Gateway Capital Fund II

About Gateway Capital Fund II

Gateway Capital Fund II is a $25M pre-seed VC fund investing across seven Midwest states. Founded by Dana Guthrie in Milwaukee, focusing on overlooked Midwest markets with strengths in supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing AI.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionUnited States

Funding StagePre Seed

Industry Focus

Ai Ml

Manufacturing

Supply Chain

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Resourceful Midwest pre-seed founder solving problems before the market has named the category

pre-seed

midwest-geography

overlooked-founders

LMI-communities

early-entry

Bullish Signals

First close completed; Fund II actively deploying across eight Midwest statesblog

Fund I produced follow-ons from regional and national VCs plus acquisition exitsblog

Structurally lower entry valuations and less competitive deal flow in Midwest pre-seedblog

Confirmed acquisition exit: Geno.Me acquired by Outcomes4Melinkedin

Co-invests with HealthX Ventures — national healthtech syndicate accesslinkedin

Guthrie personally celebrated exit alongside co-investors — active LP relationslinkedin

Geno.Me: consumer genomics matched to clinical trials — healthtech exit confirmedlinkedin

Outcomes4Me acquirer is Boston-based — national buyer validates Midwest betlinkedin

Contrarian Signals

First close amount undisclosed — fundraising momentum unverifiedblog

Eight-state coverage risks portfolio fragmentation for a small teamblog

Fund I portfolio names and return metrics remain undisclosedblog

Acquisition terms undisclosed — exit size unverifiablelinkedin

Founder Do's

Be based in IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, OH or WI — geography is a feature not a bug

Pitch before your category has a clean narrative — Gateway writes checks into undefined markets

Highlight resourcefulness and bootstrapped validation over network pedigree

Show a path to attracting regional or national Series A follow-on investors

Reference your local market context and competitive dynamics explicitly

Founder Don'ts

Don't approach if you are post-seed or already have institutional capital

Don't rely on coastal VC social proof as validation — it won't land here

Don't obscure LMI or non-traditional background — Guthrie treats it as an asset

Key GPs & Partners

Dana Guthrie

Managing Partner

hands-onex-founderthesis-driven

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$25M

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Website

Key People