October 13, 2012 - MiBiz

After closing fundraising on its flagship fund to invest more than $15.1 million in early stage Michigan-based businesses, a Grand Rapids venture fund can now focus on building its investment portfolio and recording its first exit. The amount raised by the two-year-old Michigan Accelerator Fund I is 50 percent more than originally targeted, an indication of growing awareness among high-net worth individuals and institutional investors on the viability of venture investing in the marketplace, the fund’s Co-Managing Director Dale Grogan said. To help scout for deals, the fund recently added Linda Chamberlain as a venture capital fellow to evaluate and recommend investment opportunities. Her “wide scope of senior-level experience in nonprofit, public and private sectors makes her uniquely qualified to provide valuable advocacy and insights as we continue to build out the MAF-1 portfolio,” Co-Managing Director John Kerschen said. Kerschen and Grogan are principals in Grand Rapids-based M&A advisory firm The Charter Group, where Chamberlain will also serve as vice president of business and transaction management. more