IVCA Feature: New Member Profile of TechNexus Venture Collaborative
February 19, 2025
As the new member participants in the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA) keeps expanding, the current membership are given new opportunities for networking, in addition to optimizing support and partnerships, which leads to guidance and new ideas for Venture Capital, Private Equity and support industries.
The latest new member is the firm of TechNexus Venture Collaborative, who describe themselves as “a blend of corporate joint ventures, operating entities, and limited partnerships fueling a fast-growing investment portfolio.”
The following is a Q&A profile with TechNexus, which explores the firm’s background and their expectations for interacting with the IVCA.
New Member: TechNexus Venture Collaborative
Representative: Jim Dallke, Director of Communications
IVCA: What is a brief history of and background of TechNexus Venture Collaborative?
TechNexus: TechNexus launched in 2007 as a physical collaboration space for Chicago’s technology entrepreneurs. What began as a clubhouse for innovators eventually expanded into a first-of-its-kind Venture Collaborative that helps leading corporations invest in ambitious startups to drive their business forward. We are, today, a combination of venture funds, corporate joint ventures, operating partners, ecosystem builders and a fast-growing investment portfolio.
By operating at the intersection of startups and corporate innovation, we’re helping legacy businesses grow and prepare for the future by connecting them to an ecosystem of ventures relevant to their industry. Since 2017, TechNexus Venture Collaborative has invested in over 150 portfolio companies.
These powerful partnerships between large organizations and startups drive innovation and growth by uncovering new opportunities, transforming industries, and achieving long-term success.
We take a different approach to corporate venturing. In addition to strategic capital, we incubate startups, draw insights from the ecosystem, collaborate in a structured way, and build new revenue streams. More than half of our team is focused on post-investment collaboration. We also extend the insight into advantaged investment funds and the development and management of new operating entities.
IVCA: Why did the firm decide to join the Illinois Venture Capital Association?
TechNexus: The IVCA provides a powerful platform for Venture Capitalists and like-minded professionals to connect, share knowledge, and collaborate on investment opportunities. TechNexus benefits from plugging into this network and working alongside IVCA members to support policies that aid in the growth of the venture capital industry in Illinois.
IVCA: The firm calls itself a ‘Venture Collaborative.’ In creating relationships between larger corporations and smaller start-ups, what do you discover that benefits both entities?
TechNexus: Startups and large corporations speak two different languages. For publicly traded, legacy corporations that are responsible to shareholders, moving fast and taking risks is often difficult to do. Startups, meanwhile, are fast-movers and risk-takers by nature. There’s great value in these two parties working together, but they often struggle to find synergies.
Startups may have technology that can transform a corporation’s future, but all too often the corporation finds itself more focused on the quarter ahead instead of the decade to come.
These misaligned priorities create bottlenecks and pain points in traditional corporate Venture Capital. We believe corporate venture relationships need an upgrade. And that upgrade is a venture collaborative approach that utilizes a translator who can bridge the gap between corporations and startups. TechNexus works as a trusted partner to both parties, helping create new business opportunities and revenue streams that drive long-term success for both.
IVCA: In partnering these collaborations, the firm expresses the building of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. In addition to profit, what are the goals of such an ecosystem, and what kind of entrepreneurship takes place when those building blocks work most effectively?
TechNexus: By connecting large corporations to a venture ecosystem, TechNexus turns a corporation’s emerging competitors into assets. Rather than worrying about tomorrow’s competition, we help you partner with them today. Developing close relationships with startups helps future proof corporations and sets them up for long-term success.
But beyond connecting corporations with startups that are relevant to their business, TechNexus also uncovers new insights, business models and other opportunities corporations may not even be thinking about. By investing in an ecosystem of ventures, corporations get a 360-degree view of their industry like never before. These relationships help corporations become more resilient and unlock new opportunities.
IVCA: On your website, you talk about four outcomes of growth … new markets, new products/services, new business models and new revenue streams. What is a prime partnering example of a Venture Collaborative that produced some or all of the outcomes?
TechNexus: One of TechNexus’s corporate partners is Thor Industries, the world’s largest RV manufacturer. We worked with Thor to invest in Harbinger Motors, a medium-duty electric vehicle maker that specializes in commercial and specialty EVs. In addition to the equity investment Thor was able to make in Harbinger, the two collaborated to develop the world’s first hybrid RV, which was unveiled last year.
It’s a perfect example of a leading corporation collaborating with a disruptive tech startup to develop a groundbreaking product, and an industry first. And the type of relationship that wouldn’t have been possible without TechNexus.
IVCA: In a current environment where pushback is happening, your perspective remains true to a diversity culture within the firm. To the businesses and institutions that are rethinking this culture because of the environment, what advantages do you want to keep emphasizing that proves a diversity policy is actually the best way to success?
TechNexus: Diverse teams win. They bring different perspectives, understand a wider range of customers, and ultimately build better products. We at TechNexus are a team of unique individuals from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. Our passions bleed into the work we do every day – as investors, strategists, operators, and entrepreneurs. At TechNexus, we’ve seen firsthand how fostering a sense of community and belonging opens doors to conversations that facilitate real change.
We are committed to evolving the private investment industry by searching for rising stars with diverse points of view as a result of their unique professional and personal experiences.
IVCA: What does TechNexus hope to achieve in their interaction with the VC/PE community within the IVCA?
TechNexus: We believe our relationship with the IVCA allows TechNexus to facilitate more co-investment opportunities, deal sharing, and knowledge exchange. By engaging with the IVCA community, TechNexus can stay updated on industry trends, best practices, and regulatory changes, which can inform our investment strategies.
Our relationship with the IVCA’s VC/PE community enhances our own investment activities, expands our network, and contributes to the growth of the venture capital landscape in Illinois.
For the website of TechNexus Venture Collaborative, click here.