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Where Midwest startup hubs rank in Dealroom's 2026 Global Tech Ecosystem Index -
Dealroom's 2026 Global Tech Ecosystem Index ranks Midwest hubs: Chicago holds at 15th, Madison and Pittsburgh climb on density, and Lincoln surges across all three lists.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis Dealroom's 2026 Global Tech Ecosystem Index ranks Midwest hubs: Chicago holds at 15th, Madison and Pittsburgh climb on density, and Lincoln surges across all three lists. by @startmidwest

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2 months ago

Last year, the Midwest accounted for approximately 4% of all venture capital raised across the US.

The runway isn't there in our region, founders need to act smarter AND harder. A broad ICP makes no sense.

Check it out our latest contributor piece via the link in our bio ☝ by @startmidwest

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2 months ago

Not a single Midwest founder closed a funding round in under a month. Meanwhile, three times more of them than the rest of the US were still trying to close a round 7 months later. 👇

That’s according to data from @highalphastudio ‘s SaaS Benchmarks survey.

Their team has pulled the data and run an analysis so that their very own @molliemoto could write this latest piece on StartMidwest, detailing how raising money differs across the country... and most importantly what the numbers tell us for our region.

Read the piece “Midwest Founders Raise Just as Well — But It Costs More to Get There” via the “Latest Article” link in our bio. by @startmidwest

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4 months ago

Pretty, pretty solid group of speakers. Midwest House Summit Ohio kicks off next week in Columbus, OH.

A few tickets are still kicking around via the link in our bio. Be there, y’all.

It’s true. I’ll be at the Midwest House Summit Ohio next week and so will a bunch of my pals:

(see the full list in yesterday’s Substack post linked in the comments)

Wolf Starr (The Venture Atlas)
Alex Husted (OH.io)
Landon W. Campbell (Drive Capital)
Justin Turk (ConStrat AI)
Donna Harris (Builders + Backers)
Brian Brackeen (Lightship Anchor Fund)
Shannon McGhee (SEED SPOT)
Kris Rockwell (Kris Rockwell Foundation)
Debbie Irwin (Lighthouse Network)
Kamel Greene, MPA (FibrX)
Kim Patel (JPMorgan Chase)
Alex ‘Fro’ Frommeyer (Stack Health)
Julia Dewey, MPH (Rev1 Ventures)
Tim Grace (Techstars Columbus)
Mickayla Zinsli Rosard (Groove Capital)
Jason Mejeur (Coya)
Suresh Rachuri
Brian Folmer (FirstLook Ventures)
Andy Sparks (Management Craft)
Jonathan Poma (Loop)
Shanna Greathouse (Ohio Startup Network)
Kristin Bailey (Martin) (Innovatemap)
Arnab Nandi (The Ohio State University)
Derrick Maultsby (FBT Gibbons)
Abby Grimm (Cintrifuse)
Philippe Vella (StartMidwest)
Spencer Abrams (Innovatemap)
Max Joseph (Robot Sales Club)
Joshua Kline (Ground Game Ventures)
Chad Reynolds (Vurvey Labs)
Abraham Lichy (Mezcalum / The Advisory Legal)
Jeremy Hughes (Elevate Pictures)
Patrick Henshaw (Render Capital)
Tino Chow (Giant Shoulders)
And... Densil Porteousteous (Human Rights Campaign)
Adam Berk (Startup Program Design)
Michelle Murciacia (Book+Street)
Jeff (J.D.) Davidsids. Davids (SmartMoney Group)
Ryan Fogelmanlman (Fire Rover / COhatch / The Ignite Group) .
Jim Ford(American Frontier Institute / RVMP)
Rick Harlow (Physics of Creativity)
Andy Van Solkemalkm (Physics of Creativity)
Hiền Lâm (Huck Finch)

Just to name a few…

That’s one hell of a room and you want to be in it.
July 29–31. Columbus. Hit the link in the comments (with code JOBSOHIO26 for 50% off). taken in Franklinton, Columbus by @startmidwest

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2 days ago

Meet Brian, Co-Founder of Voxel51, a company that helps those building in what they call 'physical AI' to work with high-quality data-sets.

In our latest Founder Story, Brian shares:

What led him to entrepreneurship (spoiler alert - it wasn't originally part of his plan).

What led an AI researcher like him to start a company.

Why they're building their company in the Midwest, and how they make it work with a dispersed team.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis taken in Columbus, Ohio by @startmidwest

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5 days ago

Hello Cincy 👋🏽🙋🏽

#btw2026 #blacktechweek

@blacktechweek by @startmidwest

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10 days ago

"Founder Story: Brian Moore of Voxel51 - Data for Physical AI"

Voxel51's Brian Moore is building the Databricks of physical AI from Columbus, Ohio.

How an open-source project became a $50M-backed infrastructure company.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis by @startmidwest

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12 days ago

Midwest Startup Funding Q2 2026: $1.27 billion across 114 deals -
Midwest startups raised $1.25B across 114 deals in Q2 2026 — up 14% on Q1, down 66% year over year. A state-by-state look at where the money went.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis Midwest startups raised $1.25B across 114 deals in Q2 2026 — up 14% on Q1, down 66% year over year. A state-by-state look at where the money went. by @startmidwest

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14 days ago

CentSight: providing small businesses CFO clarity for less from Ohio -
CentSight, a Cleveland fintech, raises $1.5M pre-seed from Detroit's Mudita Venture Partners to give small businesses CFO-grade financial clarity.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis CentSight, a Cleveland fintech, raises $1.5M pre-seed from Detroit's Mudita Venture Partners to give small businesses CFO-grade financial clarity. by @startmidwest

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15 days ago

Experiments and lessons learned from small town ecosystems -
How Aria Spears of Michigan Founders Fund used open-source data and online communities to connect rural founders and AI builders far away from Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis How Aria Spears of Michigan Founders Fund used open-source data and online communities to connect rural founders and AI builders far away from Detroit and Ann Arbor. by @startmidwest

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15 days ago

Wisconsin startup funding in Q2 2026: the busiest since 2024, carried by one big check -
Wisconsin startups raised $87M across 12 deals in Q2 2026 — its busiest quarter since 2024, but a single $67M Spectrum Brands note carried most of it.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis Wisconsin startups raised $87M across 12 deals in Q2 2026 — its busiest quarter since 2024, but a single $67M Spectrum Brands note carried most of it. by @startmidwest

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17 days ago

Startup Ecosystems Don't Grow by Accident, but by Developing Builders. -
Cintrifuse's Startup Fellows program invested $300,000 in 30 students in Cincinnati to develop Ohio's next generation of startup operators and founders.

Head to our site via link in bio for this story and others of innovation and entrepreneurship from across the entire Midwest.

#MidwestStartups
#StartMidwest
#MidwestIsBest
#FlyoverThis Cintrifuse's Startup Fellows program invested $300,000 in 30 students in Cincinnati to develop Ohio's next generation of startup operators and founders. by @startmidwest

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17 days ago