Lansing Region’s First Venture Capital Firm Launches

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wsjm949depend-2016-141

The Michigan State University Foundation has launched a $5 million venture investing subsidiary to help university start-ups that are on the brink of market launch. The Lansing State Journal reports that Red Cedar Ventures would invest a minimum of $250,000 in businesses created by faculty and students to help get their services or products onto the market. The foundation’s executive director, David Washburn, says the firm wants to show the investment community that it’s willing to commit resources to make sure technologies that come from the university are successful. Red Cedar Ventures is the first venture capital firm based in the Lansing region. Andrew McColm, managing director of Venture Creation for Spartan Innovations, the foundation’s commercialization arm, says Red Cedar Ventures helps fill a gap in business funding.