We’re Proud to Announce Grant Gibson Has Been Promoted to Managing Partner
By Rob Weber We’re excited to announce that Great North Ventures has named Grant Gibson a Managing Partner. Since joining the firm in May 2023, Grant has taken on an expanding role across investing, firm operations, and portfolio support. His promotion recognizes those contributions and the leadership he brings to building Great North Ventures. On […]
How Two Midwest VCs Have Mastered Success Through Multiple Tech Cycles
by Graeme Thickins For twin brothers Rob and Ryan Weber, founding partners of Great North Ventures in Minnesota, entrepreneurship began in college, just as the Internet was taking off in 1996. As computer science majors (and Rob later switching to entrepreneurial studies), they learned quickly that Internet traffic could be monetized. Over a few years, […]
‘Embedded Everywhere’: Tim Li on the future of lending, AI, and VC scrutiny
Tim Li is a fintech veteran with two decades of experience working at the intersection of banking and technology. After earning a master’s in engineering and building microprocessors at Intel, he pivoted to financial services in the early 2000s, joining JPMorgan Chase to help launch its first digital banking platforms. As the financial crisis hit […]
How Long Does It Take for a Startup to Get to a Big Exit?
Big exits are important for venture investors because they require large distributions to make up for any underperforming investments. How much capital is burnt to get to those big exits impacts the return multiple a venture investor will realize. Startups that grow in a capital efficient manner and achieve a big exit become the real […]
VCs and Startups Are Adjusting to the Corrected Market
This shift encourages a more disciplined approach to growth, where startups are not just chasing valuation but are building long-term value. I am optimistic about funding levels as startups and VCs respond to the correction in the market.
HLRBO Raises $1M Seed Round to Better Assist Landowners in Leasing Their Land to Hunters
Hunting Land Rentals By Owner, Inc., a Brainerd, MN-based company, provides hunters with direct access to landowners across the U.S. who offer their hunting land for lease using HLRBO’s online platform. The $1M Series Seed round was led by Great North Ventures. Comeback Capital, Gopher Angels, and Right Side Capital also participated in the round. […]
Best Advice from the Great North Annual Event: Episode 7, Execution is King
In this compilation episode, Josef features the best advice for founders that we picked up at our 2021 Annual Event. Every year, Great North gathers investors, founders, and ecosystem builders together for networking and progress updates. In this episode, you can hear advice from our stakeholders- people who have proven they can execute- on hiring […]
Great North Launches Startup Studio
We are pleased to announce the launch of our venture studio, Great North Venture Labs. Great North Venture Labs will design and build companies with world-class founders and operators that are in focused market segments with substantial opportunities. Promising studio startups will be funded with capital from the second Great North venture fund. The venture […]
Post-Pandemic Times – Sand Hill Moves to Middle America
Tech Sector’s Growth has Accelerated It is no secret that during the pandemic, the tech sector is delivering stronger returns than other sectors. As examples, underlying the stock prices, Zoom sessions increased from 10M daily in Dec 2019 to 200M daily in March 2020. Daily broadband usage in the US jumped from 13.2GB in March […]
New Business Preservation Act
On March 19, 2020, a bill proposing the New Business Preservation Act was submitted to the Senate that seeks to drive economic activity, innovation, and job growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn. The New Business Preservation Act will provide equity funding for new businesses, with larger allocations directed to […]