KEITH HARRINGTON, FOUNDER
Keith founded Upstart Partners because he believes great entrepreneurs in the Midwest can build important companies if they have access to capital. Upstart Partners’ goal is to make connections that help accelerate companies in the Midwest with capital from investors around the world. Keith also co-founded Fulcrum Global Capital, a $100 million venture capital fund focused on partnering with the entrepreneurs disrupting the agtech, animal health and digital health industries. Sticking with his Midwestern roots, Keith also serves on the Board of Advisors for Firebrand Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund based in Kansas City.
Before founding Upstart Partners, Keith spent 18 years in investing, operations, corporate development and M&A roles in telecom and life sciences. Most recently Keith was a Managing Director at KBA, where he led digital health and technology investments. Prior to that Keith led technology infrastructure operations for Quintiles Transnational and worked for Birch Telecom where he helped build the technical infrastructure required for rapid growth and later ran merger integration.
In his spare time, Keith loves spending time with his family, laments how quickly he falls out of shape, and reads at least part of every book he can find on topics that intrigue him. His soon-to-be wife, Vanessa, is a gifted whistler and probably the main reason Keith remains sane. His son, Jack, is a Lego master, and is quickly learning the teenage art of doing just enough to get by. His soon-to-be stepson, Mitchell, is quick to point out when someone fails to follow the rules and is quite adept at shirking responsibility. Keith believes his family would make for an excellent sitcom.
Keith is a Kauffman Fellow, completed the Venture Capital Executive Program at Berkeley, earned his MBA from Indiana University, earned a BS in Finance cum laude from Park University, serves on the Board of Advisors of Blue Valley CAPS and the Board of Directors of DARTnet Institute, and was named to Ingram’s Magazine’s 40 Under 40 class for 2014.
