M25

Victor Gutwein, Managing Partner

Victor grew up in northwestern Indiana before moving to Chicago to study economics at the University of Chicago. Victor has a passionate...

Victor grew up in northwestern Indiana before moving to Chicago to study economics at the University of Chicago. Victor has a passionate history with startups, including a vending machine business and kick scooter company, along with being on the board of UChicago’s first student-run venture fund. A Kauffman Fellow (Class 22) and former leader in Hyde Park Angels, Victor founded M25 in 2015 and quickly grew it to become the most active venture firm in the Midwest. Victor lives with his wife and three kids on the South Side of Chicago and loves staying active with running, biking, swimming, backpacking and any team sport you’ll let him join. If he can’t convince you to break a sweat with him though, he’ll usually succeed in getting you to try out a Euro-style board game (like Settlers of Catan) with his friends.

Mike Asem, General Partner

Outside of his responsibilities at M25, Mike is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 24) and a national board member of BLCK VC, leading initiatives in...

Outside of his responsibilities at M25, Mike is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 24) and a national board member of BLCK VC, leading initiatives in the Midwest to connect, engage, empower, and advance Black venture investors. Prior to M25, Mike founded The Anvil, a co-working space and startup incubator on Purdue University's campus, where he helped launch the first Purdue startup to be accepted to Y Combinator, and many more that have gone on to raise venture capital and get acquired. Mike lives in Chicago with his wife, Erikka, and in his free time, he enjoys making wine, eating sushi, following Chicago sports, and traveling.

Abhinaya Konduru, Principal

Abhinaya is an Indian immigrant who grew up in the Chicago suburbs and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago. She studied Finance...

Abhinaya is an Indian immigrant who grew up in the Chicago suburbs and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago. She studied Finance and Mathematical Computer Science while interning in various finance roles. Her introduction to venture and entrepreneurship was through creating a YouTube video interview and vlogging series with local startup founders while in college. Along with that, she helped make some viral videos. Aside from finding and investing in companies at M25, she helps founders find product-market fit with various strategies. She brings the Chicago community together through various events she hosts or co-hosts, from 300-person events like ChiTechIRL to 5-person dinners. As well as volunteers with Women in VC, and the 1 for 2 Education Foundation, a unique scholarship program employing a “pay it forward” model for undergraduate students. Her favorite hobbies are cooking food for friends, spending time on corners of the internet, building side projects, and exploring unique locations.

Katie Birge, Head of Platform

Katie is a lifelong Hoosier born and raised in Jasper, Indiana. She studied Communication and Classical Civilization at DePauw University...

Katie is a lifelong Hoosier born and raised in Jasper, Indiana. She studied Communication and Classical Civilization at DePauw University before heading to Indiana University for her MA in Telecommunications (think social informatics and innovation communities...not telegrams and TVs). Katie’s thesis that startups will help the industrial Midwest rise again led her to the Bloomington Technology Partnership, where she started Bloomington Code School and co-founded an accelerator while growing the college town’s tech community. Katie has worked in the trenches of software companies and startups and most recently served as executive director of Launch Indy, an entrepreneurship center and coworking space. Katie is a long-time organizer of the Combine tech conference and in her free time, she collects plants and vacations across the 92 counties of Indiana.

Leandro Bedolla, Associate

Leandro is originally from Central Mexico, grew up in Joliet, IL, and graduated from Valparaiso University where he was recognized by their...

Leandro is originally from Central Mexico, grew up in Joliet, IL, and graduated from Valparaiso University where he was recognized by their President for Outstanding Leadership and Service in student orgs and the community. Outside of his M25 responsibilities, he volunteers for LatinxVC where he co-led the Breaking into VC Fellowship, VCFamilia’s Founder Support committee, and mentors for Techstars and NVCA/Venture Forward’s VC University. He was recognized by HBCUvc as a 2021 Emerging Venture Leader, and named to Hispanic Executive's Nextgen Collective 30 Under 30. Previously, Leandro was the associate for the Techstars Anywhere accelerator, NuFund angel group’s analyst program, and built up Startup San Diego’s ecosystem as MD of sponsorships and a lead organizer for San Diego Startup Week.