What StartMidwest does

StartMidwest (d/b/a Start Midwest) is a privately held digital media publication operated by Zereto7 LLC, an LLC registered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 2023 and structured as a bootstrapped, founder-led venture, the platform provides editorial coverage of startup news, funding rounds, founder profiles, ecosystem developments, and ecosystem rankings across six U.S. Midwest states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The core product is a web-based online magazine at start-midwest.com, supplemented by a searchable Midwest Startup Database, a Midwest Investors Database that is currently in development, a weekly email newsletter, and multimedia content including the Lay of the Land podcast and Midwest Moxie video series.

The underlying technology is a Webflow-hosted website with content management and membership authentication, distributed globally via web browser with no app, API, or SDK layer. The business model is freemium: all editorial content is accessible without payment, while readers can support the publication through a $7.99/month recurring membership (auto-renewed via Stripe) or via one-time Stripe donations framed as 'supporter' payments. The free tier captures emails for the weekly newsletter; the paid tier mirrors the free experience in content access and adds newsletter auto-enrollment and supporter status. Customer segments are Midwest founders and startup teams, Midwest-focused venture capital and angel investors, and ecosystem builders (accelerators, economic development organizations, university tech transfer offices).

StartMidwest's distribution is primarily content-led: SEO-optimized articles, organic social on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, the weekly newsletter, and partner co-marketing — most notably an annual data partnership with Dealroom to publish Midwest hub rankings within the Global Tech Ecosystem Index. The site is 'Powered by Midwest House,' indicating an affiliation with that regional ecosystem organization. The company has no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, and no enterprise customer relationships; it is a small independent media venture relying on a distributed base of individual paying supporters.

Name

StartMidwest

Legal name

Zeroto7 LLC

Website

https://start-midwest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

StartMidwest is a bootstrapped digital media publication covering startup news, funding, and ecosystem developments across six U.S. Midwest states. It serves founders, investors, and ecosystem builders via free editorial content, a $7.99/month membership, and startup and investor databases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Monthly Membership Subscription: StartMidwest offers a monthly paid membership at $7.99 per month. Members gain full access to all site content and automatically receive the weekly email newsletter. The subscription renews automatically on a monthly billing cycle and can be cancelled at any time through account settings.
2. One-time Donations / Supporter Payments: Readers can make one-off payments via Stripe to support the site without committing to a recurring subscription. This appeals to readers who already have multiple subscriptions but wish to support the publication financially.
3. Newsletter / Email List (Free Membership): Free membership registration captures user email addresses in exchange for weekly newsletter delivery. All paying members are automatically added to the newsletter list; non-members can subscribe separately via the contact page.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

StartMidwest is a digital news publication that covers startup funding, founder stories, and innovation ecosystem developments across six Midwest U.S. states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin). It operates a Webflow-based website with editorial content, a searchable Midwest Startup Database, an in-development Midwest Investors Database, and a paid membership program ($7.99/month) that grants full content access and weekly newsletter delivery.

Product overview

StartMidwest is a content publication platform offering news coverage of Midwest startups, funding, and ecosystem news. The core offering consists of a news platform covering six Midwest states, a startup database directory, an investor database (in development), and a paid membership subscription. The products work together as a content-first ecosystem: the news platform drives engagement, the databases provide discoverability for startups and investors, and the membership program provides recurring revenue while offering subscribers full access and newsletter delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• StartMidwest News Platform A digital news publication covering startup funding announcements, founder stories, ecosystem developments, and investor coverage across six U.S. Midwest states, organized by topic (Funding, People, Technology, Ecosystem, Opinion) and by region.
• Midwest Startup Database A searchable directory of startups across the Midwest, allowing users to discover innovative companies by location and industry.
• Midwest Investors Database A directory of investors across the Midwest, from angel investors to venture capital firms, intended to serve investors seeking Midwest deal flow and founders seeking capital. Currently under development.
• Membership Subscription A paid reader-membership program at $7.99/month that provides full access to all site content and the weekly email newsletter, with auto-renewing billing and cancellable at any time through account settings.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DealroomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartMidwest partners annually with Dealroom, a global tech ecosystem data provider, to benchmark and report on Midwest startup hub rankings within Dealroom's Global Tech Ecosystem Index. StartMidwest provides editorial coverage and regional context for Dealroom's data-driven rankings of 325 cities across 77 countries, with specific analysis of Chicago, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati, Madison, Grand Rapids, Cleveland, and Lincoln, Nebraska. The partnership enables StartMidwest to offer data-backed ecosystem analysis and provides Dealroom with regional distribution and visibility in the Midwest.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Built In: A tech/startup media company that operates multiple city-specific editions (Chicago, Austin, Boston, etc.) covering local startup ecosystems. Closest comparable in business model: regional content, employer branding, and job boards, with several markets overlapping StartMidwest's Midwest coverage.
• Crunchbase: The leading global startup and investor database with an integrated news operation (Crunchbase News). Comparable on the database product dimension (StartMidwest's startup and investor databases) and on the editorial coverage of funding rounds and ecosystem data.

Regional players

• Betakit: Canada's leading startup and tech ecosystem news publication. Comparable as a dedicated regional startup media outlet with funding data coverage, newsletters, and ecosystem reporting — but serving Canada rather than the US Midwest.
• Hypepotamus: A regional startup and tech news publication covering Atlanta and the Southeast innovation ecosystem. Comparable in scope and model — single-region startup media with editorial, events, and a newsletter — but serving a different US region.
• GeekWire: The leading regional tech/startup news publication covering the Pacific Northwest. Directly comparable to StartMidwest as a regional-focused startup media outlet with original reporting, podcasts, events, and a newsletter — but serving a different geography (Seattle/Puget Sound vs. Midwest).
• AlleyWatch: A regional startup news and ecosystem media platform covering the New York City tech scene. Directly comparable as a dedicated regional startup publication with news, founder interviews, and investor coverage — but focused on NYC.

Broad incumbents

• The Information: A subscription-based tech and startup news publication with deep original reporting. Comparable in the paywalled business model and focus on startup/tech coverage, but operates at a national premium tier with a significantly larger team.
• TechCrunch: The dominant global startup and technology news publication. Overlaps with StartMidwest in covering funding rounds, founder stories, and ecosystem developments, but operates at national/global scale with a much larger team and resources.
• CB Insights: A leading market intelligence platform providing startup, investor, and emerging technology data. Comparable on the data/information services dimension, particularly relevant as StartMidwest builds out its investor and startup databases.

Others

• Midwest House: A Midwest-focused innovation and entrepreneurship community organization. StartMidwest explicitly states it is 'powered by Midwest House,' making it both a partner and an adjacent ecosystem enabler serving the same regional audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StartMidwest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/start-midwest
• Instagraminstagram.com/startmidwest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about StartMidwest