The HEICO Companies, LLC

The Heico Companies is the parent holding company for a diverse portfolio of manufacturing, construction, and industrial services businesses. Today, we look to acquire performing businesses that complement our existing operations. As a buy, hold, and build investor, we have owned many of our operations for over 30 years. A key factor in our growth is our commitment to reinvest earnings in support of both organic growth and new acquisitions

TechNexus Venture Collaborative

TechNexus is a Venture Collaborative, a unique combination of businesses, corporate joint-ventures, private equity funds, and a fast-growing investment portfolio. Since 2007, TechNexus has managed a robust platform to empower entrepreneurs, transform business models at scale and drive innovation through ecosystems. The company has accelerated business opportunities between dozens of leading corporations and more than 600 startups and is among the most active venture investors in the US.

Dundee Venture Capital

<p>We are a venture capital firm in Omaha, Nebraska, that invests $50K - $1M in Midwestern seed-stage technology startups across all industries. We have extensive e-commerce and SaaS experience and seek to act quickly and provide more than just a check. We have portfolio companies in Chicago and are eager to invest in more.</p>

CSC Generation

CSC Generation is saving retail. In just four years, we’ve acquired and turned around several brands to get to a $500M run rate. We’ve also saved over 1,000 jobs, several companies from liquidation, and have over one million happy customers and counting. Starting with DirectBuy Home Improvement Inc in 2017, our acquisition of Z Gallerie in 2019, and our recent acquisitions of One Kings Lane, and Sur La Table, we're consolidating the home furnishings industry, while driving growth through digital. Founded by Justin Yoshimura and backed by world class investors.

Chicago Ventures

<p>Chicago Ventures invests in well-managed seed-stage technology companies in Chicago and the Greater Midwest that have demonstrated a value proposition in a given market for their product or services. The fund looks to make initial investments ranging from $250,000 to $1 million in each company.</p>

Adams Street Partners

<p>Global private equity investment management firm</p>

West Loop Ventures

WLV is a seed and series A venture fund that invests in Business to Business Fin Tech. The companies we invest in will have institutions as their customers. We invest in Insurance, Banking, Trading, Capital Markets, Finance Back office, Risk, Data, Process and anything that touches finance. Target fund size is $30M. Initial check size $100-$500K

Ceres Venture Fund

<p>Venture capital fund dedicated to funding high growth companies located in the Midwest in their early stages of growth.</p>

FireStarter Fund

<p>FireStarter Fund is a Chicago-based self-managed investment fund. It consists of 42 members and has $5.7 million in committed capital. The Fund focuses primarily on companies in the digital media &amp; marketing, software as a service, and e-commerce sectors, with a focus on web social, mobile and big data, and it makes most of its investments in series A or B rounds.</p>

Heartland Angels

<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our mission is to be a catalyst in the process of innovation. We do this by creating forums in which human, intellectual and financial capital are joined for a common purpose.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Heartland Angels' unique process has four components:</p><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2.1em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; text-indent: -1.1em;">A&nbsp;<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Program&nbsp;</strong>to perform a stepped due diligence analysis to review investment opportunities.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2.1em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; text-indent: -1.1em;">A&nbsp;<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Strategy&nbsp;</strong>to use the multifaceted experience of professionals, academics and scientists in investigating and assessing early staged investment opportunities.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2.1em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; text-indent: -1.1em;">A&nbsp;<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Method</strong>&nbsp;to syndicate an opt-in funding approach so as to coordinate the interests of multiple private equity ("angel") investors.</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2.1em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; text-indent: -1.1em;">A&nbsp;<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Protocol&nbsp;</strong>to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of negotiations. This maximizes communications and minimizes unnecessary risk and cost to the investor and to portfolio companies.</li></ul><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: square; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Heartland Angels operates to facilitate the investor-company matching process.</p>

First Analysis

<p style="list-style-type: none; padding: 5px 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: MyriadProRegular; line-height: 25px; color: rgb(78, 78, 78); font-size: 14px;">First Analysis is a leading private growth equity investor. We have one of the longest records (28 years) in private capital investing, having invested more than $700 million across multiple highly diversified funds.</p><p style="list-style-type: none; padding: 5px 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: MyriadProRegular; line-height: 25px; color: rgb(78, 78, 78); font-size: 14px;">First Analysis invests mainly in the United States with a focus on our three sectors of expertise: health care, broadband enabled businesses (IT applications and outsourced services), and clean-tech / infrastructure. We help established companies become profitable leaders in large markets, funding growth plans and working closely with management in areas including strategy, recruitment, sales and marketing, and corporate development. Our flexible approach targets investing $3-10 million as lead investor or as a syndicate partner who brings valuable perspective to the table.</p>

