Accelerate Venture Partners

Yesterday, our investor members, portfolio companies, and community came together for our 2025 Kickoff for Accelerate Venture Partners. 🌟 The event was a perfect mix of celebration and inspiration as we reflected on AVP's 2024 achievements and looked ahead to an exciting year! 🎉 Thank you to our portfolio companies who joined us and shared updates with the group Knowledge as a Service, Inc., WorkTorch, Spinal Simplicity, Transportant, InnovaPrep LLC, and Ten-Nine Technologies! Special thanks to IMA Financial Group, Inc. for graciously hosting us at their space!

On Monday, our community came together to create pathways for inclusive investment at our Capital Conversation: Bridging The Gap event! 🌟 We explored the gaps in early-stage investing for historically underserved investors and entrepreneurs and discussed strategies for meaningful change. Thank you to CREATE CAMPAIGN INC and Empower for collaborating with us, and the Kansas Department of Commerce for sponsoring this event! Special thanks to our hosts Gene Camarena and Yolanda Camarena! Shoutout to the founders who pitched Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP, Miguel Johns 🐢 and Jaqwan Sirls, and thank you to our moderator, Christina Long and our panelists, Kelly Sievers, Deborah Gladney, and Gene Camarena, for sharing their wisdom and actionable advice. Together, we’re building a stronger, more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. 👏

"Among venture capitalists in the U.S., 11% are women, 2% are Black, and less than 1% are Hispanic... This has led to only 22% of venture capital being invested in women-led companies, and even less for Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs, creating a significant gap in investment and access to resources for underrepresented entrepreneurs," quoted Mary Beth Jarvis in the Wichita Business Journal. On Monday night, our community came together to learn and create pathways for inclusive investment at our Capital Conversation: Bridging The Gap event! 🌟 Check out this article to learn more and get a glimpse of the event! https://lnkd.in/gj_vzGTZ

Calling all AgriFood, MedTech, and Digital Technology startups seeking Seed to Series A round funding in the Midwest...InvestMidwest early decision applications are now open! This is one of the region's most prominent events for bridging the capital gap. We hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/gcwet3dw

Congratulations to Knowledge as a Service, Inc. for surpassing $1 million in funding and setting their sights on $1.25 million in their second pre-series-A round! 👏 Robert Feeney is an innovative leader in Wichita’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and it’s an honor to support and celebrate his continued success! "KaaS leveraging AI capabilities to build new solutions quicker and cheaper than before helps them launch into new markets faster, plus, it's music to the ears of investors who are taking a chance on them by providing early-stage capital." quoted Conor Adler in Wichita Business Journal's article. Check out the full story here! https://lnkd.in/gJwg2SzW

We had an absolute blast at our Capital Conversation: Investing, Racing, and Tasting event last Friday! 🎉 The night was filled with energy and excitement, from learning about early-stage investing and racing AI-powered robots to competing in beer and wine-tasting competitions. Thank you to Greenfield Incorporated for hosting us and sharing their groundbreaking plans to revolutionize agriculture with AI-powered robotics.🌾🤖 Want to be part of Greenfield's positive change? tinyurl.com/GFRobots 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘖𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Last week I was in NYC and had such a whirlwind of experiences! Black Ambition saw the value in our innovation and invested not just money but also connections, encouragement & support. I’m so grateful to God for the opportunities provided and ready to use them to continue making impact for seniors and our coming tools for OTs! Thank you all for your support. Time to get back to work! So good to see Nicole Cuervo, Corinne Vargas, Lloyd Emokpae, Ph.D., Callie Chamberlain, Tashara Earl, MBA, MA, Khadijah Robinson, Maryssa Salomon & Roy Scott in real life! #occupationaltherapy #pharrell #blackambition

Nicholas Bonavia and Accelerate Venture Partners / NXTUS, you saw the value of what we're doing for the disadvantaged and you jumped in. The Future Ready National Game Tournament is in 9 states now and is spreading across the country. I salute you and I thank you for partnering with us to get the workforce ready for life and work.

We were back with another AVP pitch meeting yesterday! We heard two awesome pitches from PrairieFood and Laundris Corporation.🌟 As always, thank you to Hinkle Law Firm LLC for your ongoing support and for providing such a beautiful space for our meetings!

Congratulations to our Fall 2024 Accessing Growth Capital Series graduates! 🎉 We culminated the program with a dynamic “speed dating” session, where our cohort had the chance to network and make new connections with investors and fellow founders. A huge thank you to Aspiria NOW for hosting and to all the investors and founders who made this event possible! As always, thank you to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures and K-State 105 for their continued partnership in bringing this program to life!