Drive Capital, a venture capital investment firm targeting promising companies in the Midwest, today announced its first two investments.

Drive Capital's investments in Roadtrippers, a web-based company that helps travelers plan road trips, and CrossChx, which provides patient identification and security technologies for healthcare facilities, are consistent with Drive Capital's commitment to Midwest-based companies and investments, said Drive Capital's co-founders and principals, Mark Kvamme and Chris Olsen.

'Aspiring entrepreneurs like Sean Lane and James Fisher represent some of the great individuals in the Midwest building world class companies,' said Olsen. 'We are excited to be given the opportunity to be their business partners as they grow their respective companies.'

'Since moving here, I have had the opportunity to meet several companies and entrepreneurs that would rival those in any other place in the world, and these two companies and these entrepreneurs are among the very best,' Kvamme said. 'We can't wait to see what they become.'

CrossChx develops and deploys real-time biometric solutions to prevent medical identity fraud, improve health outcomes, and enable nationwide health information exchange. By scanning the patient's fingerprint, CrossChx instantly verifies a patient's identity and links the patient to the appropriate medical benefits to make it easier for healthcare professionals to ensure the right person receives the right care.

'When CrossChx was exploring growth options, we made a conscious decision to partner with accomplished investors that could provide more than just capital, and we found that strategic partner in Drive Capital,' said Sean Lane, chairman and co-founder, CrossChx. 'Drive Capital grasped our long-term vision and has been instrumental to the rapid growth of CrossChx.'

Roadtrippers' web-based software application allows travelers to map routes, book hotels, identify deals, and research special events in and around their destination while calculating approximate trip mileage, travel time, and fuel costs.

'In very practical terms, Drive Capital's investment has given us the financial resources to allow me to spend less time fundraising and more time on growth. When I'm not fundraising, our company grows faster,' said James Fisher, founder and CEO of Roadtrippers. 'But more than that, the experience they bring has helped us scale up and execute our vision at an accelerated pace. They understand not just the opportunity we have, but the challenges we will face. There was great alignment between all parties, and they have backed my vision as founder of this company 100 percent.'

Fisher said that since he began working with Drive Capital about three months ago, Roadtrippers.com has grown from 200,000 unique visitors per month to 750,000.

About Drive Capital
Founded late in 2012, Drive Capital invests funds and expertise in promising companies with global market opportunities in the IT, financial services, consumer, and healthcare services industries, and helps those entrepreneurs build the next generation of innovative businesses. Drive Capital's investments will be focused on the Heartland that stretches from Pittsburgh to Kansas City to Minneapolis and back.

Drive Capital's founding partners, Mark Kvamme and Chris Olsen, are experienced venture capitalists, and have participated in several venture capital firms prior to founding Drive Capital.