The Michigan Venture Capital Association is proud to offer the Venture Fellows Program to Michigan’s venture capital community. The program, launched in 2023, is designed to increase the number of venture professionals in Michigan in order to accelerate the fundraising and deployment of capital into early-stage companies.
Terese began her career in the Detroit office of Arthur Andersen where she served a broad range of clients and industries in the audit division. After Andersen, she spent 9 years with Holcim in executive roles in finance, strategy, and supply chain. After Holcim, Terese spent led Lhoist North America’s supply chain team. Terese founded Thayer-Carver in 2009 and advised a broad range of clients from early-stage businesses to large, multinational public companies. In 2012, she joined Belle Michigan, an early-stage venture fund focusing on women-led businesses. From 2018 – 2023, she led Eco Material Technologies supply chain and transportation team and established and implemented strategy focusing on multi modal transportation, network optimization, and integrated business planning. Terese advises cement and other construction and bulk materials and transportation businesses regarding imports, logistics, operations and supply chain strategy primarily in the Americas. In 2023, Terese joined Augment Ventures as Head, Investor Relations and Compliance. Terese is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and has completed executive education at MIT and the University of St. Gallen and is a registered CPA.
What are you most looking forward to about being a Venture Fellow?
I am excited to get back into the venture space in Michigan after a hiatus while I worked with Eco Material Technologies and lived in Texas. There is great momentum in Michigan stretching all the way from the Upper Peninsula to the Detroit Metro area, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor. We are seeing exciting growth across the state and it will be great to be a part of it.
What attracts you to Michigan’s venture capital industry?
I grew up in Houghton, Michigan, the home of Michigan Tech (Go Huskies!). There was always science and discovery happening in our tiny town and including in our family which continues today. My Dad (Duane Thayer) and two of my uncles (Dale Johnson and Melvin Treankler) are MTU engineering alums and invented products and processes. I am fascinated by early-stage businesses and the factors that lead to or halt their growth. I love working with entrepreneurs whether their enterprise is early and small or large and undergoing transformation.
What ideas do you have to support and advance DEI in our entrepreneurial and investment community?
This year, we are planning a series of events celebrating diverse funders and founders across the US. We believe we will engage the venture community in our commitment to DEI by supporting diverse funders and founders more broadly.
What do you hope to be doing in 10 years?
I hope to continue to be working with businesses in transition including venture, managing my investments, and enjoying my family, and, hopefully, grandchildren.
What’s your dream deal — the company you wish YOU had spotted first?
I like deals I can understand because I can see how they can transform existing processes. For this reason, I wish I would have been an early investor in Llamasoft. I have worked with several network design tools (SNO, Bespoke, and River Logic) over the years and the LLamasoft team and the tech impressed me when I first met them back in 2008. I have had great success leveraging other tools but I was impressed by Llamasoft’s growth and their exit and wish I could have invested.