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Author: Emily Gilbert

Michigan Capital Network Promotes Jenni Li to Principal

Posted on by Emily Gilbert
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Grand Rapids, Mich. (Mar. 25, 2025) – Michigan Capital Network (MCN), a fund management organization that oversees multiple venture capital funds as well as the largest association of Michigan angel investing groups, announced today it has expanded its leadership team by promoting Jenni Li, Ph.D., to principal at the firm.

Li first joined MCN as an analyst in 2020 after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Li was promoted to senior analyst at MCN in 2021 and later appointed to the position of senior associate in 2024. This latest promotion to the position of principal and full time employment status with MCN comes after she obtained her doctorate in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University in Chicago. “We feel fortunate to have Jenni as part of our research and investment advisory team,” said Paul D’Amato, CEO and Managing Director of MCN. “She has tremendous knowledge of the life science industry, and brings a high level of insight regarding potential investment opportunities in that sector. Over the years, that knowledge has proven extremely valuable to our investors and our overall fund performance.”

Li’s career in life sciences technology began as a co-entrepreneurial lead in the NSF I-Corps program. She furthered her professional development by publishing research articles and patents on synthetic biology and bioengineering. Her research has covered the development of microfluidic platforms, use of synthetic biology for diagnostic applications, and RNA engineering for building molecular circuits. In her new role, Jenni will lead the MCN technical review team specializing in the evaluation of potential portfolio companies’ clinical data and patents. Her work with MCN to this point has included leading the firm’s investment guidance in several therapeutic and medical device sectors including Tetra Therapeutics, HistoSonics, Ablative Solutions, ONL Therapeutics, and PhotoniCare.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to continue my work with the talented team at Michigan Capital Network,” said Li. “I am fortunate to work with an experienced investment team that is focused on
connecting investors with entrepreneurs, especially in the life-sciences industry.”

Department of Defense and U.S. Small Business Administration Publish Names of First 18 Licensed and Green Light Approved Funds for the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies Initiative

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4032999/department-of-defense-and-us-small-business-administration-publish-names-of-fir

Michigan Capital Network Adds New Platform Manager to Increase Marketing Efforts and Enhance Services to Member-Investors

Posted on by Emily Gilbert
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Michigan Capital Network is pleased to announce the hiring of Kalina Foster as the new Platform Manager for the firm. 

In her new role, Kalina will oversee MCN’s CRM, enhance support for our portfolio companies, and assist with fundraising efforts. Kalina will assist in event planning and lead marketing initiatives, including managing our website, social media, and newsletters. Her expertise will be key in fostering partnerships and ensuring our startups have the resources and networks they need to succeed. 

Kalina is a West Michigan native who graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Prior to joining MCN, Kalina served as the Digital Communications Manager at the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. In that role, she updated and implemented the organization’s digital strategy, enhancing its online presence. She also served as Program Coordinator at the Chill Foundation, where she helped build a more equitable outdoor community by managing programs to expose youth to the world of board sports.

Kalina is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast, and enjoys snowboarding, scuba diving, and foiling. She is also in the process of learning kiteboarding.     

“I’m excited to utilize my diverse background in this new position with MCN,” said Kalina. “I’m drawn to the fast-paced nature of the industry and I look forward to meeting with and serving our member-investors.” 

Please join us in welcoming Kalina to the MCN Team.

New Director Appointed to Lead BlueWater Angels Investment Group

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Midland, Mich. (Jan. 13, 2025) – BlueWater Angels, a network of individuals and organizations from the Great Lakes Bay and mid-Michigan region focused on investing private capital in promising start-up companies, has selected Erin Strang to succeed long-time director, Leland Richards.

Strang is an accomplished business development professional who joined the Central Michigan University Research Corporation (CMURC) in 2009 as Grant Development Director. Just one year later she was named President and CEO of the organization. CMURC is a professional coworking space with accelerator programs focused on product and strategic development for entrepreneurs to positively impact the economy in the Great Lakes Bay Region. It does this by leveraging the resources of Central Michigan University, the Mount Pleasant SmartZone, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s 21st Century Jobs Trust Fund.