Leo Capital Advisors

<p><span style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">Leo Capital Holdings, LLC is a privately funded venture investor making investments in early and later stage private companies. Our focus is primarily on consumer oriented technology and applications. We like ventures that target very large markets, and consider investment opportunities across the United States.&nbsp;</span><br style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"><br style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">Leo maintains a broad network of contacts, investors, and advisors with whom we work after investing to help build value, and usually make investments that allow for our active involvement.</span></p>

Sterling Partners

<p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Sterling Partners is a private equity firm with a distinct point of view on how to build great companies. Founded in 1983, Sterling has invested billions of dollars, guided by the company’s stated purpose: INSPIRED GROWTH™, which describes Sterling’s approach to buying differentiated businesses and growing them in inspired ways. Sterling focuses on investing growth capital in small and mid-market companies in industries with positive, long-term trends – education, healthcare, and business services. Sterling provides valuable support to the management teams of the companies in which the firm invests through a deep and dedicated team of operations and functional experts based in the firm’s offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami.&nbsp;</span></p>

The Cultivator

The Cultivator is a team of highly experienced Chicago business owners, investors, and experts. We provide entrepreneurs who are struggling to take their business to the next level with the guidance, capital, and resources they need so they can realize and reach their potential faster. The Cultivator invests business resources and capital in entrepreneurs that we truly believe have the drive, ingenuity, and determination to move their business forward. The Cultivator's investment and engagement approach is designed to help you and your team refine your vision, harness your potential, and cultivate greater success.

Wintrust Financial Corporation

Wintrust Financial (Wintrust) is a financial services holding company based in Rosemont, Illinois, with $50 billion in assets. Wintrust engages in the business of providing traditional community banking services, wealth management services, commercial insurance premium financing, mortgage origination and more. Focused on the commitment to community, the company has grown with 175 locations across Illinois, Wisconsin, and Canada. Wintrust’s dedication to serving with a family approach has made us a community staple. Niche offerings and products from Commercial Banking, Wintrust Mortgage, Wintrust Asset Finance, Wintrust Wealth Management, Wintrust Life Finance, and more, allows us to serve our diverse customer base in every phase of their financial needs.

Energize Ventures

Energize Ventures is a leading global alternative investment manager focused on accelerating digital transformation in energy and sustainable industry. Founded in 2016, Energize has funded 20 companies to-date and is backed by strategic and institutional LPs including CDPQ, Invenergy, Schneider Electric, General Electric, Caterpillar, and more. With an unmatched depth and breadth of industry and operational expertise, Energize works in partnership with its portfolio companies to realize their full potential from early commercialization to growth scaling and into the public markets. For more information on Energize Ventures, please visit www.energize.vc.

Founder Equity

Founder Equity is an early stage fund with a radically different approach. We provide cash and talent, giving founders a "startup team in a box". Founders get access to full time designers, developers, marketers, strategists and more.

VAULT

<div class="page-title-wrapper" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1415801135708_2938" style="display: inline-block; box-sizing: border-box; width: auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 15px 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14.3999996185303px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941);"><h1 class="page-title" data-shrink-original-size="39" style="font-size: 2.8em; margin: 0px; color: rgb(23, 23, 23); font-family: futura-pt; line-height: 1em; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.17948717948718em; font-weight: 400; max-width: 100%; display: inline-block; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: inherit;">VAULT IS AN INNOVATION FIRM</h1></div><div class="page-desc" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1415801135708_5079" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 25px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; color: rgb(23, 23, 23); position: relative; z-index: inherit; padding: 15px 20px; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14.3999996185303px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.952941);"><span style="font-size: 1.2em; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 1.6em;">We help organizations envision and realize non-obvious pathways. &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><p id="yui_3_17_2_3_1415801135708_5078" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6em; letter-spacing: 1px; position: relative; z-index: inherit;">We then roll-up our sleeves to unlock the value and drive breakthrough results.</p></div><p>&nbsp;</p>

Ekistic Ventures

Ekistic Ventures is a fund of urban problem-solvers who are actively cultivating a portfolio of disruptive companies that bring new solutions to critical urban problems. We invest our expertise and capital in entrepreneurs and young start-ups that have great ideas to make cities more efficient and equitable.