Regardless of the incredible money flows in Illinois, the state is not always known as a hot-bed of investment activity. Is that a reality or a myth? Is there a disconnect between LPs and GPs, GPs and entrepreneurs?  Despite the robust business, financial and academic communities in Illinois, the state dramatically lags other regions in venture investing and new business creation (in tech and other venture-backed industries).

Join us for a venture capital rountable discussion presented by ITA that will look at both what the really has gone on – and what the future holds.

About the panelists:

Lon Chow is a general partner with Apex Venture Partners. Prior to joining Apex in 1997, Lon was a partner with Mercer Management Consulting (formerly Strategic Planning Associates), where he developed and implemented growth strategies for clients in computing, media, and telecommunications industries. He also held various operating management positions with Pacific Telesis. Lon received an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Davis.Lon currently serves on the boards of Advanced Equities Financial Corp., Analyte Media, ALI Solutions, Appolicious, Current Analysis, Sittercity, and Timelines. He is a board observer of MEI Corporation. Lon's outside board membership includes Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and Viewpoints Network. Lon's previous investments included ICON Solutions (acquired by AnswerThink), KnowledgeStorm (acquired by TechTarget), PlaceWare (acquired by Microsoft), Shoebuy.com (acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp), Thinque Systems (acquired by MEI), Tradex Technologies (acquired by Ariba) and WorldPrints (acquired by At Home).

Matt Downs is Managing Director of Sandbox Industries. Matt is a member of the board of directors of Phreesia and Myca, portfolio companies of BCBSVP. Previously, Matt was the CEO of Sandbox incubated company, Morgan Street Document Systems. Prior to joining Sandbox, Matt was an Associate with the Boston-based venture capital firm, Highland Capital Partners, and served as an Analyst for Morgan Stanley in the M&A group in New York. He has worked as a senior advisor with multiple privately-held companies, providing them financing and business development counsel. Matt holds a BA from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Matthew McCall is a Partner at New World Ventures and co-founder & Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Portage Venture Partners. McCall has been responsible for managing investments in Analyte Media, Cognitive Concepts (acquired by Houghton Mifflin), EverDream (acquired by Dell), Feedburner (acquired by Google), Imago Scientific, Lefthand Networks (acquired by HP), Siimpel and TicketsNow (acquired by Ticketmaster). McCall has served on the advisory board to the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors in Chicago as well as on numerous other regional high technology advisory boards. McCall is an executive board member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association. He is the author of a popular venture blog, VCConfidential.com. He serves on the Kellogg Alumni Council. He has been honored by Crain's Chicago Business on its annual "40 under 40" list of leading Chicagoans under age 40. He has also been named as one of top 100 most prominent members of Chicago's technology community. He has keynoted or been a panelist at over 50 area conferences and events nationwide. He is a founder & trustee of the McCall Family Foundation, focused on improving early childhood development in ChicagoIs disadvantaged communities as well as encouraging entrepreneurship in our youth.Previous to 1995, McCall worked in the Boston Consulting Group's Chicago office, where he managed consulting and client teams on projects in the telecommunications, health-care and financial services industries. During and after college, McCall worked for Bankers Trust in Merchant Banking as well as at Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust.