This summer will mark four years since the launch of InnoVenture Iowa. In that time, our portfolio has grown to include 45 companies. As our Portfolio Manager, I’m involved in 19 boards. A few of these companies are already well-positioned for an exit within the next 24 to 36 months, and we are actively working alongside those teams to prepare them for that moment. Those first exits mean something to us not just as an investment fund, but as ecosystem supporters whose work is centered on founders: the ones solving real problems, building durable businesses, and doing it here in Iowa. We want to see all our portfolio companies win.

I recently returned from a venture capital program hosted at Stanford Law School alongside emerging fund leaders from across the country. The program provided a useful lens to sharpen my thinking at the fund level, specifically around tech trends, market opportunities, and structural challenges shaping the startup landscape right now. They also brought into focus a challenge that is defining the industry at this moment.

That challenge is liquidity. It is hitting everyone from institutional LPs to individual angel investors. Fund managers everywhere are waiting longer than ever to see returns on their capital. PitchBook data shows US venture funds are sitting on hundreds of billions in committed but undeployed capital, and that backlog is reshaping how funds make decisions: which timelines they prioritize, and which companies they can continue to back with follow-on checks.

InnoVenture Iowa is not immune to those market realities. As a co-investment fund, we must stay current, as these issues will inevitably affect potential lead investors.

However, we are structurally different, and that is to our advantage. As a public fund (and hopefully an evergreen one), we do not face the same clock that traditional funds do. That distinction allows us to stay focused on our founders and the long-term viability of the Iowa entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are excited about the deal flow we’re seeing this quarter, and more than a little blown away by the resourcefulness of solo-builders leveraging new AI tools to start and scale technology solutions.

More to come!

Safiya Lee-Evans | Portfolio Manager