Midwest Venture Alliance

Founded in 2005, Midwest Venture Alliance (MVA), including its affiliate, the Southeast Kansas Venture Alliance (SEKVA), is a network of accredited investors committed to investing in high-growth seed and early-stage technology companies in Kansas and surrounding states.

Patricia Brasted

founder

Past deals in Kansas

Grit Virtual

Seed Round in 2018
Grit Virtual is a first-in-class schedule generator for construction. Grit provides the most reliable and responsive workflows for construction planning available. Crew leaders can independently estimate durations, crew size, and cross-trade dependencies. This unlocks an industry-first level of granularity. They take the input data and automatically generate the most effective workflows, too complex for any human planner. Through their scheduling dashboards, they give construction professionals insight to make more informed decisions than ever before.

Aratana Therapeutics

Series C in 2013
Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. is a pet therapeutics company based in Leawood, Kansas, specializing in the licensing, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for dogs and cats in the United States. The company offers a range of products including NOCITA, a post-operative analgesic for dogs; ENTYCE, which stimulates appetite in dogs; and GALLIPRANT, used to manage pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Additionally, it is developing various therapeutics aimed at addressing specific health issues in both dogs and cats, such as a vaccine for canine osteosarcoma and treatments for atopic dermatitis and feline herpes virus. Aratana has established collaborations with Elanco Animal Health, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, and AskAt Inc. to enhance its research and product development capabilities. Founded in 2010, the company aims to meet unmet needs in companion animal care through innovative and high-quality medicines. As of 2019, it operates as a subsidiary of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated.