Founders Blog

By Pete Martin, Head of Connection at Michigan Founders Fund Fly Over, Miss Out is the new FOMO. This week, Detroit didn’t just play host to an attendance-record-setting NFL Draft (over 275,000 people!); [...]

By MFF Staff As we approach the end of Women’s History Month, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate and thank Trista Van Tine, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Michigan Founders Fund (MFF), for [...]

By Emily Samar, Emerging Talent & Ecosystem Engagement Program Lead  Before we dive into our end-of-year rituals, traditions, and celebrations, we are excited to announce that the 2024 Emerging Talent Program Application is open! Formerly [...]

By Pete Martin, Director of Connection for Michigan Founders Fund MFF members are founders and investors dedicated to building great startups here in Michigan while leading in their communities. Each year, our members [...]

By Dan Champoux, Founder of GEKOT Inc, FIRST Robotics Coach, and MFF Member  Dan Champoux speaking during an August 2023 celebration at the U.S. Patent Office honoring the GEKOT FIRST LEGO League team [...]

Transitional homes rehabbed by MADE Institute in Flint, all with the porches painted maroon. Article by Sarah Craft and photos provided by Leon El-Alamin East Parkway Avenue is a quiet street these [...]

We hope you've been saving some time on your calendar, because September and October are going to be a CELEBRATION of startups in Michigan. There are so many major events coming up that it [...]

By Johnnie Turnage, Co-founder of EvenScore, MFF Advisory Council Member, and Co-founder of Black Tech Saturdays Attendees of a June 2023 Black Tech Saturdays at NewLab inside of Michigan Central's Book Depository Building [...]

Article and photos by Sarah Craft I visited Candius Elliott’s farm, Workin’ Roots, the first week of May. It was finally sunny and warm after days of rain - we couldn’t have picked a [...]

Become a mentor with the MFF Internship Program. Learn more & sign up here by April 28. Article by Sarah Craft Last year, Caylinn Higgins saw a listing through her school, University of Michigan Dearborn, [...]

Article by Sarah Craft, photos provided by Leon El-Alamin Eight years ago, formerly incarcerated Flint citizens started getting better access to housing, education, and employment opportunities, thanks to the leadership of Leon El-Alamin, founder [...]

As we look at 2022, we couldn't be more proud of all that we've done as a statewide network of founders and investors. Our vision is that Michigan is the most successful, inclusive, and [...]

One of our goals at Michigan Founders Fund is to help startup leaders become community leaders. We are doing this by building real, long-term relationships with community leaders and impact-focused organizations while helping Members both [...]

Founder: Sergio Rodriguez-Valenzuela Company: ToDooly Stage: Seed Date Founded: 2019 Industry: Marketplace I didn’t have a safety cushion or the ability to do a family and friends round, so a meaningful capital injection into the company [...]

Founder: Andy Fowler Company: Nutshell Stage: Growth Founded: 2010 Industry: SaaS Nutshell’s volunteerism and charitable giving have really only begun in the past two years. As a 12-year-old elder startup, that’s pretty deep into “better [...]

Founder: Phil Bak Company: atNav Stage: Seed Date Founded: 2022 Industry: Fintech, Capital Markets The coolest thing I ever saw as a kid was a dual VCR player. It was the height of technology, and it was awesome. So what [...]

Founder: Bhushan Kulkarni Company: InfoReady Stage: Growth Date Founded: 2010 Industry: Software, EdTech During the journey of starting, growing, and sustaining a start-up, we all face many challenges. You can’t find solutions to these challenges [...]

Founder: David Corcoran Company: Digital Cowboy; Formerly Founder of Censys and TrustBearer Stage: Self-Funded Date Founded: 2013 Headcount: 1 Industry: Venture Development William Shatner is one of my favorite actors. My wife and I had [...]