Stage of Investment: Idea/Pre-Seed

Huron River Ventures is a venture fund focused on early-stage agriculture, energy, and manufacturing and mobility technology companies based primarily in Michigan and the Midwest. The fund backs great people with big ideas and the team prides itself on rolling up its sleeves to add value and help entrepreneurs succeed.

Ludlow operates differently because it’s a different kind of VC. It believes in VC without ego. The team wears their hearts on their sleeves, avoiding the puffery and posturing that has given venture capital a bad name. The firm funds the dreams of entrepreneurs and startups, becoming close friends with all of the teams they […]

IncWell is an early-stage venture capital fund that was founded in 2013 by Tom LaSorda, former CEO of Chrysler. IncWell offers seed funding, strategic partnerships, and mentorships for U.S. and Canadian startup companies that present breakthrough or disruptive technologies backed by great leaders.

Amherst Fund makes venture capital investments in early-stage companies and also makes private equity investments in later stage companies. While investing carefully to achieve sound returns, Amherst Fund offers flexibility in structuring investments to best meet the needs of the company. Amherst Fund investments have included equity, subordinated debt, and senior debt structures when appropriate.

MadDog Ventures is a venture operator and early stage investor. In addition to investing, the company partners with venture capital firms and entrepreneurs to immediately complete the full team required to elevate each venture to expansion-round funding or the next level. MadDog Technology specializes in advanced technology and mobile device development.

WMU Biosciences Research & Commercialization Center (BRCC) is based at West Michigan University and established in 2003 with a special $10 million appropriation from the Michigan Legislature as a nonprofit investor, designed to provide seed funding to early-stage companies focused on the life science sector. BRCC considers a wide range of life science technologies across […]

Red Cedar Ventures, the venture investment arm of the Michigan State University Foundation, focuses on growing startup companies created by MSU faculty, staff, and students. Red Cedar Ventures manages two funds—a $3.5M Pre-Seed Fund and a $5M Opportunity Fund—and participates at any financing stage.

Invest Michigan is a Michigan nonprofit corporation and the fund manager for the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund II, a $10.5 million investment fund providing capital to early-stage technology companies in Michigan. Its funds come from the state’s Michigan Strategic Fund but governed by a private independent board of directors, and its investment decisions are independent of […]

The Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund (MBVF) invests in biomedical startup companies with U-M licensed IP in the domain of therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, or health IT. The MBVF is a collaborative effort between the U-M College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) and U-M Medical School’s Fast Forward Medical Innovation program (FFMI) program.

Invest Detroit Ventures was founded in 2010 and has invested in over 80 companies since inception based on the philosophy that, while the firm cannot invest in every entrepreneur, its team can provide assistance to every one of them. Invest Detroit Ventures is committed to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem with capital, ongoing mentorship, and community […]