As director of the BlueWater Angels, Strang will lead member engagement and attraction, while also coordinating activities associated with the review and selection of prospective investor opportunities. She will do this while continuing in her role with CMURC.

The BlueWater Angels is one of five regional angel investing groups under the direction of Michigan Capital Network (MCN). MCN leadership has worked with Strang and previous BlueWater Angels director, Leland Richards, on several initiatives over many years.

“Erin is a great choice to take on this new role with BlueWater Angels,” said Paul D’Amato, CEO and Managing Director of MCN. “As a result of her work with CMURC, Erin is really connected to the early stage investment sector in the Great Lakes Bay Region. She will bring great insight to the position.”

Leland Richards was selected by MCN in 2021 to serve as director of the BlueWater Angels. While he’s stepping down from this position, he will remain as an active investor and member of the organization.

“Lee’s connections in the region have made him a very impactful leader of BWA since taking on the director position,” said D’Amato. “We are grateful for his time, service, and wisdom in creating early stage investment opportunities for the region.”

MCN’s five regional angel investment groups total more than 200 individual investor-members. Between the angel groups and several venture capital funds, MCN has invested in more than 100 companies, creating more than 2,000 high-paying tech industry jobs in Michigan.

Click here to learn more about BlueWater Angels.

Michigan Capital Network Promotes Jenni Li to Senior Associate

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Grand Rapids, Mich. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Michigan Capital Network (MCN), the state’s largest association of regional angel investing groups and the management entity for four venture capital funds, announced today it has named Jenni Li as Senior Associate.

Li joined MCN in 2020 as an analyst after completing her BS in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Georgia Tech, where she was a Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar. She was promoted to senior analyst at MCN in late 2021. This new appointment to senior associate comes as she pursues a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University in Chicago.

In her new role, Jenni will lead the technical review team specializing in the evaluation of potential portfolio companies’ clinical data and patents. Her work with MCN to this point has included leading the firm’s investment guidance in several therapeutic and medical device sectors including Tetra Therapeutics, HistoSonics, Ablative Solutions, ONL Therapeutics, and PhotoniCare. 

“I have enjoyed my work with MCN over the past three and a half years and I’m thrilled to take on this new role,” said Li. “I am fortunate to work with an experienced leadership team that is focused on connecting investors with entrepreneurs, especially in the life-sciences industry.”

Li’s career in early-stage life sciences technology began as a co-entrepreneur lead in the NSF I-Corps program and has continued through her published research on synthetic biology and bioengineering. Her research has covered the development of microfluidic platforms, use of synthetic biology for diagnostic applications, and understanding C. elegans whole-brain dynamics.

“Jenni has demonstrated a high level of subject matter knowledge in the life-sciences sector during her time with us, and that has proven very valuable to our member-investors and our portfolio companies,” said Meagan Malm, Senior Principal at Michigan Capital Network. “That knowledge combined with her business acumen will help us identify new opportunities and further strengthen our overall investing efforts.”

To learn more about Michigan Capital Network, its staff and its portfolio of investments, you can click here to visit their website.

Dale Grogan, Jody Vanderwel & Paul D’Amato: Crain’s Newsmakers 2023

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Congratulations Paul Damato, Jody Vanderwel and Dale Grogan on making the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business 2023 Newsmakers list!

Michigan Capital Network is lucky to be led by such great people. We’re proud of the work they have put in, this title is well deserved.

Dale Grogan, Jody Vanderwel, Paul D’Amato | Crain’s Newsmakers 2023
Crain’s Grand Rapids Business; By: Mark Sanchez

Elly Zandee Promoted to Controller at Michigan Capital Network

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Michigan Capital Network (MCN) is pleased to announce the promotion of Elly Zandee to the role of company controller.

