VC Speed Dating 2021: Two opportunities for companies and investors to RISE UP and get funded in 2021
TechPoint’s VC Speed Dating is back for not one, but two events this year. The program has played direct and indirect roles in helping innovative Hoosier tech entrepreneurs raise more than $93 million in capital over the past two years from investors all over the country.
The first event will have investors and companies returning to their screens for Virtual VC Speed Dating on June 11, 2021. The cost to participate is $300. All participants must be locked in by May 28. Submit your interest in getting matched to a potential funder — or to participate as an investor — before May 28.
Next month’s Virtual VC Speed Dating event is perfect for Indiana-based technology companies raising at the Seed or Series stage and for venture capital firms investing in technology companies. During the event, participants will meet with five to eight potential matches via Zoom rooms for 18-minute, “speed dating” sessions. Companies and venture capital firms are matched by TechPoint based on the information they provide.
VC Speed Dating will return on October 6 in the safest format allowable for another round of matchmaking. Stay tuned to the Index for more details.
TechPoint VC Speed Dating is a Proven Matchmaker
2021 marks the seventh year for VC Speed Dating, which was originally launched as The Winner’s Circle in 2015. As of 2020, 138 unique venture capital firms from 22 states have taken part in the event along with 79 individual technology companies. Nearly 1,100 meetings between companies and potential investors have taken place during this time.
The 2020 virtual event in October brought together 28 venture capital firms from 15 states to meet with 32 technology companies. Those companies have raised nearly $27 million in new capital since October. The 2019 event was held in-person at the Biltwell Event Center in Indianapolis and included 46 companies meeting with 39 venture capital firms from 19 different states. 18 of those companies went on to raise more than $66 million. Three of those companies met their investors for the first time at VC Speed Dating.
VC Speed Dating has also experienced deliberate growth in reaching diverse founders as part of TechPoint’s DE&I goals. Thirty-one percent of the participating companies in 2020 were led by diverse founders, and the event has experienced 10 percent growth of diverse founders over the past three years.
The 2021 TechPoint Mira Awards called on the Indiana tech ecosystem to RISE UP. These VC Speed Dating events are your chance to “raise up” capital that will enable you to take the next step with your company or to invest in the next great Indiana technology company.