糖心视频

Chicago, lakeside city of grids, has a new venture capital firm on the block.

may technically be a little over a year old, but on Thursday the firm formally that it closed $17 million in capital commitments for its inaugural fund.

Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily

Founded and led by 鈥攁 former professional poker player and founder turned venture capitalist who previously rose up the ranks from intern to principal at 鈥攖he firm aims to identify and invest in seed and early-stage B2C startups “building products and services for the 99% economy,” according to its announcement.

The firm’s says, “We invest where we see opportunities to make products and services available to a broad range of Americans – not build incremental services for the affluent.”

Starting Line has already made . The firm participated in the Series A round of breakout influencer media marketplace and rounds. Starting Line also led the of Austin-based direct-to-consumer pot, pan, and kitchen supply startup . The firm’s other portfolio companies include extended product warranty provider , inter-city ride-share matching platform , credit-building debit card company , and cryptocurrency-backed consumer loan shop .

“We really want to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Starting Line principal during a sit-down interview with Crunchbase News. “I feel like there’s amazing talent here [in Chicago] but they’re settling for these Series B companies in safe situations,” she said. The firm wants to encourage a little more risk-taking. Zollo, a veteran of two Chicago consumer clothing services, and , said that from her newfound perspective, from the other side of the venture negotiating table, raising money should not be as intimidating as it is.

Venture capital is something of a cloak and dagger industry where, traditionally, secrecy reigned. However, Starting Line is positioning itself as a firm focused on transparency. The VC firm maintains its “Starting Line Operating Manual” in , detailing its investment criteria, check-writing strategy, and , among other facets of the firm. In this respect, Starting Line took inspiration from , which also maintains an open “manual” on GitHub; , head of Bloomberg Beta, is among the firm’s advisors.

“I don’t think we’re that far ahead of anyone else in the more mature markets, in terms of transparency. If you look at a lot of the emerging managers, they’re focused on transparency, relatability. Nobody wants a VC who’s a jerk anymore. These are kind of table stakes now. In Chicago, though, [transparency and relatability] is a massive competitive edge. It’s kind of sad [that that’s the case] but it’s an opportunity to execute against,” said Galston.

Galston, and by extension the firm, sees the Chicago market as one in transition.

“The focus needs to be less on self-adulation and more on value creation,” said Galston, remarking on the city’s startup scene. “I think there are too many distractions in Chicago, and I think that’s because we don’t have enough examples of real value creation to know what that looks like. So what I would do is create more winners who can educate the next generation that ‘winning’ isn’t hanging out having drinks every night.” Or going to a seemingly endless string of award shows putatively celebrating the best and brightest in the city’s tech scene.

Galston cited founder and advisor to the firm, , as a practitioner of the disciplined entrepreneurship he’d like to see more of in the city’s startup scene. “I’ve been to a lot of award shows since 2014, and I’ve never seen [Maloney] at them. He’s either got a business to run, or a family to spend time with. Right? Both of which are more important than, like, gluttony,” Galston said.

Starting Line also provides its portfolio companies a rather unique perk: mental health benefits. As stated in , the firm will cover founders’ initial evaluation of therapy, executive coaching, or co-founder counseling, up to $200. Founders who opt to engage in at least three months of mental healthcare will have their first three sessions covered by Starting Line.

Galston, Zollo, and venture partner seem to be in this for the long haul. The firm wants to continue building closer connections with investors on the coasts, and to help shape the Midwest venture landscape, and the region鈥檚 startup ethos, in the meantime.

滨濒濒耻蝉迟谤补迟颈辞苍:听