Category: MVCA Venture Fellows Program

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 […]

Josh Lin may be concluding his MVCA Venture Fellowship, but the familiar face on the Michigan venture scene won’t be leaving anytime soon.  In addition to his continued role at RPM Ventures, Josh will still serve as a mentor for Desai Accelerator and Coolhouse Labs and work with Nexecon Consulting Group, a student-run, not-for-profit that he co-founded […]

Meet Seema Chennamsetty, MVCA’s newest Venture Fellow! Seema moved to Michigan from Los Angeles, where she was at Pathway Capital Management, a fund-of-funds focused solely on venture capital and private equity. As she settles in at Detroit Venture Partners (DVP), and we asked her to introduce herself to our MVCA community: Tell us about your background? […]

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, […]

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 […]

Welcome back to Michigan, Kathryn Gardner, MVCA’s newest Fellow!  Kathryn starts her Fellowship at Arboreum Ventures, and we asked her to introduce herself to our MVCA community: How did you find out about the Fellows program?  What advantage do you think the Fellows program gives younger professionals and venture firms when trying to make a […]

When Linda Chamberlain became a MVCA Venture Fellow at Grand Rapid’s Michigan Accelerator Fund-1 in 2012, she assumed her previous experiences leading corporate innovation business units, a high tech start-up, a life sciences incubator and a university center for entrepreneurship made her experienced enough to remain objective, even skeptical, of investment opportunities.  As she nears […]