Victor Gutwein started his first business selling bubblegum from vending machines in sixth grade, later ran a scooter company in college, and co-founded the University of Chicago's first student-run venture fund before launching M25 in his early 20s, becoming known as the youngest head of a venture firm in Chicago; his Midwest focus traces back to his own roots in a farming family from rural northwestern Indiana, and he built M25 around a high-volume strategy of spreading smaller checks across dozens of Midwest startups rather than making a few large bets. He's openly aiming for big, unicorn-scale outcomes rather than steady, modest businesses, and outside of work he's known for endurance sports like ultramarathons, triathlons, and swimming, along with a love of Euro-style board games.