Category: Member Feature

MVCA member and Arboretum Ventures managing partner and cofounder Jan Garfinkle has experience leading a venture community, as Chairperson of the MVCA Board in 2008-2009. But she’ll have a new, larger constituency to represent now that she’s been elected to the National Venture Capital Association’s 2015-2016 Board of Directors. Her appointment is another indication that […]

Recruiting and hiring the right talent is a key challenge for companies growing quickly. Fortunately, resources abound for MVCA members and their portfolio companies, including the MVCA Executive Attraction Program, which is designed to increase the number of venture-backed executives in Michigan. It provides assistance with recruiting and first-year salary expenses associated with hiring all […]

As Ludlow Ventures’ Brett deMarrais finishes his two-year MVCA Fellowship, we asked him to reflect on his time as a Fellow, including how he was able to help tell the Michigan VC story outside the state and the grisly career ending he hopes to avoid.  Tell us about your Fellow position – where are you, […]

Groupon Co-founder Brad Keywell and Ford Global Technologies CEO Bill Coughlin to Keynote at 34th Annual Symposium  Ann Arbor, Mich. – April 21, 2015 – Today, organizers of the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) unveiled initial program details for the 34th annual event, which serves as a conduit for introducing early stage and emerging growth […]

Angel investors might invest in one of every 100 opportunities that come before them—long odds for a startup, for sure. Ann Arbor-based RetroSense Therapeutics, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, had already beat those odds, having raised $7 million in a 2014 angel-led Series A financing round that included Midland’s Blue Water Angels Investment Network. But the […]

As the Michigan representative of a national venture firm, Arsenal Ventures Partner, Ryan Waddington, regularly finds and touts great Michigan companies to the rest of his nationwide team.  “I help promising Michigan-based companies find capital, both inside and outside of the state.  Nothing spreads the Michigan message better than great Michigan companies that can attract capital from the traditional […]

 Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss partner Sara Kruse has been a member of many professional organizations during her career as a Corporate and Emerging and Growth Business attorney.  But when she first started coming to Michigan Venture Capital Association events, she noticed that something was different.  “At MVCA, I was able to see people consistently, […]

Last week, nationally-recognized and proven accelerator model Techstars announced it would begin a three-year program in the growing entrepreneurial district of Detroit.  Officially dubbed Techstars Mobility, driven by Detroit, the program will kick off June 9, 2015 with 10 next-genertation automotive, transportation, and mobility startups and conclude with a Demo Day on September 10, where each team will present to investors, […]

Last week, nationally-recognized and proven accelerator model Techstars announced it would begin a three-year program in the growing entrepreneurial district of Detroit.  Officially dubbed Techstars Mobility, driven by Detroit, the program will kick off June 9, 2015 with 10 next-genertation automotive, transportation, and mobility startups and conclude with a Demo Day on September 10, where each team will present to investors, […]

Beringea’s Bill Blake completed his two-year MVCA Fellowship last month, but he’s not leaving the Farmington Hills growth capital investor.  We asked Bill to reflect on his time as a Fellow, including his experience investing alongside other notable Michigan venture firms, even as he continues on as a Senior Associate at Beringea. Tell us about […]