The University of Michigan's Wolverine Venture Fund recently announce its latest investment, but the student-led VC's bigger exit will come from the experience of making said investment.
Nicholas Douville isn't the typical U-M student participating in the venture capital fund. He has a PhD in medical engineering from U-M and is well on his way to becoming a doctor. He participated in the due-diligence team on the fund's latest investment in
Sonitus Medical, a medical device company.
"It's been a great experience," Douville says. "This deal tied together a lot of the unique strengths of the members of this fund."
The
Wolverine Venture Fund participated in a $25 million Series D investment round in Sonitus Medical with the likes of Arboretum Ventures. The start-up is working to help people with single-sided deafness hear with the world's first non-surgical and removable hearing device that transmits sound via the teeth.
The fund is 13 years old and worth about $5.5 million, which is up from $3.5 million a couple of years ago. It is run by students at the U-M's Ross School of Business and it has invested in more than 20 companies that have some sort of connection to either Ann Arbor or the University of Michigan.
"It was a perfect example of learn by doing," Douville says.
Source: Nicholas Douville, team member of the Wolverine Venture Fund
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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