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Key people at Dashfire.
Dashfire was founded in 2009 by Rick Desai (Managing Partner, Co-Founder).
Dashfire is a family-owned micro-distillery based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that produces specialty cocktail bitters, high-proof ready-to-drink canned cocktails, traditional spirits, and hard coffees. The company manufactures its diverse beverage alcohol portfolio for direct-to-consumer sales, retail distribution, and commercial bar operations across multiple regional markets. In March 2021, the business successfully expanded its international distribution footprint into the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia through a strategic partnership with beverage importer David Herman & Son. Operating as a closely held enterprise without disclosed outside venture funding or revenue metrics, the distillery recently underwent significant financial restructuring. In April 2025, the organization officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced strategic plans to relocate its primary manufacturing operations from the Minneapolis area to Wisconsin. Dashfire was founded in 2012 by Lee Egbert and Dawn Egbert.
Key people at Dashfire.
Dashfire was founded in 2009 by Rick Desai (Managing Partner, Co-Founder).
Dashfire is a Chicago-based venture capital and operating firm that invests in and supports early-stage startups, particularly at angel and seed stages. Founded as a "factory" for startups, it provides hands-on assistance including IT development (e-commerce, web/mobile development, DevOps, analytics), business modeling, design, strategy, fundraising, sales, and more, targeting pre-revenue B2B companies with non-IT core competencies that have identified market niches and customer reach strategies.[1][2][3][4] Its mission centers on partnering with high-impact, dedicated teams to enable their visions through complementary strategic support, emphasizing equity-aligned incentives and a portfolio approach where successes support failures.[2][4] Dashfire has aided over 40 startups, focusing on US-based B2B endeavors in sectors needing robust IT components.[2][3]
Dashfire was founded in 2012 by Lee and Dawn Egbert in Chicago, Illinois, evolving from an operating company model into a venture investor and service provider for startups.[5][1] As a "silent partner" and "factory," it emerged to fill gaps for early-stage companies lacking professional IT and business infrastructure, helping over 40 startups with development, modeling, design, and strategy since its inception.[3] Its focus has consistently targeted pre-revenue or MVP-stage teams, prioritizing diverse, dedicated groups with market-validated ideas over pure programming-centric businesses.[2]
Dashfire stands out as an operating VC hybrid, blending investment with deep operational support rather than passive funding:
This model differentiates it from traditional VCs by delivering tangible, discounted resources via its operating capabilities.[1][4]
Dashfire rides the trend of operational VC and startup studios, providing end-to-end support in an era where early-stage founders often lack technical and business bandwidth amid rising costs.[3][5] Its timing aligns with the post-2010s boom in seed-stage investing, where Chicago's growing tech scene needed local "factories" to bridge IT gaps for non-technical entrepreneurs, influencing the Midwest startup ecosystem by enabling over 40 ventures.[1][3] Market forces like high failure rates for pre-revenue companies favor its risk-pooled, service-heavy approach, fostering B2B niches in a capital-scarce environment.[2] However, broader challenges like weakened markets and rising costs led to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, highlighting vulnerabilities in operating VC models during economic downturns.[5]
Dashfire's bankruptcy underscores risks in hands-on VC amid economic pressures, but its model of integrated support for early-stage B2B startups remains relevant as AI-driven tools and remote work lower entry barriers for non-technical founders.[5][2] What's next likely involves restructuring under Chapter 11 to streamline operations, potentially refocusing on high-conviction niches like analytics or DevOps services for resilient teams.[5] Trends like no-code platforms and Midwest tech resurgence could revive its influence, evolving it toward leaner, tech-leveraged partnerships that sustain the "few carrying the many" ethos—echoing its origins as a vital Chicago startup enabler.[2][3]
