The
Idea Fund of La Crosse, one of five portfolio funds that is part of the state-backed
Badger Fund of Funds program, has raised $31.5 million for its second venture capital fund.
The new fund, called Idea Fund of La Crosse II, will make investments between $500,000 and $1 million into about 20 startups, with a focus on Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
The Idea Fund has already made four new investments through its second operating fund. Those companies include Milwaukee-based
Golgix, Brookfield-based
Distribution Depot, Minneapolis-based Lumberjack, and Hopper Health, a fully remote health care solutions company.
“In a tough market, the new funding allows us to lean in, scaling our offerings and helping our portfolio companies move even faster and farther,” said
Jonathon Horne, the Idea Fund's general partner. “Challenging times can create great companies. With venture markets contracting, supporting our region’s most promising entrepreneurs is now more important than ever.”
The Idea Fund of La Crosse also has a new partnership with San Francisco-based
Pablo Capital, a private investment syndicate that represents employees at Minneapolis-based company
Jamf.
Jamf was founded in Eau Claire and the company's 2020 IPO represents the largest ever exit of a tech startup in Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin.
“This region has great potential to build a more vibrant startup community and create many more successes," said
Zach Halmstad, Jamf co-founder and partner at Pablo Capital. "We’re excited to work with the Idea Fund to help make that happen and have more direct connection for founders to potential capital. This partnership will be an incredible value-add to folks looking to build a business in our region."
With the closing of its second fund, the Idea Fund has hired
Elaine Coughlin and
Garrett Lauderdale. Coughlin, investment director at Pablo Capital, will be based at the fund’s new Eau Claire office. She'll focus on supporting portfolio companies. Lauderdale is based in La Crosse and is responsible for sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities.
The Idea Fund targets pre- and early-stage revenue startups in the upper Midwest and invests in diversified end markets such as agriculture, manufacturing, supply chain, and health care.
Fund one investments included Madison-based
Curate, which was later sold to Fiscalnote, Madison-based fintech startup
Quiver Quantitative, Madison-based IT services company
Agrograph, and Eau Claire-based software company
Aaniee.
“Emerging technology is enabling companies to serve their customers in ways never thought possible 10 or even five years ago. For leaders in our region’s traditional industries, this threatens to reshuffle the deck," said Horne. “By layering sophisticated technical capabilities over our region’s deep industry expertise, we aim to invest in startups creating overwhelming value propositions.”
