midwest.tech
midwest.tech is a virtual summit and online community platform built by Sandalphon Capital LLC that connects Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startup founders with VCs, angel investors, lenders, and accelerators for Pre-Seed to Series A deal flow.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersMidwest, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What midwest.tech does
midwest.tech operates a virtual summit and online community platform called midwest.tech/connect that connects Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startup founders with venture capitalists, angel investors, lenders, accelerators, and select service providers. The company is a d/b/a of Sandalphon Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and Midwest-focused venture capital firm headquartered in Chicago (111 W Illinois, 5th Floor, c/o WeWork). The platform supports Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A startups and is built around an event-driven format in which attendees browse detailed profiles, exchange direct messages, and optionally schedule private 25-minute virtual meetings over up to two days based on mutual opt-in. Past cycles have attracted roughly 700 startups and 200–300 investors per event and the company claims facilitation of 8,000+ connections and numerous funding outcomes per event.
The business model is a two-sided marketplace in which startup founders receive free access and investor-side participants (VCs, angel investors, lenders, accelerators, and exhibitors) pay $100 early-bird or $150 standard ticket fees. Underlying technology is conventional web/PLG infrastructure — Eventbrite for ticketing and payment processing, Airtable and Google Sheets for customer data storage, and a web-based platform for profile browsing, messaging, and meeting scheduling. There is no native mobile app, no disclosed API, and no AI capabilities. The company has limited disclosed operational footprint — 1–10 employees, no management team beyond the founder Jonathan Ellis, no external funding rounds, and no patents — and markets primarily through organic channels (website, email newsletter, Twitter) supplemented by earned media coverage in Forbes, Chicago Inno, and Yahoo Finance. Following a multi-year gap after the 2020 launch, the platform is announced to return in Summer 2025 with on-platform browsing, messaging, and meetings listed as TBA features.
midwest.tech firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- midwest.tech
- Legal name
- Sandalphon Capital LLC
- Website
- https://midwest.tech
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- midwest.tech is a virtual summit and online community platform built by Sandalphon Capital LLC that connects Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startup founders with VCs, angel investors, lenders, and accelerators for Pre-Seed to Series A deal flow.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
midwest.tech industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Investor Matchmaking Platform
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Partner, Channel & Alliance Summits (THAHAMAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Professional & Business Networking Communities (MPACAJAB), Product & Innovation Summits (Roadmap, Launch Readiness, Innovation Days) (THAHAMAG)
Keywords
Where midwest.tech is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Midwest
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
midwest.tech business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel
Revenue model
- Investor Ticket Sales: VC funds, family offices, and investors pay ticket fees to participate in the virtual summit and access startup profiles and meeting scheduling capabilities
- Founders Free Access: Startup founders receive free access to the platform, creating a two-sided marketplace where investor fees subsidize free access for entrepreneurs
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Startup Founders - Free Access |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Venture Capitalists - Paid Access |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Angel Investors - Paid Access |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
midwest.tech product offering
Product offeringCore offering
midwest.tech operates midwest.tech/connect, a virtual summit and online community platform that connects Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startup founders (Pre-Seed to Series A) with venture capitalists, angel investors, lenders, incubators, and accelerators. Participants browse detailed profiles, send direct messages, and schedule optional 1-on-1 private 25-minute virtual meetings over up to two days based on mutual opt-in. The platform typically facilitates 8,000+ connections per event between roughly 700 startups and 200-300 investors, and is hosted by Sandalphon Capital, a Midwest-focused venture capital firm.
Product overview
midwest.tech operates as a single core product offering called midwest.tech/connect, a virtual summit and online community that connects Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startups with investors and accelerators. The platform facilitates 8,000+ connections between investors and startups per event through profile browsing, direct messaging, and scheduled one-on-one virtual meetings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- midwest.tech/connect: A virtual summit connecting startups, founders, venture capitalists, angel investors, and a database including information on startups and investors which may be shared with investors and startups respectively.
Products and services
- midwest.tech/connect A virtual summit and online community platform that brings together Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startups, VCs, angel investors, lenders, incubators, and accelerators focused on Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A stages. Attendees browse detailed profiles, send on-platform direct messages, and schedule optional private 25-minute virtual meetings over up to two days based on mutual opt-in.
