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How Eight Years of Angel Investing Lead to the Launch of a New $17 Million Venture Fund

Eight years ago, I made my first angel investment in a company called Tradesy via Tim Ferris’s AngelList syndicate. Within a matter of months, I made several more investments in startup companies via AngelList. I also made a couple of angel investments directly in local companies. I didn’t know what I was doing at the …

Developing a Thriving Regional Startup Ecosystem Along the I-29 Corridor

South Dakota has some unique challenges when building community and capital resources for startup founders. We have a small and spread-out population compared to the rest of the country. There are also just fewer people working on developing high-growth technology startups at any given time, which makes it difficult to build a non-profit organization around …

Sioux Falls’ Startup Ecosystem is Stronger Than Ever. Here’s Why.

Developing a healthy startup ecosystem is important for any community because it provides entrepreneurs, startup founders, and small business owners critical business resources in the earliest stages of their businesses. It’s not always clear which startup will become the next major employer in town, but by offering resources to all of them, we can be …

Next Steps for Sioux Falls’ Startup Ecosystem

The startup ecosystem in Sioux Falls is in the strongest place it has been in the last decade. There are two successful accelerator programs that have multiple cohorts each year (Falls Fintech and Co-Starters). Zeal’s new startup mentor network has 28 volunteer entrepreneurial mentors. Falls Angel Fund has made more than $3 million in startup …

Sioux Falls to Celebrate Entrepreneurship Day on March 3, 2021

Beginning this year, Sioux Falls will celebrate Entrepreneurship Day on the first Wednesday of March. For the 2021 celebration taking place on March 3, the general public is invited to join the festivities by participating in a host of events organized by the teams at the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship (Zeal) and Startup Sioux Falls.  …

Spark Sioux Falls Technology Panel

I had the opportunity to be on a panel discussion about how COVID-19 has impacted the information technology industry in Sioux Falls. Other panelists included Natalie Eisenberg, Click Rain; Dr. JoseMarie Griffiths, Dakota State University ; Mike Grigsby, City of Sioux Falls; and Michael Zuercher, Prismatic. You can watch the recording below: Spark Sioux Falls …

Preserving Cash is the Key to Your Business Surviving the COVID-19 Recession

We find ourselves in unprecedented times. Many small businesses have had to close their doors and furlough employees with no idea when they might be able to re-open. Unemployment claims have hit an all-time high and some are predicting that COVID-19 related job losses could reach 47 million. The United States economy is undoubtedly in …