Crain’s Detroit Business on MGCS

Check out what Tom Henderson of Crain’s Detoit Business had to say about Jason Mendelson’s address at MGCS:

Boulder Venture Capitalist Changes Tune on Michigan

Instead of off-key “you suck,” it’s harmonious “you rock!”

Jason Mendelson is managing director of the Boulder, Colo.-based Foundry Group, a venture capital firm with $450 million under management that plans on raising a third fund of $225 million next year.

Like many venture capitalists nationally, he got his start in the business taking courses from David Brophy, director of the Zell Lurie Institute‘s Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity at the University of Michigan‘s Ross School of Business.

Mendelson got his law degree from UM in 1998 and headed to Silicon Valley to work on his entrepreneurial chops. In 2006, he moved to Boulder to co-found the Foundry Group, which focuses on early-stage software and IT companies all over the U.S.

He doesn’t have any portfolio companies in Michigan, yet, but that might change. Josh Linker of ePrize fame and managing partner at Detroit Venture Partners, is out visiting Mendelson this weekend. And while they might be friends, one assumes some business will be discussed, as well.

Mendelson certainly let it be known at last week’s 31st Michigan Growth Capital Symposium that he was now, having changed his mind, open to the idea of doing business here.

The symposium was Brophy’s brainchild before there was any venture capital in Michigan, a way to match would-be investors with early-stage companies in desperate need of equity funding. This year’s event drew a record crowd of more than 450 entrepreneurs, service providers and venture capitalists.

Mendelson gave one of the keynote speeches, accompanied by a lengthy, entertaining slide show.

Slide No. 37 said in big, bold letters: “In 2005, I came back to Ann Arbor and there was nothing that interested me.”

Slide No. 38 said: “Then I came back in 2009 and found some seeds of a entrepreneurship system.” (Hey, he went to law school, he wasn’t an English major. Since he’s got money to invest, we’ll forgive him the lack of an “n” before “entrepreneurship.”)

Since then, things have improved dramatically, he said.

In three years, the region has boosted the quality and size of its tech infrastructure; has got its research universities more active in spinning out companies and creating jobs; has more state VC firms and a much stronger presence of out-of-state firms opening offices here and joining in deals with local VCs; has much more management talent; has a history of success now, with successful sales of such VC-started companies as HealthMedia Inc., HandyLab Inc. and Accuri Cytometers Inc.; and has had a quantum leap in entrepreneurial-nurturing organizations and networks both in Ann Arbor and Detroit.

As for Detroit, Mendelson said his recommendation to Ann Arbor folks three years ago was: “Pretend it doesn’t exist.”

Now? “Detroit rocks and Michigan rolls,” he said.

(Many of us locals in the room suddenly felt like Sally Fields when she famously (or infamously) blurted out upon winning her second Oscar in 1985: “You like me! You really like me!”)

Mendelson mentioned Detroit Venture Partners by name, crediting it with helping launch many of the more than 100 startups that call downtown Detroit home.

Austin, Texas? Spokane, Wash.? Forget worrying about catching those so-called hotbeds of VC and entrepreneurial activity, he said. “You’ve already passed them.”

He LIKES us!

Foundry Group’s Jason Mendelson to Keynote Michigan Growth Capital Symposium

Ann Arbor, Mich. – April 13, 2012 – Today, organizers of the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium announced that Jason Mendelson, co-founder and managing director of Foundry Group, will deliver the opening keynote address at the 31^st annual event. Mendelson will provide the event’s opening keynote address, which will be followed by a robust program of panels and presentations from 32 startups seeking funding ranging from half a million to $20 million. A partial list of these presenting companies was also revealed today and the closing keynote, who will be be introduced by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, will be announced in the coming weeks.

“There’s a perfect storm of activity happening in Michigan, including incentives offered by the state, further development of the entrepreneurial community and sizable investments in R&D from local universities,” said David J. Brophy, founder and director of the Symposium and professor of finance at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. “People are now paying close attention to activity here.”

Mendelson on the State of the State’s Venture Capital

A Michigan native and graduate of the University of Michigan, Mendelson will provide attendees with his view on the state of the Michigan venture capital investment landscape and the factors driving its marked success over the past five years.  He will also present on the energy found in the state and how those involved in the regional investment community can connect with recognized investors from across the U.S. and maximize the momentum created.

Mendelson has over a decade of experience in the venture capital and technology industries in a multitude of investing, operational and engineering roles. He co-founded Foundry Group, a Boulder, Colo.-based venture capital firm focused on making investments in early-stage information technology, Internet and software startups, most notably Zynga.

Select Presenting Companies Unveiled

A total of 32 emerging startups from the Midwest and beyond will present at the Symposium. The companies represent high growth industries such as medical devices, information technology and mobile, and many are drawn on technology commercialized at the state’s robust University research corridor.  Here is a sample of this year’s presenting companies:

• Swift Biosciences (Michigan) – develops enabling technologies for genomics and personalized medicine
• Commuter Advertising (Ohio) – provides active and entertaining audio advertising onboard public transit vehicles
• NeuWave Medical (Wisconsin) – specializes in developing and commercializing energy-based minimally invasive medical devices
• Alert Communications (Michigan) – a refurbisher and wholesale distributor of mobile phones
• Atterocor (Michigan) – a research and development company focused on therapeutics for adrenal disease
• Vestaron (Michigan) – developing a new generation of insecticides derived from peptides produced by spiders

The complete list of presenting companies will be made available on the Symposium’s website on May 8.

Presented by the University of Michigan Zell Lurie Institute‘s Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance at the Ross School of Business with support from the Michigan Venture Capital Association, this year’s Symposium will be held May 15-16, 2012 at the Marriott Resort in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  To learn more or register to attend the Symposium, visit www.MichiganGCS.com.

About the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS)

MGCS is the original university-based venture fair, which was first held in 1979. This nationally attended two-day event provides an opportunity for financiers to connect with up-and-coming Midwestbusinesses and learn about emerging technologies. The Symposium offers the opportunity to build relationships with an unparalleled business network of distinguished private equity industry leaders, leading university research faculty, and entrepreneurial business professionals. Entering its 31^st year, MGCS continues to draw top investors from coast to coast. MGCS is presented by the Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance at the Ross School of Business at theUniversity ofMichigan with support from the Michigan Venture Capital Association and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.