An early-stage investor from Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners will appear at The Water Council in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon.
Guy Turner will speak during an information session on how local startups can raise capital from venture capital firms and meet one-on-one with a select group of entrepreneurs.
The Water Council, located at the Global Water Center, 247 W Freshwater Way, is one of five stops Turner will be making on a tour of the Midwest this week. Other stops include Purdue University, the University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame and the University of Illinois TEC Center in Champaign.
Turner said the Water Council reached out to him and asked him to make an appearance.
“It’s a case of mutual interest,” Turner said. “What we’re looking for are great startups but also great talent for our portfolio companies.”
Turner said that as an investor, he’s considering three core factors while reviewing a startup for possible investment:
- Does the company have a management team with experience in the space they’re entering?
- Is there a big market for the goods or services they provide?
- Is there evidence that the company is growing, the product fits the market and that customers are buying into its vision?
In the Midwest, Turner said Hyde Park VP is particularly interested in companies focused on logistics software and agriculture technology.
“We love those types of opportunities, but we’re also very broad investors,” he said. “We look for opportunities in a lot of different verticals.”
The info session will begin at 2 p.m. and Turner said he plans to stay for one-on-one meetings until about 5:30 p.m.
