What’s New 🐅 

🎉 Announcing the Mizzou Startup Community (MSC), a platform for alumni and students to connect and access curated resources. Brett Calhoun (Mizzou Crosby MBA ‘20), General Partner at Redbud VC, in partnership with Mizzou, has launched a network for Mizzou alums and students interested in building companies, VC, and tech to connect. This community is tied to the new student incubator managed by Greg Bier, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at MU, and supported by Redbud VC. Expect to see future in-person events, virtual networking, investment opportunities, and the opportunity to support student and alumni founders. Why join MSC? — i) Join, invest, and mentor startups, ii) connect with alumni virtually and in person, and iii) access resources to build and grow your business

Highlights from Columbia and Beyond 📈

• Rebecca Lynn, a Mizzou Chemical Engineering alum, closed a $400M fund for Canvas Ventures and has some bold predictions for the private markets in 2024.

  She closed a $400 million fund the week Lehman crashed. Here’s what VC Rebecca Lynn predicts for the year ahead

  

• Columbia was recently named the healthiest place to live in Missouri 🧹 

Campus Chatter 📣

Check out the latest Mizzou student entrepreneurs to win the annual Entrepreneur Quest competition at MU with awards of $30k towards their ventures.

• First place: Parker’s Brick Builds, founded by Parker Owens

• Second place: The Breast Formula, founded by Lauren Compton

• Third place: Hi, Period, founded by Jia Wu

Student Entrepreneurs 🚀

Alumni Company of the Month 🔥

Meet FLOZ, a hydration tracking device that upgrades any straw-lid water bottle into a state-of-the-art smart bottle. It allows users to effortlessly track their hydration data in a smartphone app and keep their own bottle. Founded by Mizzou alums Jameson Fitzgerald (’23) and his brother John Fitzgerald (’20), FLOZ’s mission is to redefine how we approach hydration, helping millions of people unlock their full potential and improve their health. Check out more on the investment opportunity ⤵️ 

Alumni Fundraising

• Elemental Enzymes: undisclosed

• Canvas Ventures: $400M

• EquipmentShare: $150M

• ROI: $3.6M

Alumni Job Openings

• EquipmentShare 🏗️ 

• Hallway 📺️ 

• Hive AI 🤖 

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