Since joining 100K Ideas shortly after its 2017 launch and becoming executive director in 2020, Brandee Cooke-Brown has helped focus the organization’s purpose, work and ability to engage with the local Flint community. 100K Ideas seeks to relieve the entrepreneurial burden innovators face and help them, through mentorship, create products and services that can fuel startup businesses. Special thank you to our podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. Background music supplied by Pixabay.

Quentin L. Messer, Jr., is Michigan Economic Development Corporation's (MEDC) CEO and President and Chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund. Quentin is charged with implementing and executing MEDC’s core mission of business development and attraction, community development, providing access to capital and enhancing Michigan’s image and brand with a focus on building a strong and equitable economy for all Michiganders. His responsibilities include managing the administration of all programs, funds, personnel, contracts and other administrative functions of MEDC. Special thank you to podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. Background music supplied by Pixabay.

Part two of a special two part series with Ara Topouzian, Executive Director of Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA) narrating the history of how venture capital started to form and grow in the state of Michigan. Included in this podcast are audio clips featuring some of the early pioneers that helped shape venture capital activity in Michigan as well as those responsible for forming an organized community now known as MVCA (which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022). Special thank you to podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. Background music supplied by Pixabay.

In this special two part podcast episode, Ara Topouzian, Executive Director of Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA) narrates the history of how venture capital started to form and grow in the state of Michigan. Included in this podcast are audio clips featuring some of the early pioneers that helped shape venture capital activity in Michigan as well as those responsible for forming an organized community now known as MVCA (which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022). Special thank you to podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. Background music supplied by Pixabay. 

Ara talks with Michael Cole, President of the Technology Industry Group with Bank of Ann Arbor. Bank of Ann Arbor's Technology Industry Group provides a full range of banking products to emerging and later-stage technology and life sciences companies, venture capital firms, angel investors and entrepreneurs. Special thanks to podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. 

Ara talks with Steve Tobocman and Ernestine Lyons of Global Detroit about the work their organization is doing to support the immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. The second half of the podcast highlights a native of India, Ayush Agarwal, a product leader and angel investor who has led major initiatives at Google and Facebook. He is the co-founder of Pencil Learning Technologies, a software solution that offers content management, workflows and communications for educators to structure and maximize student learning while saving time. Pencil has raised $5 million in venture capital since joining Global Detroit's Global EIR program in 2020. Recently, Ayush and Pencil were selected to participate in Y Combinator, one of the world’s most successful and prestigious startup accelerators.

Michigan VCtalk is proudly sponsored by Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit.

Ara talks with Steve Tobocman and Ernestine Lyons of Global Detroit about the work their organization is doing to support the immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. The second half of the podcast highlights founder Ashok Seetharam, PAXAFE and he discussed his startup and how Global Detroit supported his desire to stay in the US. 

Ara talks with Jeff Wesley, Executive Director of Red Cedar Ventures, the venture investment subsidiary of the MSU Foundation. In his role, he actively manages and grows the company’s venture investment portfolio. Jeff is also Executive Director for Michigan Rise Pre-Seed Fund III invests in Michigan tech startups to help commercialize innovative technologies.

Prior to Red Cedar Ventures, Wesley served as CFO of Two Men and a Truck from 2008 to 2015, then as the company’s chief executive from 2015 to 2017. Under his leadership, the company grew from $186 million to over $500 million in annual revenues and earned a place among Crain’s Detroit Business’ “Cool Places to Work”.

Ara talks with Jeff Ponders II who joined the ID Ventures team in April 2021 as Principal, Portfolio Success. In this role Jeff works closely with portfolio company founders as they scale toward major growth milestones and reach material valuation inflection points. Jeff is a passionate leader for the entrepreneur ecosystem and it shows in this podcast. Michigan VCtalk is proudly sponsored by Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit.

Ara had a chance to talk to Vince Nystrom, Partner at Renaissance Venture Capital. Renaissance Venture Capital is organizing the April, 2022 DEI UnDemo Day® which will bring together some of the region’s top early-stage companies and technologies for a virtual event with venture capital investors from around the country. This is the first UnDemo Day® designed exclusively to attract national venture capital to diverse founders. The virtual event will highlight companies from the Midwest and Central U.S. led by women, people of color, and other diverse communities.