Midwest House Stories - Philippe Vella, Co-Founder of Start Midwest

In this candid conversation Phil Vella shares why he moved to Michigan and launched Start Midwest, a media platform dedicated to telling the stories of Midwest startups, innovation, and regional investment.

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His move to Detroit was part personal, part serendipitous. At first, he wasn’t sure what to expect: “Let’s be honest, people don’t think of Michigan when they think of moving to the U.S.” But what he found was a striking similarity in narrative: “In Europe" (where he lived prior to Michigan) "they say we lose talent and raise money elsewhere. Here, it’s the same. story”

What makes the Midwest startup ecosystem compelling, Vella argues, is the potential. He first wrote about early-stage capital deployment across six core states - Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin - and found that venture funding was dramatically lower relative to the size of their economies: “It’s about a third the size of Canada, realtive to the economy”

But, he says, “Why? You can still raise here - you don’t have to overcome some of the barriers that international startups face when trying to break into North America.” That observation and meeting and connecting with people in the ecosystem, sparked the creation of Start Midwest. “Media is hard… but I think these are stories worth telling.”

Vella sees Detroit - and the broader Midwest  - as a fertile ground for innovation. The region is steeped in industrial history, from shipbuilding to manufacturing to automobiles, and must now adapt to a new era: “It’s not just about making stuff - it’s about how it’s being made. If this region wants to reinvent itself, it has to build on what it does well.”

He points to a long list of tech titans with roots in the Midwest - Larry Page, Steve Ballmer, Marc Andreessen - and sees opportunity in the region’s university-driven talent pipeline. “The talent is here if you can convince them to stay. On every ranking, these schools are world-class.”

His final message to founders and investors? Don’t underestimate the Midwest. “If it’s costing too much in San Francisco and your business fits what we build here… why wouldn’t you move?” Start Midwest is both a resource and a rallying cry: Come be part of it.