Webinar
Venture Investing in the Heartland: How the Midwest is Going from Rust Belt to Tech Belt
Join us for an exclusive webinar on “Venture Investing in the Heartland,” where Alumni Ventures Seed Fund Managing Partner Ron Levin and special guests will delve into the opportunities and challenges of investing in the heartland of America’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Discover the potential for high returns by investing outside of the traditional tech hubs and learn how to identify promising startups. Gain insights from seasoned investors who have successfully navigated these territories and explore the untapped potential of heartland investing. Don’t miss this chance to connect with industry leaders, broaden your investment horizons, and diversify your portfolio beyond conventional tech-centric ventures. Register now to secure your spot and unlock the potential of Heartland investing.
Our guest panel includes:
Rebecca A. Fannin
CNBC Contributor and Author of Silicon Heartland (Penguin Random House)
Paul Palandjian
CEO and Co-General Partner of O’Leary Ventures, leading a fund with a mandate of investing in companies based in North Dakota
Daniel Walsh
CEO and Founder of VeroSkills based in Birmingham, Alabama
We’ll also discuss the impactful book by author, guest, and CNBC contributor Rebecca A. Fannin, Silicon Heartland, chronicling her return to America’s heartland. In it she provides an optimistic and engaging look at the current entrepreneurial comeback happening in the Midwest, documenting its transformation from Rust Belt to Tech Belt.
Why Attend?
- HomeExplore untapped investment opportunities in markets beyond the traditional tech hubs.
- HomeLearn from experienced venture capitalists and industry insiders who have successfully invested in the heartland.
- HomeDiversify your investment portfolio and capitalize on the potential for high returns in non-traditional startup ecosystems.
About Alumni Ventures
Climate Investing
Why Its Really Different This Time
Alumni Ventures
Consolidates in Manchester Millyard
VC Firm Wins
Best Alternative Investment Platform
Climate Tech VCs
Most active U.S. VCs in climate tech
NH Tech Alliance
Member Monday features Alumni Ventures
New Opportunities
Industry disruption means access to VC
Chicago Expansion
AV expands to Chicago with a 6th office
Most Active VCs
Many big-name firms active in March
AV’s VentureCorps
Launch of new VC apprenticeship program
Anyone noticed?
Most active VC is far from The Valley
* You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at avg-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenters
Overview:
Ron brings a dynamic blend of operational leadership, global business acumen, and values-driven investing to early-stage venture capital. As Managing Partner and Head of the AV Seed Fund at Alumni Ventures, he leads investments in bold, frontier technologies that span sectors and geographies. Ron’s experience ranges from founding and scaling unicorn-status startups to guiding impact-focused portfolios that generate both financial and societal returns.
Before joining Alumni Ventures in 2019, Ron served on the Investment Committee at Yard Ventures, AV’s fund for the Harvard community. His own entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding and leading TravelPerk, an enterprise travel management platform that reached multibillion-dollar valuation and global scale. Prior to that, he launched the B2B division of Booking.com and held strategic roles at McKinsey & Co., US Airways, the Maersk Group, and Lycos.
Ron studied entrepreneurship at Babson College and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. A frequent speaker at global investor conferences and guest on top VC podcasts, he is also a passionate world traveler—having visited over 140 countries and all 50 U.S. states. He resides near Boston with his wife and three young children, and shares personal reflections and industry insights at ronlevin.substack.com.
Funds Actively Worked On:
- Seed Fund
- Yard Ventures
Investment Areas of Focus:
Ron’s investment strategy is grounded in the belief that moonshot ideas—when coupled with great execution—can generate asymmetric outcomes. He gravitates toward founders solving global-scale problems through advanced technology, with a particular interest in sectors such as:
- Enterprise software
- Fintech and edtech
- Life sciences and healthtech
- Clean energy and sustainability
- Space and advanced computing
He is especially drawn to companies that combine technical rigor with mission-driven ambition—ventures that challenge the status quo and improve lives across the economic spectrum.
His impact-focused philosophy is captured in his book, Higher Purpose Venture Capital, which highlights startups tackling root causes and symptoms of social and wealth inequality. Ron’s notable investments aligned with this “double bottom line” thesis include:
- Aprende Institute, empowering upskilling in underserved communities (edtech)
- Fido, extending digital identity and financial access in emerging markets (fintech)
- HopSkipDrive, transforming student and senior transportation (mobility) Provenance, enabling traceability and transparency in supply chains (cleantech)
- Surge Therapeutics, developing innovative cancer immunotherapies (biotech)
These companies reflect Ron’s broader vision: to support transformational technologies that deliver extraordinary outcomes—for both investors and the world.
Mike has been involved in almost every facet of venturing, from angel investing to venture capital, new business and product launches, and innovation consulting. He is the CEO of Alumni Ventures and launched AV’s first alumni fund, Green D Ventures, where he oversaw the portfolio as Managing Partner and is now Managing Partner Emeritus. Mike is a serial entrepreneur who has started multiple companies, including Kid Galaxy, Big Idea Group (partially owned by WPP), and RDM. He began his career at VC firm TA Associates. He holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Luke is a Co-Founder of Alumni Ventures and is an experienced startup and tech executive with a focus on marketing, sales operations, and customer experience. As the firm’s Chief Community Officer, Luke has built and oversees many of the processes, systems, and teams that contribute to the firm’s fundraising initiatives. He has scaled many startups as a founder or employee #1. He is the Founder of the AV Venture Fellow Program, which is a one-of-a-kind career accelerator and educational experience that is a groundbreaking on-ramp to a career in VC. Luke has an AB in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College.