Innovation in Motion

Investment decisions are led by Lee Harris, Managing Member and CEO of parent company Cohen-Esrey, alongside Managing Director Lydia Kinkade. The firm's member-investors—including livestock executive Lee Borck and animal-health philanthropist David Morris—participate in evaluating opportunities but final authority rests with the Managing Members.

Innovation in Motion was founded as the venture investment arm of Cohen-Esrey, LLC, a Kansas City-based real estate development and property management firm. Cohen-Esrey principals, including CEO Lee Harris and Chairman Bob Esrey, seeded iiM and serve as its managing members, while the parent company's operating footprint in residential real estate provides a natural pipeline for proptech deal flow.

iiM operates on a deal-by-deal direct investment model rather than through a blind-pool fund structure. Members co-invest alongside the core vehicle on a per-transaction basis, which allows flexibility in check sizes and sector allocation without the pressure of a fund-deployment timeline.

iiM focuses on early-stage companies, with an emphasis on seed-stage investments where its members' operational expertise can accelerate commercialization. The firm's real estate portfolio—which includes multifamily properties in Kansas City and Sun Prairie, Wisconsin—can serve as pilot sites for portfolio companies.

The firm targets three verticals that align with Cohen-Esrey's operating businesses and its members' industry expertise: residential real estate technology, agricultural technology relevant to large-scale livestock operations, and life sciences, particularly innovations emerging from the Kansas City animal-health corridor.

Multiple iiM members are active in regional philanthropy. David Morris serves as a trustee of the Morris Animal Foundation, and the Mark and Bette Morris Family Foundation operates alongside the investment entity. The firm itself is a for-profit vehicle, with philanthropic activities conducted through separate foundation structures by individual members.

Co-investment is central to iiM's model. The firm's member roster—which includes executives from Innovative Livestock Services and other Midwest operating companies—serves as a built-in co-investor network. External GPs and institutional co-investors are not typically part of its syndicates, given the firm's preference for keeping deals within its known network.