A Note From the Redbud VC Team
Its our biggest event of the year! The 14th annual Missouri Startup Weekend is in the books. This was the first year that we didn’t have a unanimous winner, as the talent, ideas, and execution were distributed across the board. Instead, our investor judges offered $130k in investment across seven teams. We had nearly 600 attendees from 15 states across the weekend - is it really just “Missouri” anymore?
The Caffeine-Fueled Weekend
MOSW 2026 is a Wrap!
Last weekend, nearly 600 attendees, builders, investors, and operators took over EquipmentShare HQ for 54 hours of high-intensity execution.
Thursday: The Launch. We kicked off with a massive party with a Student Mixer at My House sponsored by Veterans United, flowing straight into the official MOSW launch party to network, scout talent, and build the "pre-game" hype.
MOSW is live and center-stage at My House in Columbia, Missouri!
Friday: The Pitch & Pivot. Doors opened at EquipmentShare HQ. Over 73 founders took the stage for 60-second pitches. Teams formed on the fly, and the first "work night" began as teams began coding and validating until the early hours.
Dan Ward (Robinhood, Square) takes the stage to share his idea for Rive, a platform to help manage and capitalize on HSA investment accounts.
Saturday: The Grind. This is where the real work happens. Our network of 50+ Experts hit the floor to stress-test business models and help teams clear technical hurdles. It’s a 16-hour day of building, testing, and drinking way too much coffee.
Vikram Lakhwara spends time working on brand identity and positioning with the UniLease team.
Sunday: The Finish Line. After a final morning push, teams stepped onto the main stage for Final Pitches. We closed the weekend by deploying $130k in investment and celebrating at the Arcade District after-party.
Brett Calhoun takes the stage to explain the $130K investment & accidentally announces the winners.
The goal of Missouri Startup Weekend has always been simple: see who can build. This year, the "Show-Me" state delivered. We saw deep tech, AI, and logistics platforms go from whiteboard sketches to venture-scale demos by Sunday afternoon. Some teams even had paying customers by Sunday.
The $130,000 "Skin in the Game" Model
For 2026, we did things a bit differently. This year, our panel deployed $130,000 in funding across seven teams! Our investor judge panel didn’t hand out trophies. Instead, they voted with their own capital.
If you weren’t able to attend the final pitch event on Sunday, you can watch pitches here (and see Brett accidentally announce the winner early).
1st Place: Rive ($64,000)
A platform to spend, save, and invest your HSA like it was meant to be.
Team Rive: Dan Ward (Robinhood, Square), Philip Srebrev (engineer at Robinhood, Square, Kalshi), and rockstar Mizzou students Jack Jerlecki and Arjun Garikapaty.
2nd Place: HerdRoute ($31,500)
Uber… but for animal transportation.
HerdRoute Team: Marshall Willingham (10 yr logistics vet) and solid group of devs.
3rd Place: Dungeon Crawlers AI ($24,000)
Role-playing games made by humans but run by AI.
Dungeon Crawlers AI Team: Dutch Boyd (3x World Series Poker champ), Patrick Burns (ships most used agent at Microsoft), John Schultz (10x MOSW participant), and Jonathan Leek (game engineer).
The Sprint Track
This year, we hosted teams from Focus, OpsCompanion, LandlordOps, SiteScan, Zentry Pass for a weekend sprint, pressure testing their execution.
The 5 Sprint Track teams gathered in EquipmentShare’s new Technology Development Center (TDC) for an intimate environment where they could connect and collaborate with founder peers, VCs, and experts like Wade Foster (Zapier Founder), Dan Leiva (Apple vet), Robert Zhou (3-time exited founder), and William Schlacks (EquipmentShare co-founder).
Why MOSW Matters for the Midwest
Flyover No More
The "coasts" often assume the Midwest moves slowly. They call us the flyover region because they pass us by when traveling between the coasts. They’re wrong. When you put a $130k pool and a $500k Redbud investment potential on the line, you see a tenacity that is unique to this region.
We saw 2 a.m. pivots, hundreds of cold calls for validation, and a level of peer-to-peer mentorship from our 50+ expert network that you won't find anywhere else.
What’s Next?
To the teams that didn't take home a check: Keep building. Many of our most successful portfolio companies (like Focus) didn’t win that coveted first place prize, but still pivoted into massive wins. The visibility and network you gained this weekend are your real runway.
The Official MOSW 2026 Photo Gallery
Check out the official photo gallery and find your friends! SWSH is an AI-powered photo platform, making it easy to scan and find your face within the 1000+ photos from the event weekend. Don’t miss out on your next banger profile pic.
Backed by the Best
Events like this don't happen without our sponsors. A huge thank you to the organizations that believe in the grit of Missouri founders:
Title Sponsors:
EquipmentShare, Veterans United Home Loans, Zapier, Bullpen, Aviron Software, Transitions Law Group LLC, Codefi, and Griggs Innovators Nexus.
Gold Sponsors:
Lovable, ElevenLabs, Featherless, Forvis Mazars, Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), Arcade District, and AngelList.
Silver Sponsors:
Right to Start, Healium, LaunchKC, Centennial Investors, REDI (Regional Economic Development Inc.), Logboat Brewing Co., and Flat Branch Bank.
2026 MOSW Team:
Redbud VC invests $250k-$500k in early-stage tech founders. We deliver insights and learnings we shared over the last month to our over 15,000 readers.
Until next time,
Redbud VC
This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. The authors and publishers are not licensed financial advisors.