All the talented entrepreneurs in America aren’t living in just three cities.
Yet, nearly 70% of venture capital goes to startups in New York, Boston, and San Francisco. That lack of funding creates several outcomes, a few of which are particularly bad:
In other words, if talented entrepreneurs starting companies outside of those three cities don’t have access to capital, all of us are worse of economically and politically.
That makes the work of St. Louis-based Lewis and Clark Ventures (and other funds like Lewis and Clark) particularly important. Founded in 2015 to address a lack of Series A and Series B capital in the Midwest, Lewis and Clark is one of the first funds outside of Silicon Valley to raise a $100 million tech fund. The fund focuses on Series A and B funding rounds, with investments typically in the $3 to $7 million range.
And investments aren’t limited to startups in St. Louis. The firm is headquartered in the city, and while roughly a third of its portfolio companies are in St. Louis, the firm invests in startups in places where founders face a similar lack of access to venture capital.
However, Lewis and Clark has played an important role in building St. Louis’ fast-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, and believes it is important for new funds to partner with a startup scene’s existing organizations.
“When raising a first-time fund in an ’emerging geography’, it’s important to be sensitive and respectful to the other entities in the local community that may be impacted,” said Lewis and Clark Principal Scott Bernstein. “For cities like St. Louis, or expansive regions like the Midwest, it is crucial that everyone work together. The sum of the whole is greater than the individual parts.”
The work being done to bring entrepreneurship and funding resources to cities like St. Louis and Albuquerque–and in rural communities–isn’t just about creating high-paying tech jobs.
It’s about the acknowledgement of an important idea that often gets ignored in politics and public policy, and that’s the idea of “home.”
Yes, founders, entrepreneurs, and talented employees could increase their access to capital and good jobs by moving somewhere else, and some people do make that choice.
But many don’t.
For many high-potential entrepreneurs the bonds with their family and community will keep them in the towns, cities, suburbs, and farmhouses they grew up in–and that doesn’t mean they are less talented, less intelligent, or less capable of succeeding.
Thankfully, there is a growing number of policymakers, community leaders, and unique venture capital firms like Lewis and Clark Ventures that understand that.