Startups in the Midwest are seeing less and less reliance on going to the coasts for capital and talent, a panel of investors said during the Early Stage Symposium held Wednesday at the Monona Terrace.

While there is data to support this trend, many times it’s dependent on the industry, Samara Mejia Hernandez of MATH Venture Partners said.

Panelists cited health tech as a strength of Madison.

“One of the benefits of Madison is the focus on healthcare,” Brian Hopcraft of Lewis & Clark Ventures said. “You don’t have to worry if companies here have access to talent in that industry.”

Epic Systems and the University of Wisconsin were other strengths mentioned by panelists.

“What I love about Madison–and other similar-sized college towns–is that it’s a sophisticated place,” Ron Watson of Lewis & Clark Ventures said. “There’s talented people building businesses that are clever.”

Watson added that companies in the Midwest are able to “stay longer” in the region to raise capital until the later, larger rounds, when they likely have to go to the coasts.

The annual Early Stage Symposium concludes on Thursday.