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.
Since you started your fellowship, what standout achievements have you been part of and how did you contribute?
I’ve taken a bit of pride in all the deal closings I’ve been a part of over the last couple of years. I had a deal that I ran down end-to-end from the initial pitch call to leading the round and now serving on the company’s Board of Directors. I’ve had a few follow-on rounds for portfolio companies where I’ve advocated for them at our Investment Committee meetings or helped with their fundraise either through strategic introductions or even building their pitch deck. That’s been a very rewarding part of the job – helping companies in their next chapter of growth.
I also lead an internal effort for MCN to partner with the Small Business Administration and the Department of Defense on our next fund. That process was incredibly intensive and took a year to go through, but we’re honored to say we were successful. I’m excited to see this next chapter in MCN’s growth as well!
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced during your fellowship and how have you overcome them?
One of my biggest learnings so far in venture capital is that so much of early-stage investing depends on ‘people’. It’s the people running the start-up, the people investing in the round, the people helping the company grow going forward – ‘people’ have the largest impact on the success or failure of a company. My background is in engineering and I’m definitely a data-driven person. One of my biggest challenges, and I think something that I’ll always be learning and adapting to in venture, has been understanding the influence people can have on a company. The tech, the data is important, but ultimately at the end of the day, we’re investing in people.
What have you learned about yourself or your perspective on venture capital that’s new or surprising?
I’ve enjoyed learning about the financial engineering and mechanics of venture capital. From an investor perspective, there are many different levers and ways to configure a deal. For many of our fundraises, I’ve been running the math and modelling to support a deal structure or assess a term sheet – it’s surprisingly been a fun area of venture to explore.
What are your career plans post-fellowship?
Continue working with Michigan Capital Network Ventures! I’ve learned so much with this team in the last couple of years. I’m very excited about the growth of the company and our next fund. There’s more cool work on the horizon.
What have you enjoyed the most about your affiliation with the MVCA? What is your favorite MVCA event or resource?
The Venture Fellows program has been an incredibly help to get started in Michigan’s venture ecosystem. It came with a network of other fellows and venture firms to help me build connections in the industry. Also, it came with an educational aspect – my favorite event was MVCAcademy last year in Ann Arbor. That was one day where we essentially learned a full course on venture capital!
The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Michigan and around the Midwest is a close-knit community. The Venture Fellows program made sure I had a good network and understanding of the work so I could hit the ground running.
In your last blog, we asked that besides work, what is one of your passions or aspirations. You shared that you are passionate about hiking. How is hiking like or not like venture capital?
There are so many mountain related puns I could make to connect hiking to venture capital! Let’s go with ‘it’s a rocky road to success’.
I think it’s rare in venture to have a company that hits every milestone perfectly, grows with that ‘hockey-stick’ curve, and has the timely exit that everyone wants. Typically, even with the best success stories, companies have to face multiple hurdles along the way. Similar to hiking, the ones that persevere and make it to the end of the road are usually rewarded with the most amazing views.