Ed Javier, Dana Guthrie, Que El-Amin, Tarik Moody and Maggie Fernandes have separately been active leaders in the Milwaukee-area startup community. With a new effort aimed at creating opportunities for underrepresented founders, they’re joining forces to draw Midwest founders and venture capitalists from around the country to Milwaukee.
The group is organizing VC MKE, a two-day event overlapping with this year’s Summerfest Tech conference in June. It’s aiming to bring investors and founders together for curated one-on-one meetings and networking. The event is scheduled for June 28-29 in Milwaukee.
Venture capital firms including Milwaukee’s CSA Partners and Chicago’s Hyde Park Venture Partners have already signed on to attend. Guthrie, managing director of Milwaukee venture firm Gateway Capital, and Moody, digital director of strategy of innovation at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, are leveraging their connections to recruit other investors.
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