Speakers
Founder & General PartnerMatchstick Ventures
Managing PartnerBread & Butter Ventures
PartnerBain Capital Ventures
Managing DirectorRally Ventures
CEODispatch
Managing PartnerRise of the Rest Seed Fund
Founder & CEOBranch
Vice PresidentRevolution's Rise of the Rest Fund
Ryan Broshar is the co-founder and General Partner for Matchstick Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital fund that invests in startups with ties to the North and the Rockies. An investor in over 100 companies, Ryan has also founded three companies with two exits. Prior to Matchstick, Ryan was the co-founder of BETA and Twin Cities Startup Week. He also was the Founder of Techstars in the Twin Cities with the Techstars Retail Accelerator with Target.
Ryan's Sessions
Building a Fintech Company
Minneapolis has a growing number of fintech companies, and Branch is among the best positioned. Hear from its CEO and founder Atif Siddiqi and one of the company’s early investors, Ryan Broshar, managing director and partner at Matchstick Ventures.
Mary Grove is Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures, an early stage firm investing in healthtech, foodtech, and enterprise SaaS companies. She brings nearly two decades of leadership experience in technology, early stage investing, and startup ecosystem growth. Mary spent 15 years at Google where she worked on the IPO team, led new business development partnerships, and was the founding director of Google for Startups. She was an investment partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that she and her husband Steve founded in 2013 to help young Minnesotans from underserved communities pursue careers in tech. Mary serves on the boards of Vital Voices, the Minneapolis Foundation, Bush Foundation and the Techstars Foundation. She lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband and their five-year-old twins.
Mary's Sessions
Where to Raise Capital in MSP
A panel on the growth opportunities for Minn from the perspective of VC funds – what’s needed in the market, what are they funding right, where startups should look for funding.
Sarah Hinkfuss is a partner at Bain Capital Ventures where she works with growth-stage founders across both application software and fintech. She is particularly interested in backing founders who have personal experience in the market they are creating. Prior to BCV, she held venture investment roles at Bain Capital, KKR, and Cowboy Ventures, and held executive operational roles at technology company Applied Predictive Technologies. She holds a BA in Economics, Environmental Science & Public Policy from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Sarah's Sessions
Startup Pitch Competition
Justin Kaufenberg is the managing director at Rally Ventures and co-founder and former CEO of SportsEngine.
Justin's Sessions
Where to Raise Capital in MSP
A panel on the growth opportunities for Minn from the perspective of VC funds – what’s needed in the market, what are they funding right, where startups should look for funding.
From commercial and residential real estate to graphic design and window washing, Andrew Leone has a strong track record in creating successful startups. Andrew has co-founded and grown several eight figure businesses in a wide variety of industries and can make a clear case for being an effective CEO. To that end, Dispatch represents an innovative business model in a traditional industry. “Dispatch has combined the Grubhub-style aggregator model with the Uber-like rideshare method for a gig-based approach to logistics.” Andrew Leone has already established a baseline reputation as a strong leader as per the list of accolades on his LinkedIn profile, such as: #5 on Forbes’ Best Startups to Work For, CNBC’s Top 100 Companies in the World to Watch, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Best Places to Work 2019, and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year nominee. In addition, he raised $1 million in investments from his customer base before going to VCs, implying good relationships with customers/community.
Andrew's Sessions
Raising Capital Outside of the Coasts
Andrew Leone’s Dispatch provides businesses with an on-demand courier delivery service. Headquartered in the greater Minneapolis, Minn area, the startup is quickly becoming a shining star in the area’s exploding startup ecosystem. It’s the type of startup that captures the attention of local investors, but outsiders as well including Anna Mason, managing partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest fund.
Anna Mason is a Managing Partner on Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, where she has led more than 50 investments. She currently serves on the board of AppHarvest (AgTech; Eastern Kentucky; NASDAQ:APPH), is a board observer for Pryon (AI Knowledge Management; Raleigh, NC) Dispatch (Logistics; Minneapolis, MN), and Collective Retreats (Hospitality; Denver, CO). Anna also leads the strategy for the Rise of the Rest Platform, which is anchored by the firm’s Rise of the Rest Road Trip, and has been covered widely in the media including by 60 Minutes and The New York Times. She has more than fifteen years of experience in finance, startup operations, and venture community programming. Prior to joining Revolution, she co-founded a fitness-community startup called BurnThis (acquired by Beachbody) and co-led The Vinetta Project DC, an organization supporting early-stage female founders in tech. She began her career on Wall Street, as a distressed bond and post-reorg private equity trader, most recently as a Vice President at The Seaport Group. Anna received her BA in Government from Harvard College and her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. She was named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 in 2020, Business Insider’s list of 100 People Transforming Business in 2019 and a Washingtonian Tech Titan in 2017 and 2018. She is a proud Washington, DC-transplant and has visited more than 40 startup communities across the country.
Anna's Sessions
Raising Capital Outside of the Coasts
Andrew Leone’s Dispatch provides businesses with an on-demand courier delivery service. Headquartered in the greater Minneapolis, Minn area, the startup is quickly becoming a shining star in the area’s exploding startup ecosystem. It’s the type of startup that captures the attention of local investors, but outsiders as well including Anna Mason, managing partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest fund.
Atif Siddiqi is the founder and CEO of Branch, the workforce payments platform that helps businesses accelerate payments and empower working Americans. Businesses turn to Branch for a more cost-effective, faster way to pay employees and reduce the costs of paper checks and paycards. Employees and independent contractors that sign up with Branch can receive a zero-fee bank account, free instant access to earned wages, rewards, and auto-budgeting tools to help them manage their cash flow between paychecks. Atif has been recognized as one of Employee Benefit News’ Top 20 Digital Innovators in Benefits and EY Entrepreneur of the Year: Heartland. He holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Atif's Sessions
Building a Fintech Company
Minneapolis has a growing number of fintech companies, and Branch is among the best positioned. Hear from its CEO and founder Atif Siddiqi and one of the company’s early investors, Ryan Broshar, managing director and partner at Matchstick Ventures.
Mahati is a Vice President on the investment team at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. She joined the firm in 2021 and focuses on sourcing, due diligence, and supporting existing portfolio companies. Prior to joining Revolution, Mahati was an Associate at Bull City Venture Partners, a Durham-based venture capital fund where she worked on seed and series A software and internet investments in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Mahati is also a Venture for America Fellow and served her fellowship in Charlotte where she helped launch CFV Ventures, an early-stage fintech-focused venture fund. She started her career in Investment Banking at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey where she worked on the healthcare coverage team. Mahati received a B.S. in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Mahati originally hails from Raleigh but currently calls New York City home.
