ohio State, backing AI-native and deep tech founders in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and defense — and one of the most active pre-seed investors in the Midwest.
Mickayla Zinsli Rosard Rosard — Partner at Groove Capital, the Minneapolis-based pre-seed firm building one of the most active angel networks in the region and helping funnel serious capital into upper Midwest founders who too often get overlooked.

More speaker drops this week. We’re three and a half weeks out, and the excitement is getting palpable.

🎟️ link in bio taken in Columbus, Ohio by @michiganhouse

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19 days ago

🚨 🗣️ SPEAKER DROP 🎤 🚨

AND WE'RE OFF...with round two of speaker announcements for Midwest House Summit Ohio (July 29–31, Columbus) and we've got some superstars 💫 in this group, y'all. Including:

Brian Brackeen — General Partner of the Lightship Capital & Managing Partner of Lightship Anchor Fund, an Ohio based Fund of Funds strategy leveraging diversity to produce exceptional outcomes.
Shannon McGhee — CEO of SEED SPOT, the national social impact incubator that has backed 4,600+ founders who've generated $447M in revenue and created 11,000 jobs — and one of the most experienced operators in the country when it comes to scaling support for purpose-driven entrepreneurs.
Kris Rockwell — Founder, investor, and innovator running the Kris Rockwell Foundation, with decades of work at the intersection of learning, technology, and entrepreneurship — the kind of person who's usually building three things at once and making all of them matter.
Debbie Irwin — Executive Director of Lighthouse Network, building a model for founder development that goes all the way in on the whole person — not just the startup — and walking alongside founders through the messy, non-linear middle.
Kamel Greene, MPA — Co-Founder of FibrX, a Columbus-based deep tech company using fiber optics, AI, and digital twin technology to give critical infrastructure the ability to see and understand itself — serving aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial markets.

More speakers to come next. Tickets are live via our link in bio

Use code: PARTNEROH25 for $100 off!!! taken in Columbus, Ohio by @michiganhouse

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23 days ago

We are T-minus one month to Midwest House Summit Ohio, and we got to ask are you Columbus (OH) Curious?

Like...even just a little.

You probably should be. Here’s a quick list of a few things that have happened there there in the last 60 days:
- Anduril Industries won the Air Force contract to build the next generation of autonomous fighter jets — at their Central Ohio campus. First new company to do that since the 1970s.
- @oh.dot.io is actively recruiting 100 global AI startups to plant their U.S. flag in Columbus. A Swiss startup flew 20 hours to get there.
→ Google put $20B into Ohio infrastructure. Meta followed with $115M for AI workforce.
→ R1 Capital just launched as a standalone VC out of @rev1ventures Ventures — explicitly to close the coastal funding gap.

They call Columbus “America’s test market” because what works there works everywhere. Sure seems like that logic is starting to apply to the innovation economy and the rest of the region should be paying attention 👀

Speaker line-up starts dropping tomorrow 🎤 🚀

Midwest House Summit. July 29–31.
RSVP via @linktr.ee
Use code: COLAEB20 for 20% off taken in Columbus, Ohio by @michiganhouse

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a month ago

We’re building the largest, most dynamic community of builders, innovators, leaders and creatives in the Midwest.

Join the movement. Join the House.

01 → Follow along on socials Stay connected to what’s being built.

02 → Subscribe to our Substack 17k+ founders, operators & investors. Weekly — alternating founder stories and ecosystem takes.

03 → Come to an event Austin. Kansas City. Chicago. Ohio. We’re everywhere in 2026.

04 → Join the House Pass Year-round membership. Monthly House Calls. The room where it happens.

05 → Come to a Summit Our flagship. Twice a year. The room you want to be in.

06 → Become a partner Bet on the movement structurally.

Link(s) in bio taken in The Midwest USA by @michiganhouse

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4 months ago

Its 31 degrees today which means things are officially heating up this February🙃😂 🔥

Kicking things off, we’re doing another Salon Dinner in Ann Arbor this month. This one is featuring @hilarydoe and the @michiganinstituteforgrowth team. Grab a ticket via our @linktr.ee (free for House Pass Members!) Limited seats available.

We’ll also be in Chicago that week for a Chicago at SXSW Kick Off event hosted by @worldbusinesschicago and @2112chi

Finally, don’t forget to take advantage of a couple of opportunities to join us in Austin:
-Perform at Midwest House Austin through @opnrmusic Music
-Michigan founders: Pitch at Midwest House Austin via @startgarden Garden 5x5

All the links you need are in our Linktree (link in bio) — RSVP for Midwest House Austin, secure your spot at the Salon Dinner, and explore every opportunity.
See you in Austin. See you in Chicago. See you wherever Midwesterners are building something worth celebrating. taken in Ann Arbor, Michigan by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

We’re going back….

It’s a global stage for the biggest ideas and brightest stars bringing tangible change to our region. And it’s a convening force for our dynamic community of innovators and creatives carrying us into the future.

