Next Level Ventures runs two distinct strategies: one backing Iowa startups, and another, called Curql, that connects fintech startups with credit unions nationwide by managing capital on their behalf and helping both sides work together. The firm is unusually hands-on, with a team of former operators, economists, and industry leaders, deep ties to building Iowa's startup ecosystem itself, and involvement in Iowa's official Innovation Fund program, showing it acts less like a typical source of money and more like an active partner to founders, credit unions, and the state's business community.