Join us for the second annual Prairie Capital Summit on February 28th in Fargo, ND. The summit provides a connection between investors and founders, giving each network a space to share, learn, and promote strong business building in the region. The day will feature keynote presentations from experienced founders and investors, breakout sessions, and rapid pitch sessions for new founders and ecosystem builders to share ideas and resources.
Prairie Capital Summit – Speaker Lineup
Howard Morgan – First Round Capital
Howard Lee Morgan is a Co-Founder and Special to First Round Capital, established in 2004 as an early stage venture fund based in Philadelphia, PA, New York, and San Francisco. He is also President of Arca Group Inc. in Villanova, PA and a Director of Idealab, the Pasadena, CA-based creator and operator of internet companies, where he was a founding investor in 1996.
He is currently helping to nurture a number of startups in both early-stage venture and quantitative investing. He worked with numerous Idealab companies, serving on the board of Evolution Robotics (since sold to IRobot) and as Chairman of Internet Brands, the leading internet media company through its public offering and subsequent sale to Hellman Friedman.
Chris Heivly – The Startup Factory
Chris Heivly is one of the nation’s leading experts in how to turn startups into multimillion-dollar companies and has been dubbed the “Startup Whisperer.” For over 30 years, Heivly has worked at the highest levels for some of the world’s most recognized brands, including MapQuest, Rand McNally, and Accenture. He has also personally directed over $75 million in investment capital on behalf of these and other companies. Heivly current serves as one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory, the largest seed investment firm in the Southeast and as an EIR at Techstars. Chris writes for INC.COM, his blog at heivly.com and recently published his first book about startups called Build The Fort.
Ben Milne – Dwolla
Ben Milne is founder and CEO of Dwolla, the ideal API to move money. Under Milne’s leadership, Dwolla has grown to serve fast-growing technology companies throughout the country, powering billions of dollars in commerce annually. Dwolla been recognized by Fast Company as one of the world’s “Most Innovative Companies” and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.
For his work, Milne has been recognized by Forbes as a “Disruptor of the Year,” named as one of Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, and honored by MIT Technology Review in its annual “Innovators Under 35” list.
Connected By
