Heartland Ventures recently led an investment round in Claira, a competency analytics engine that helps employers both better utilize their existing talent and optimize hiring. Why? Heartland regularly conducts an internal “Pain Point Meeting’’ where we discuss the operating challenges our investors’ businesses, and broader corporate stakeholders, are facing. These…

Heartland Ventures recently invested in construction supply chain solution Parspec. Why? Builders enjoy building. Where their job becomes less fun is procuring the materials necessary to execute a job. Heartland stakeholder Leland Vogel from General Contractor (GC) Lehman Daman told us “in some cases the person buying our supplies is…

Heartland Ventures invested in Grabango. Why? Time’s Wasted According to a Timex survey, the average person spends approximately 6 months waiting in line over the course of his or her lifetime. Even more surprising? We, as adults, spend nearly 33 days of our lives waiting in line at the grocery…

It’s been a hectic 12 months for Zipline Logistics. The Columbus, Ohio-based logistics solutions provider exclusively serves consumer brands at a time when fewer than 30% of CPG leaders feel prepared to address changing consumer behaviors. During the Covid-19 crisis, these leaders have increasingly turned to Zipline. …

When I joined the team at Heartland Ventures, we were a small but fast-growing firm. We’ve since added significant firepower with colleagues Mike Schmuhl and Bianca Caban and are now seeking a Platform Associate. Our model is unique in venture. Our investors are exclusively Midwest businesses and we seek to…

Heartland Ventures recently invested in construction tech startup LinkedField. Why? Eighty percent of construction firms report difficulty in filling open positions. Finding well-trained workers has continued to be a problem during Covid and the ensuing recession, indicating that this is a long-term economic problem and not one easily solved by…

In 2018, Heartland Ventures invested in StrongArm Technologies, a worker safety platform. Why? Industrial Athletes & Worker Safety — Protecting Essential Workers There are 1.16 billion industrial workers in the world. They work in places like power plants, distribution centers, and construction sites to keep our lights on, pantries stocked…

Heartland Ventures recently invested in Third Wave Automation. Why? Forklifts are the most common means of moving materials in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and other industrial spaces. But one in ten forklifts will be involved in an accident each year. …

Heartland Ventures recently invested in Soil Connect, a digital dirt trading platform. Why? Excavators and construction firms spend a lot of time playing in the dirt. They spend even more time looking for, or trying to get rid of…dirt. Most projects require the digging up and removal of dirt or…