Elly joined MCN in January 2022 and has performed a number of tasks for the firm, including work as an accountant, systems manager and marketing specialist. In her new role, Elly will oversee MCN’s accounting operations, financial reporting, and tax planning and compliance. As the firm grows, her insight and involvement will be crucial to scaling MCN’s Fund Management systems. Her work in this new role will be extremely important in maximizing returns for MCN investors and supporting the needs of the portfolio companies and their CEOs.

Elly is a Grand Rapids native. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Calvin University, where she spent one year on the leadership team of Knight Investment Management, a student organization at Calvin that invests a portion of the University’s endowment. Prior to that, she interned at Goldman Sachs where she worked as an investment analyst during the summer of 2021.

“Elly has consistently exceeded expectations and showcased a commitment to accuracy and innovation during her time with the firm,” said Meagan Malm, principal at MCN. “In just two short years she has developed a deep understanding of the business and is a crucial part of MCN’s success. We’re confident she will continue to deliver great work for our member-investors.”

Please join us in congratulating Elly on her new role with MCN!

Michigan Capital Network Names Meagan Malm Director of Grand Angels 

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Grand Rapids, Mich. (Jan. 8, 2024) – Michigan Capital Network (MCN), the state’s largest association of regional angel investing groups and the management entity for four venture capital funds, announced today that Meagan Malm will now take on the added role of Director of Grand Angels.  

Ms. Malm joined MCN in 2020 and was named a principal at the firm in December 2022. In that role, she sources investment opportunities, conducts due diligence and manages the firm’s portfolio companies. In addition to the Grand Angels appointment, she has been named to the Board of Directors of Poppy Flowers, an MCN portfolio company based in Virginia. Her board commitments also include serving on the Michigan Venture Capital Association Board and its Talent Committee, as well as serving as an observer on the PhotoniCare Board of Directors. 

Ms. Malm holds a business degree from the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, with a concentration in Strategy and Entrepreneurial Studies. Upon graduation, she was selected as the sole recipient of the Raoul Wallenberg Fellowship, a two-year program to self-direct a research project in Tanzania, where she studied the application of mobile micro-financial tools. Additionally, she is a University of Michigan Hopwood Award Winner, Ross School of Business Carson Scholar, and a Fulbright Scholar. In October 2023, she was recognized as a 40-Under-40 business leader by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. 

Her responsibilities as director of the Grand Angels will involve member engagement and attraction, while also leading activities associated with the review and selection of prospective investor opportunities.  

“Meagan is a tremendous organizational leader who has a great working knowledge of the Grand Angels group and its mission,” said Paul D’Amato, CEO and Managing Director of the firm. “She has the full faith and confidence of the member-investors and her insight will help grow the organization going forward.” 

MCN’s five regional angel investment groups total more than 200 individual investors or members. Between the angel groups and the four venture capital funds, MCN has invested in more than 100 companies, creating more than 2,000 high-paying tech industry jobs in Michigan. 

Click here to learn more about Michigan Capital Network and its portfolio of investments. 

About Michigan Capital Network 

Michigan Capital Network is a non-profit trade association representing five regional angel investment groups – Grand Angels, Ka-Zoo Angels, Woodward Angels, Flint Angels and Bluewater Angels – and management entity for four venture capital funds. The association is committed to utilizing its financial, intellectual and networking resources to help its portfolio companies grow and positively impact the Michigan economy. 

Michigan Capital Network forms $10M opportunity fund to invest in portfolio companies.

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Michigan Capital Network plans to raise $10 million from investors to support the investment firm’s existing portfolio companies. 

Dale Grogan, Michigan Capital Network.

A dozen to 16 of the more than 40 companies in which Michigan Capital Network holds positions would benefit from investments via the Michigan Capital Network Opportunity Fund L.P., Managing Partner Dale Grogan told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. 

Investments from Michigan Capital Network’s fifth fund will go for B and C Series investment rounds for portfolio companies that have surpassed the startup phase, proven their product or service, have cash flow and are “well into revenues,” and require additional growth capital to “get to the finish line,” Grogan said. 