The conversations and connections made in Austin ripple throughout the region and the year. Be a part of it all. Be there.

Midwest House Austin 2026
March 12-14
RSVP List via @linktr.ee in bio taken in Austin, Texas by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

@johnnie.turnage of @blacktechsaturdays joined Joshua Harris of the @obamafoundation on stage at the Midwest House Summit for an inspiring conversation that ranged from entrepreneurship to community building and change.

We’re continually inspired by Johnnie and we love this idea of finding strength (and grace) in the endurance of others. taken in Bamboo Grand Rapids by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

We first met MC Mikolay in Ann Arbor at the “Michigan Innovation Reunion” at University of Michigan.

We were doing round the room intros and obviously we’re always excited when other Midwesterners are at Michigan innovation events, so my ears perked up when I heard she said was from Drive Capital. Then she said she was originally from Grand Rapids (!)...and we knew we had to make a new friend.

After we got through all the people we knew in common and the high school rivalries, we talked about why we do the things we do. I love the way the way she connects innovation to problem solving, and the focus she has on getting more capital to more founders - in Michigan and beyond.

Thanks for coming to Midwest House Summit, MC. Where we hanging next? taken in Bamboo Grand Rapids by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

MIDWEST ‘26 Launched 🚀 🚀 🚀

Shout out to everyone who came out to Little Caesars Pizza HQ yesterday. Shout out to Karl Seibert for making it happen. Shout out to Taylor Eubanks , Miranda Pomeroy, Emily Samar, & Corey Hart for all the hard work. And shout out to Christopher White and the National Bankers Association Foundation for the partnership.

Wait, I’m not done thanking people...lots of love to Anthony Deptula (He/Him) & the team at BMP Creative for the video, to Amanda Lewan, Richie Garcia and the team at Bamboo for hosting us earlier in the day, and to the Detroit Pistons for giving us an incredible way to celebrate MLK Day.

Big big things ahead, y’all. Here we go... taken in Detroit, Michigan by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

Big challenges need big solutions. We’ll be hosting @stompdc of the National Banker Association Foundation all week in Michigan as part of Launch Week and the new partnership between our organizations in 2026!

Come through one of our 🚀 events this week (link in bio) to learn more. taken in Detroit, Michigan by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

If the first question an investor asks is 'who else is in?', are they trying to de-risk the deal, or outsourcing conviction?

That's the question our Secret VC is asking this month on StartMidwest.

On the surface, it may sound like a prudent question.
Good risk management.
Social proof.

In reality, it may as well be them saying: "I don't trust my own judgment enough to be early, so I need someone else to go first."

Here's why, according to our expert:

⁉️ The question may signal a lack of conviction

When an investor leads with the question "Who else is in?", it often reveals a desire to outsource reputational risk rather than doing their own due diligence. Ironic for an industry that supposedly celebrates independent thinking.

It forces founders to perform credibility by stacking names instead of focusing on building a company, and it gives investors a way to avoid a clean yes or no decision.

⁉️ Real diligence requires independent decisions

If an investor has done their diligence, they should be able to decide without needing a 'signal' from another fund.

Waiting for a signal is often about justifying the decision to an investment committee, LPs, or quieting their own fears. Because as The Secret VC says, "being wrong alone feels worse than being wrong in a crowd."

Waiting for external validation does not reduce uncertainty; it merely delays the decision, costing founders valuable time and momentum when they need it most.

⁉️ Delivers a "slow no" rather than real commitment

The "slow no" (or perpetual maybe/keep us posted) prevents founders from planning, stacking a round, and creating real momentum.

If an investor likes the company, they should give a clear, bounded "yes" and if they need a caveat, our secret expert suggests they provide a condition like "we'll write our check if you close the rest."

This removes the conditional "I'm in if someone cooler is also in" dynamic and helps founders move the round forward more efficiently.

Read the full story via the "Latest Articles" link in our bio. The StartMidwest Secret VC article debunks myths about investing in the Midwest taken in The Midwest USA by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago

Next week is 🚀 launch 🚀 week for MIDWEST ‘26 and we’ll be in both Detroit and Grand Rapids, MI to get this thing off the ground.

Come on out and join us at:
Midwest House 2026 Launch Celebration Detroit - 1/20
Little Caesars Global Headquarters
4 - 6:30pm
RSVP via @linktr.ee in bio

Midwest House 2026 Launch Celebration Grand Rapids - 1/21
w/ @righttostart
@startgarden Garden at @bamboograndrapids
5-7pm
RSVP via our @linktr.ee

and

A Midwest House Salon Dinner on Economic Mobility
featuring Christopher White of the National Bankers Association Foundation & Taylor Eubanks of Midwest House
at @thesovengard in Grand Rapids, MI
6:30-8:30pm
Tickets (dinner and drink included) via @linktr.ee

Choose wisely, y’all, and help us kick what’s going to be a transformative year off right. taken in Michigan by @michiganhouse

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6 months ago