Des Moines-based venture capital firm Next Level Ventures (NLV) has announced the promotions of Liz Keehner and Wyatt Powers. Keehner has been promoted to vice president from senior associate. She joined NLV in 2021 and has led investments in several companies, including Tractor Zoom, hummingbirds and iotaMotion. Powers has been promoted to associate from senior […]
The fund raised $250 million in assets, made 11 fintech investments in 2021 Next Level Ventures launched the Curql Fund (pronounced “circle”) early in 2021 as a national group of credit unions was expressing interest in a nationwide credit union-led venture capital fund that invests in fintech companies that serve credit unions and their members. […]
Next Level Ventures and credit union partners of Members Development Co. have launched a new collaborative venture capital fund for the development of financial services technology in the credit union industry. NLV will structure and manage the investments from the Curql Fund (pronounced “circle”) in fintech companies. Curql — spelled that way to highlight the C and […]
Des Moines-based venture capital firm Next Level Ventures announced Dave Tucker has joined as a senior adviser to the firm. Tucker served as the senior vice president of technology at Workiva and previously sat as board chair for the Technology Association of Iowa’s board of directors in 2017. Tucker intends to continue consulting for Workiva […]
FarmlandFinder, an Ames startup supporting farmland sales for buyers and sellers, raised $3 million in a seed funding round led by Cultivian Sandbox, with participation from Iowa Farm Bureau’s Rural Vitality Fund and Next Level Ventures. FarmlandFinder will use the funding to expand staff, founder and CEO Steven Brockshus said in a statement.
How do startups navigate the world of venture capital? Next Level Ventures principal partner Scott Hoekman broke it down for the audience at Wednesday’s 1 Million Cups presentation. The whole presentation is available on Facebook @1MillionCupsDSM, but here’s a few takeaways to note if you’re unfamiliar. Next Level Ventures is seeking its next eight to […]
Monetery 2019, Dwolla’s second regional summit dedicated to creating value in the Midwest, is dedicating Day 2 of the summit (scheduled May 21-22 at the Temple for Performing Arts) to One-on-One meetings between selected startups and representatives from at least five national venture capital firms traveling to Des Moines for the conference, events manager Ryan […]
Craig Ibsen, managing principal at Next Level Ventures, and Stephanie Atkin, vice president of marketing at Dwolla, at Thursday’s Power Breakfast: Innovation Acceleration. Des Moines talks a big game about Iowa being an innovation state, but at Thursday morning’s Business Record Power Breakfast, one audience member wondered: is this true in rural communities? Fair question, […]
Des Moines-based fintech startup LenderClose announced Tuesday the business has secured funding to add 25 new employees. Since launching in March 2016, LenderClose has added 100 lenders to its client list; in March 2018, LenderClose secured investment from two Iowa credit unions and added Chief Operating Officer Ben Rempe to its team. LenderClose’s latest round […]