Quantifiable outcome
- 8,000+ connections facilitated between investors and startups per event
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use midwest.tech
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
midwest.tech technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
midwest.tech partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sandalphon CapitalcoreSandalphon Capital is the parent company and host of midwest.tech. They are a Midwest-focused VC firm that organizes and sponsors the virtual summit. The company is a d/b/a of Sandalphon Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
- WeWorkminorWeWork provides office space at their Chicago location (111 W Illinois, 5th Floor) where Sandalphon Capital/midwest.tech maintains their mailing address.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
midwest.tech competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Visible.vc: Visible.vc is an investor relations and fundraising platform for early-stage startups, helping founders share updates and connect with investors. It overlaps with midwest.tech's investor-facing functionality (proactive investor communication, profile sharing) at an always-on rather than event-driven cadence.
- Startup Grind: Startup Grind operates a global community and event series (fireside chats, conferences, accelerators) connecting early-stage founders with investors. It is comparable to midwest.tech as a startup-investor community platform, though Startup Grind operates a broader, decentralized chapter model rather than a focused regional summit.
- F6S: F6S is a global founder network and deal-flow platform connecting startups with accelerators, investors, and grant programs. It is comparable to midwest.tech in offering founder-investor matchmaking and application tools, but at international scale with program-based (accelerator) integrations.
Broad incumbents
- Techstars: Techstars is a global accelerator that runs cohorts and demo days where founders meet investors. While its primary model is program-based, its investor-facing events and community overlap with midwest.tech's matchmaking thesis at a much larger and more established scale.
- Crunchbase: Crunchbase provides a comprehensive database of startups, funding rounds, and investors that many VCs use to source and qualify deal flow. It overlaps with midwest.tech's investor-facing value proposition (discovering and screening startups) but operates at a much broader, data-centric scale.
- Web Summit: Web Summit is one of the largest global tech conferences (Lisbon, Vegas, Rio, etc.) connecting startups, investors, and media. It is comparable to midwest.tech as a large-scale event-driven startup-investor matchmaking venue, though with a much broader, international scope.
- TechCrunch Disrupt: TechCrunch Disrupt is a flagship global tech/startup conference featuring pitch competitions, investor matching, and high-visibility networking. Like midwest.tech, it facilitates founder-investor connections at a virtual/physical event, but at far greater scale and without a regional focus.
Others
- Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a ticketing and event-management platform that midwest.tech already uses as a sub-processor for financial transactions. It is comparable as the underlying infrastructure enabling the registration and ticketing flow, and any shift to direct ticketing would be a direct functional overlap.
Direct peers
- AngelList: AngelList operates a startup-investor matchmaking and rolling-fund platform that directly mirrors midwest.tech's core thesis: connecting early-stage founders with accredited investors and VCs through profiles, messaging, and curated deal flow. Both platforms aim to compress the time between fundraising and capital deployment.
- Gust: Gust (formerly AngelSoft) is a global platform that connects startups with angel investors and syndicates via standardized profiles and deal-sharing. Like midwest.tech, it focuses on early-stage (pre-seed, seed) matchmaking between founders and accredited investors, but at a global rather than regional scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
midwest.tech social profiles
Digital presencemidwest.tech financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
midwest.tech leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
midwest.tech funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
midwest.tech M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about midwest.tech
What does midwest.tech do?
midwest.tech operates midwest.tech/connect, a virtual summit and online community platform that connects Midwest-based and Midwest-linked startup founders (Pre-Seed to Series A) with venture capitalists, angel investors, lenders, incubators, and accelerators. Participants browse detailed profiles, send direct messages, and schedule optional 1-on-1 private 25-minute virtual meetings over up to two days based on mutual opt-in. The platform typically facilitates 8,000+ connections per event between roughly 700 startups and 200-300 investors, and is hosted by Sandalphon Capital, a Midwest-focused venture capital firm.
Is midwest.tech a public or private company?
midwest.tech is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was midwest.tech founded?
midwest.tech was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is midwest.tech based?
midwest.tech is headquartered in Midwest, United States, in the North America region.
How does midwest.tech make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Investor Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are founders Free Access.
Who are midwest.tech's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Visible.vc, Startup Grind and F6S. Broad incumbents are Techstars, Crunchbase, Web Summit and TechCrunch Disrupt. Eventbrite is listed as an others. Direct peers are AngelList and Gust.
Does midwest.tech have an API?
No public API is recorded for midwest.tech.
What industry is midwest.tech in?
midwest.tech's product category is Investor Matchmaking Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHAMAC, Partner, Channel & Alliance Summits, with a secondary code of MPACAJAB, Professional & Business Networking Communities. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7371.