“The logic here is that once a fund gets fully deployed, that does not necessarily equal that a company is fully capitalized,” he said. “There are portfolio companies in funds one, two and three that are doing very, very well, and we would love to invest more if we had the capital. When you don’t, you raise an opportunity fund.” 

Michigan Capital Network will seek investments for the Opportunity Fund from existing investors involved in its four prior venture capital funds, as well as bring in new investors, Grogan said. He cites two family offices in West Michigan that were interested in investing in Michigan Capital Network’s fourth venture capital fund that raised $37.5 million from more than 90 investors and was oversubscribed when closed earlier this year. 

The new Michigan Capital Network Opportunity Fund requires a minimum investment of $500,000, according to a regulatory filing to the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission. 

Michigan Capital Network, which has nearly $100 million in assets under management, invests in companies involved in life sciences, advanced manufacturing and software. The investment firm operates four venture capital funds and five angel investing groups across the state in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Detroit, Flint and Midland. 

The firm pursues investors at a time when fundraising for venture capital has been trending downward in the U.S. 

The third quarter Venture Monitor report from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association shows that through the third quarter, 344 U.S. venture capital firms raised $42.7 billion. That’s well below the pace of 2022, when 1,278 venture capital firms raised $172.5 billion through the full year. 

The Venture Monitor report attributes the fundraising “sluggishness” to several factors that include a down IPO market for investor exits and heightened caution among institutional investors. 

Despite the current fundraising environment, Grogan remains confident the new Opportunity Fund will meet its goal with mostly existing investors who are familiar with Michigan Capital Network and understand its approach. While fundraising is “never easy,” he expects the fund to complete fundraising by the end of the year, with the first closing coming soon. 

“We’re talking to our friends,” Grogan said. “Investing is a relationship business, and we’ve built relationships over a very long time.” 

Michigan Capital Network Expands Leadership Team 

Posted on by Emily Gilbert

Grand Rapids, Mich. (June 26, 2023) – Michigan Capital Network (MCN), the state’s largest association
of regional angel investing groups and the management entity for four venture capital funds, announced
today it has named Abid Ali as a principal with the investment organization.
Abid first joined MCN as an analyst in 2022 while obtaining his MBA from the University of Michigan’s
Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Before joining MCN Ventures, he was a private equity investment
professional at Finback Partners. During that time, he evaluated and conducted due diligence on midmarket
buy-out opportunities and was involved in fundraising activities. Prior to working at Finback, he
was a specialist consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), focused on fixed-income asset
management clients. He has also served as a banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Abid is originally
from Pakistan but spent most of his life in Miami, Charlotte, and New York. Outside work, he is passionate
about vintage cars, basketball, sneakers, and being a dog dad.
“There is an immense opportunity in the Midwest and beyond to reduce the capital and knowledge gap in
the entrepreneurial eco-system,” said Mr. Ali. “I am excited to join MCN Ventures full-time and use my
investing experience to serve our investors, members, and portfolio companies.”
In his new role, Ali will be working with the executive team members in identifying quality opportunities for
MCN’s venture capital fund investors. He will conduct due diligence of target companies, and help
manage portfolio companies alongside CEO and Managing Director Paul D’Amato, Managing Partners
Dale Grogan and Jody Vanderwel, and fellow principal, Meagan Malm.
“Abid brings a strong background in private equity and financial modeling to the MCN Ventures team,”
said Paul D’Amato. “His past work in asset management and banking will be especially important as we
pursue investment opportunities for our investors. I am thrilled Abid has joined our growing team at
MCN.”
MCN’s five regional angel investment groups total more than 200 individual investors or members.
Between the angel groups and the four venture capital funds, MCN has invested in more than 100
companies, creating more than 2,000 high-paying tech industry jobs in Michigan.
Click here to learn more about Michigan Capital Network and its portfolio of investments.

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