Kansas | Dawnbreaker

Mid-America Angels

Laura McCoolidge Classen
(913) 438-2282
lclassen@midamericaangels.com

Purpose of Initiative

Mid-America Angels is a regional network of accredited investors that are dedicated to funding promising early stage companies in the Kansas-Missouri region. MAA typically participates in seed, Series A, and Series B funding rounds.

Award Details

MAA invests in companies in Kansas and Missouri, providing early stage funding in the seed ($250,000 to $1.5 million), Series A ($1 million to $3 million), and Series B ($3 million to $5 million) rounds.

Eligibility

The MAA prefers to invest in companies that have a developed product or service, with some paying customers. Companies that have a proprietary technology, an early market lead, an exceptional management team, and the potential for rapid and scalable growth are of particular interest. It is also advantageous if a company has a credible exit strategy for investors, as well as a compelling strategy for capturing market share.

Application Process

Interested entrepreneurs can apply to pitch their company’s investment opportunity to the Mid-America Angels by using the online application.

Midwest Venture Alliance

Midwest Venture Alliance
(316) 651-5900

Purpose of Initiative

Midwest Venture Alliance (and its affiliate, the Southeast Kansas Venture Alliance) is a network of accredited investors that are committed to investing in high-growth seed and early stage technology companies in Kansas and surrounding states.

Award Details

Midwest Venture Alliance provides seed and early stage capital in the range of $250,000 to $2 million.

Eligibility

The Midwest Venture Alliance is looking to invest in early stage technology companies with the potential to rapidly scale into market leadership and gain a competitive advantage. In particular, situations that involve a market opportunity large enough to create a business with at least $30 million in annual revenue; businesses with a disruptive or new-market innovation; those with a well-articulated strategy for capturing market share; those with a proprietary technology; and those with a strong management team are all of interest to the Midwest Venture Alliance. In addition, companies that have an exit strategy for investors are also viewed as favorable candidates for investment.

Application Process

Companies that wish to be reviewed by the Midwest Venture Alliance must first submit their funding application and an Executive Summary online (there is a $100 application fee). The MVA Screening Committee will then review the applications. Companies that pass the initial screening will have their funding application and Executive Summary posted to a secure area of the organization’s website, so that it is viewable only by MVA members. Companies that pass the initial screening and have their materials posted to the website will then give a 15-minute presentation at a scheduled MVA meeting. If interest is shown after the presentation, a member of the MVA will lead the due diligence process. Once due diligence has been completed, interested members will negotiate deal structure and terms with each company. The first step is submitting the application, which is available here.

Updated March 2018 by Kristen Johnson

HEADQUARTERS

3161 Union Street
N. Chili, NY 14514

MAILING ADDRESS

Dawnbreaker, Inc.
2117 Buffalo Rd., Suite 193
Rochester, NY 14624

PHONE

(585) 617-9420
Fax: (585) 594-8623

Technology foraging

Can you save time by building on existing technologies?

R&D takes time and sometimes you simply don’t have it – You need a solution now. Tell us the problem you are trying to solve and what capabilities the solution must have. We will then search for the best solutions that meet your criteria. Using a combination of primary and secondary market research methods Dawnbreaker will provide you with actionable information and help you find technology that you can use in its present form or that can be built upon to more quickly provide a needed solution.

Competitor Analysis

Your customers know your competitors! Do you?

Maybe you believe that you don’t have any competition, but your customers know better! Their needs are being addressed now – perhaps not as well, but if there is a need, someone is providing a solution. Learn about the competition and be prepared to differentiate your solution from that of others. Dawnbreaker’s competitor analysis contrasts your competition on specifications, performance and price. Armed with this information we can help you create a compelling value proposition.

DoD Transition Information Packet (TIP)

The Transition Information Packet (TIP)is a market research report specifically developed for small businesses working with the Department of Defense.

Voice of the customer

Do your target customers really want what you’re selling?

It’s easy to delude yourself and believe that or course, your target customer wants to buy what you’re offering – but is that the truth? If you fail to ask your customer about important features at the design phase, you risk building a product that they will consider inferior. If you don’t understand when your customer buys or how much they are willing to pay, you may invest too little or too much during scale up. Both of which create problems. If you need assistance in gathering voice of the customer information – let us help you. We scale our initiatives to be appropriate for the decisions you need to make.

LICA Licensee Analysis

Who will take the best care of your baby?

You’ve done a great job with your R&D. You’ve been careful to protect your intellectual property – but those next steps to bring the product to market seem out of reach. There’s too much competition, scale up would be too expensive – so you’ve decided to license-out your intellectual property. The challenge before you is to find the best licensee to bring your baby to market. Let us help you. We will profile organizations that frequently cite your patents and dig deeper to determine their financial health, technology and market synergies, and experience with licensing-in.

Kansas Resources