Investor Profile: Allos Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

For founders seeking Allos Ventures funding, the pitch starts with a simple idea: a firm that exists to bridge the gap between angel investors and larger institutional rounds in the Midwest. If you are building business-to-business software and raising your first institutional round, learning how to get funding from Allos Ventures is a sensible step: it has spent more than a decade leading early-stage Midwest rounds.

Thesis: the bridge from angels to institutions

Allos Ventures was founded in 2010 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a strong Indianapolis presence. Its stated positioning, from its earliest days, is to accept the hand-off from angel investors once a company is ready for its first institutional financing round. It backs experienced founders with deep subject-matter expertise, and positions itself as a lead investor that delivers term sheets and helps build a syndicate rather than waiting for another firm to lead.

Sectors and stages

The firm focuses on business-to-business software and technology-enabled services, including human capital management, healthcare technology, fintech, education technology and logistics-related software. It leads or co-leads Series A rounds and joins seed rounds; for its third fund it planned 15 to 18 Series A and 10 to 12 seed investments, according to reporting on the fund close. Its centre of gravity is the Midwest, particularly Indiana and Ohio.

Fund size and cheque size

Allos I raised $23 million in 2010, Allos II raised $40 million in 2013, and Allos III closed at $52 million in January 2020, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. That is $115 million raised across the first three funds combined. The firm does not publish a standard cheque size on its site, so founders should not rely on a single published number; the relevant fact is the stage, with Series A as the core and seed as a smaller, deliberate part of the mix.

Notable portfolio

Portfolio companies named in the firm's own news pages and fund reporting include Lessonly, Authenticx, Assurex Health, Aware, Encamp, 120Water, Sharpen, Scale Computing, Docket and PERQ, plus Octiv, which was acquired by Conga. Aware, a collaboration-governance platform, later raised a $60 million Series C. The firm was named Indiana Investor of the Year at the 2019 TechPoint Mira Awards.

Partners and support

Allos Ventures is led by venture capital and software-as-a-service veterans Don Aquilano, John McIlwraith and David Kerr. Chief financial officer Julie Whitehead also evaluates pitches and leads diligence alongside the investment team. The firm runs no accelerator programme and publishes no credits or perks catalogue; its value-add is hands-on, helping founders build teams and syndicate rounds, drawing on operator experience built across more than 100 companies at the founders' prior firms.

How to apply for funding from Allos Ventures

There is no public application form on the firm's site, so the route in is through allosventures.com and its published contact details, including phone 317.275.6800, ideally via a warm introduction from a portfolio founder, an Indiana or Ohio angel, or a co-investor. Lead with what Allos screens for: an early-stage Midwest business-to-business software company, a founder team with real domain expertise, and a business ready for its first institutional round.