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. The following blog marks the graduation of a Venture Fellows Program participant and shares insights from their fellowship.
Where are you now and what are you doing?
I am currently an Associate on the Investment Team at Arboretum Ventures, supporting investing in companies in the healthcare space, across devices, diagnostics, life sciences tools, and tech-enabled care.
During your time as a Venture Fellow, what was the best deal, favorite solution, or stand-out Michigan portfolio company you encountered and why?
During my time as a Venture Fellow, an interesting deal that was also a stand-out Michigan portfolio company was Shoulder Innovations. Based in Grand Rapids, the company has developed a suite of shoulder arthroplasty products that have a technological and clinical edge over legacy shoulder replacements amongst other characteristics including procedural efficiency. I helped to support our team’s investment into the company back in Q1 of this year, and it was a fascinating and exciting short journey to watch them list as a public company on the NYSE later that year. I learned a lot about shoulder replacements and the orthopedic market / space, in addition to public equities and the OP process. I am excited about the company’s further potential in addressing a large clinical issue, particularly for an aging population. The thorough diligence process with a great team, profile as an orthopedics company, and ability to improve the lives of many make it stand out in addition to the experience and exposure gained.
How did your fellowship help you contribute to the growth of Michigan’s entrepreneurial and investment community?
The fellowship helped to connect me to other entrepreneurs and investors within the Michigan venture ecosystem, which was an interesting experience via various programming and networking events. Developing these connections and network was very helpful, particularly when considering that Arboretum prides itself in being a Midwest firm, with a preferential eye towards in-state and regional opportunities. Thus, being a part of this fellowship and getting enabled towards a local network helped to make myself and by extension the firm a better contributor to the in-state investment and start-up community.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing a career in venture capital?
Be open minded, opportunistic, and develop your own interests and “thesis”. Industries rapidly change so do not get entrenched in your opinions and enjoy pressure testing your assumptions against outcomes. The feedback cycles are long so be patient as well. In the meantime, add value where you can and bring perspective to the table. Balance a realistic perspective with possibility.
What do you hope to be doing in ten years?
In ten years, I hope to continue working with a great team on work that is interesting, meaningful, and rewarding while making a difference in the real world. I hope to share my growing knowledge with others while continuing to learn.