Two University of Michigan MBA graduates have formed Resonant Venture Partners in Ann Arbor to invest in seed-stage IT, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, alternative energy and defense companies in their state.
Founded by Michael Godwin and Jason Townsend — classmates who completed their Master of Business Administration degrees this year –Resonant Fund I has raised $510,000 of a targeted $20 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Godwin and Townsend began raising money for their fund in July, “despite the challenging economic climate,” and plan to continue fundraising while sourcing their first portfolio companies over the next 18 months, said the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the university’s Ross School of Business in a press release.
Beyond Analytics: How Sellers Dorsey is Hard-Coding Value into Medicaid Policy [Video]
How to turn analytics into actual policy outcomes.
Late last week, Resonant invested in a $1 million seed round for Scio Security, an Ann Arbor startup that has developed an authentication platform for mobile devices.
Resonant is the first venture capital firm to be started by University of Michigan alumni who previously managed the Wolverine Venture Fund, the institute said in its release. Godwin and Townsend returned to Michigan to get their MBAs after launching technology and business development careers in Silicon Valley.
As MBA students, the two were managing directors of the university’s $5.5 million fund, which is led by students and has served as a model for other university programs. Both did due diligence to support the fund’s investment decisions. While they were managers, the fund made seven investments and had two exits — notably, the acquisition of HandyLab by Becton Dickinson, the institute said.
Godwin and Townsend told Xconomy they hope their new VC firm would act like a scout to draw larger venture capitalists from the coasts to Michigan, which tends to be difficult territory for out-of-towners to source deals.
Inside an Automated Healthcare Practice: Redesigning Care Around People, Not Paperwork
By reducing administrative burden and redesigning workflows around human needs, it creates space for what matters most: connection between clinicians and patients.
“Resonant is committed to keeping promising companies in Michigan,” Godwin said in the institute’s release. “With the entrepreneurial talents and technology innovation coming out of the university, coupled with investors, like us, eager to invest locally, there is tremendous opportunity for companies to succeed in Ann Arbor and its surrounding communities.”
Resonant was the first venture capital firm for TechArb, the University of Michigan’s business accelerator, the firm said at its blog.