Outside investors flood into Accelerate Michigan competition

There’s a bevy of out-of-state money men and women participating in this year’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. That’s significant not just for the opportunity for these venture capitalists and angel investors to plug money into local start-ups, but also to make more connections with the state’s growing venture capital community.

Exacerbating a long-time sore spot for Michigan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, out-of-state venture capitalists have swept in, invested in local star start-ups and convinced them to move to the coasts. Organizers hope that same out-of-state money will be able to broker partnerships with local VCs, allowing them to invest and let the homegrown start-ups stay in the Great Lakes State.

“It is getting capital to Michigan, but if it makes them move the technology and jobs out of Michigan, that’s not a success,” says Lauren Bigelow, executive director of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which is in its second year. “It’s about creating these relationships between local venture capital firms and national ones.”

A few examples of these sorts of partnerships coming to fruition include Texas-based DFJ Mercury partnering with RPM Ventures in downtown Ann Arbor, and Ann Arbor’s EDF Ventures striking a deal with Ohio-based River Cities Capital.

Some big names from both coasts and elsewhere around the world participating in this year’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition include PureTech Ventures from Boston and Pangaea Ventures, which is based in British Columbia. These venture capitalists and angel investors, 49 in all, will help judge and mentor the 53 semi-finalists in this year’s competition.

Source: Lauren Bigelow, executive director of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.