Category: MVCA Venture Fellows Program

At Beringea, MVCA Venture Fellow John Bonhard helps the firm invest in startup companies at the growth/expansion stage, long after their days of incubator space and initial round of seed funding.  But he quickly realized these companies required a different skill set to find, invest in, and manage than the early-stage tech startups he once […]

The incredible innovation happening in Michigan, especially Detroit, attracted Jake Simon to a career in the venture capital industry. As he embarks on his career with Fontinalis Partners as a senior analyst, Jake spoke with MVCA about his new role at the firm, his plans to help build great businesses in Michigan (and some day open an Italian […]

School is almost back in session for most students, but MVCA Venture Fellows hit the books early at MVCAcademy in July.  The day-long workshop at Ann Arbor Distilling Co.  covered highly technical and targeted topics aimed at educating the Fellows, who are part of MVCA pairs investment professionals early in their career with a Michigan […]

MVCA Fellow Kathryn Gardner’s transition from investment banking to venture capital has been a smooth one, thanks in part of the experiences she’s had working at Michigan’s largest healthcare venture investor, Arboretum Ventures.  In the two years since Gardner joined the firm, the firm has raised $220 million to invest into healthcare companies in Michigan […]

MVCA Venture Fellow Reda Jaber’s resume includes many impressive titles: medical doctor, MBA graduate, startup founder, investor, and children’s book author.  But he’s most surprised by another role he’s assumed, as Partner at IncWell:  cheerleader.  He says becoming emotionally vested in the companies he backs financially has been a happy by-product of finding great technologies […]

A lifelong interest in exploration and navigating new paths led MVCA Venture Fellow Brad Lichota to a career in venture capital, where he’s scouting startups as a member of RPM Ventures’ investment team.  Brad tells us about his new role at RPM, his future as a Michigan job creator, and using the MVCA Venture Fellows […]

As a newcomer to the venture industry, Dan Ratliff didn’t know what to expect when he joined Detroit-based Fontinalis Partners as an MVCA Venture Fellow two years ago.  But as he ends his Fellowship period and remains with the firm, he can more fully appreciate the unique collaborative nature of the Michigan venture community and envision his […]

Blake Robbins is only 22, but some of the world’s leading technology firms are on his resume, including stints at SpaceX, Nest, and Google. Now, he’s back in Michigan and tackling early-stage investing as an Associate and MVCA Venture Fellow at Ludlow Ventures.  Blake talked to MVCA about why he loves early-stage venture capital, if […]

Sabrina Hadinoto relishes the “incredible variety and continual learning” a career in venture capital offers.  So when the MVCA Venture Fellows Program made it possible for her to join Ann Arbor-based Venture Investors full time, she didn’t hesitate.  Sabrina tells us why she’s choosing Michigan to build her career and the legacy she hopes to leave […]

Michigan native John Bonhard took a conventional route into his new career in venture capital, with a start in investment banking.  Less conventional is his ardent belief that he didn’t need to leave Michigan to pursue his next professional step.  Bonhard found the MVCA Venture Fellowship program and a position at Beringea, where he reported back […]