Gary L. Schlessman

Hercules Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2003 by Scott Harvey, Manuel Henriquez, and Roy Liu. The firm is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Association for Corporate Growth, Inc. is a global organization founded in 1954 by Kenneth S. Berryman and David H. Brenner. The non-profit company is based in Chicago, IL and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. The company's mission is to drive middle-market growth and it serves 90,000 investors, executives, lenders, and advisers to growing middle-market companies. The company's core focus is on middle-market M&A, with more than 25 years of sell-side and buy-side advisory experience, closing more than 200 transactions with a combined value of more than $1 billion. The company also publishes Middle Market Growth, the official publication of the Association for Corporate Growth, which includes a print magazine, website, weekly e-newsletter, and daily newsfeed. The CEO of the company since 2019 is Brent A. Baxter.

The Rockies Venture Club, Inc. provides non-profit networking services for entrepreneurs, service professionals, investors, venture capitalists and funding sources. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.

Silicon Valley Bank provides commercial banking services. It offers banking services to the hardware and infrastructure, software and internet, life science and healthcare, energy and resource innovation, private equity and venture capital, and premium wine industries. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

Founded in 1868, the YMCA of Greater Des Moines is a non-profit organization composed of community volunteers and individuals. Their programs aim to build character and assets in kids, strengthen family relationships and promote healthy lifestyles. Aside from their programs, they also provide transitional housing shelter in the state. The organization has nine office locations in the State of Iowa aside from its headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa