Innovation
‘Making Deals:’ Einhorns target technology startups in Midwest
Daniel Einhorn isn't big on PowerPoint presentations. He used to give them, but found he never quite got all the way through his slides.
When an early stage company pitches him seeking an investment from his Mequon-based venture capital firm, Capital Midwest Fund, he likes to hear the initial presentation in about 10 minutes.
What Einhorn is most interested in at the first meeting is how the entrepreneur plans to get the product into the market. He asks a series of questions to which he expects thoughtful responses.
“What I'm trying to learn in that first meeting is critical thinking,” Einhorn said. “What I have learned in the last 10 years is it is almost exclusively about management. You have your product, you have your technology. You wouldn't have gotten to see me without having something there.”
He doesn't care whether the company does direct sales or distribution. What he cares about is why you chose one over the other and the thought process behind the decision.
Einhorn and his team at Capital Midwest are among a small group offering venture capital investments in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin companies completed 10 venture capital deals worth a total of $18.5 million in the first quarter of 2015, while California saw 420 deals totaling $8 billion, according to a MoneyTree Report by PwC and the National Venture Capital Association, which was based on data from Thomson Reuters.
It's safe to say Wisconsin doesn't hold a candle to Silicon Valley when it comes to venture capital investment. However, that figure is an improvement over the first quarter of 2012, when just two venture capital deals were completed in Wisconsin, totaling about $4.5 million.
When an early stage company pitches him seeking an investment from his Mequon-based venture capital firm, Capital Midwest Fund, he likes to hear the initial presentation in about 10 minutes.
What Einhorn is most interested in at the first meeting is how the entrepreneur plans to get the product into the market. He asks a series of questions to which he expects thoughtful responses.
“What I'm trying to learn in that first meeting is critical thinking,” Einhorn said. “What I have learned in the last 10 years is it is almost exclusively about management. You have your product, you have your technology. You wouldn't have gotten to see me without having something there.”
He doesn't care whether the company does direct sales or distribution. What he cares about is why you chose one over the other and the thought process behind the decision.
Einhorn and his team at Capital Midwest are among a small group offering venture capital investments in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin companies completed 10 venture capital deals worth a total of $18.5 million in the first quarter of 2015, while California saw 420 deals totaling $8 billion, according to a MoneyTree Report by PwC and the National Venture Capital Association, which was based on data from Thomson Reuters.
It's safe to say Wisconsin doesn't hold a candle to Silicon Valley when it comes to venture capital investment. However, that figure is an improvement over the first quarter of 2012, when just two venture capital deals were completed in Wisconsin, totaling about $4.5 million.
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