Accessing Early-Stage Checks Across the State – MTW 2026

This post is part of a series of session recaps from Michigan Tech Week 2026. We’re sharing session highlights, key take-aways, words of wisdom, and next steps for advancing your startup and Michigan’s innovation community. 

MTW Session Summary

Moderated by Dawn Batts, Co-Founder of Milestone Growth Capital Institute, this investor reverse pitch session gave founders the opportunity to hear directly from early-stage investors across Michigan about what they look for when backing startups and how founders can successfully secure their first checks. 

This panel was curated with early-stage investors from all different corners of the state of Michigan, to give you a wide perspective on venture and growth investing.

Panelists & Fund Info:

[Kalamazoo] Daniel Jefferies, VC Managing Partner – Kalamazoo Forward Ventures

Kalamazoo Forward Ventures is a pre-seed, industry-agnostic, Michigan-preference fund with check sizes $25k – $250k. It is the second black-owned fund in Michigan and works to be the most welcoming place in the state for underrepresented founders. 

[Ann Arbor] Michael Flanagan, Vice President – Ann Arbor SPARK

Ann Arbor SPARK is a pre-seed/seed, industry-agnostic, Michigan-focused fund with check sizes $100k – $250k. Additionally, their angel fund co-invests $50k – $100k/round. The SPARK Capital Fund has been around for 20 years and has invested in 300+ Michigan-based startups. They try to bridge the gap between public and private capital with their unique model that includes both an early stage fund and a 160-member angel group. 

[Grand Rapids] Abiola Olatoye, Associate – MCN Ventures

Michigan Capital Network based in Grand Rapids is an early stage, Michigan-preference fund with check sizes $25k – $2 million. While industry agnostic, they focus on founders looking to solve real problems, particularly in  life science, biotech, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defence, and B2B SaaS. They also have five angel groups with their firm. 

[Lansing] Reuben Levinsohn, Managing Partner – Exit Quotient Ventures

Exit Quotient Ventures in Lansing is a pre-series A, Michigan and Midwest-focused fund with check sizes $50k – $250k. Through their Healthy Founders, Healthy Exits program, they help founders be healthy, build sustainably, and plan for valuation and exits. 

[Detroit] Brittni Abiolu, Pre-Accelerator Manager – Michigan Founders Fund 

The MFF Pre-Accelerator powered by gener8tor supports pre-seed and seed stage startups with $15,000 non-dilutive grants. Company selection is tech-focused and industry-agnostic, in concert with Pre-Accelerator programs in Detroit and Kalamazoo for founders who have validated a problem, seen early traction, and have not yet raised institutional capital, but with plans to do so within six months to a year. 

Key Takeaways

Make your pitch with your investors’ interests in mind.

In addition to the basics about your company, investors are keen to learn about the following when talking to founders:

• • Does your company have traction? Describe your progress over time and the milestones that have already been achieved.
  • What are your next milestones? Investors want to be able to help guide you to your next investment milestone, so they need to know your plan.
  • What is your exit plan and timeline? Investors will be considering whether your exit is targeted during their fund timeline. 
  • Who is on your team? Building a team with strong experience, expertise, and competence shows you know what you’re doing.

• Who is your audience? Keep it focused and start small. Then, have a plan to expand to a broader audience.

• What risk are you mitigating during this round?

“We know there are risks so don’t pretend there’s not,” said Dawn. “We want to know what they are and how you plan to mitigate that risk.”

Founders need to understand what investors offer in addition to cash.

You’re building a relationship with investors and need to evaluate them as much as they evaluate you. 

Investors should be able to make introductions and connections to mentors, early customers, other founders, and other investors. Many also offer founder meetups or personal growth and leadership training opportunities. Often, they can also offer skillsets that companies are lacking. 

“If it’s only money, don’t do the deal,” said Dawn. “It’s a long journey and you’re going to need more than money.”

Understand some of the other factors driving their investment decisions

It’s true that certain sectors receive most of the available venture dollars. That’s because investors want to work with those companies that have the potential to grow fast and that lends itself to certain types of companies. 

Even so, investors aren’t simply looking for companies in industries that are currently hot. They’re investing in what they expect to be hot in five years when a company is ready to scale.  

They’re looking for the best opportunities per sector as they work to balance their portfolios. They want to understand the team, product, market, and how it all fits together. 

On that note… AI is not a sector.

You’re not building an AI company. You’re building an AI-enabled solution. When speaking to investors, focus on the core problem that you’re using AI to optimize. 

Broadly speaking, founders need to consider whether technology is a sector, a trend, or a wave of change and then position your company and story accordingly. 

“We assume everyone is using AI at this point,” said Dawn. “When you’re talking to investors, focus on what problem are you solving with AI and for whom?”

Words of Wisdom

Venture capital (VC) may be right for a founder if they’re ready to scale fast and looking for an exit. Even then, the odds of securing VC investment is slim for most companies. Dawn shared this perspective: 

“Less than 1 percent of companies are funded by VC in the United States. Even if we like you, your company may not be a match for our timing and criteria. It’s not necessarily that your business is bad. Your business is not your worth. Even those who raise angel rounds through Series C, less than 10% continue with venture investment.” 

Action Steps

When you start out, keep reaching out to investors and keep asking. 

“Raising is really hard and there are no shortcuts,” said Daniel. “It’s a grind.” 

If you’re raising a pre-seed round, you may need to talk to dozens or even 100+ investors. Many won’t respond to you. So what do you do next?

Keep it moving and reach out to 10 more people. Along the way, you’ll get better at understanding your business through this process, as well. 

When you reach out, share your raise information. Bonus: tell them why your company fits their thesis. And if you can get a warm introduction, that’s always the best way to go.