Midwest Growth Capital Symposium to Feature Crosslink Capital and Arboretum Ventures Keynotes for 2022

Midwest emerging growth companies set to present virtually

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Organizers of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) announced today that Michael Stark, Jan Garfinkle, and Tim Petersen will Keynote the 2022 program. The conference will also include panel discussions on venture capital, technology, and DEI topics led by industry experts, as well as presentations from high-growth Midwest ventures. More than 300 entrepreneurs, researchers, investment professionals, and business executives are expected to attend.

Day one presentations will open with a joint Keynote address by Jan Garfinkle and Tim Petersen, the highly accomplished co-founders and managing partners of Arboretum Ventures, LLC of Ann Arbor, MI Michael Stark, founder and general partner at Crosslink Capital LLC of San Francisco, CA, will present the second Keynote address on day two. An engaging lineup of panels on topics including mobility, medical technologies, diversity in board leadership, and tech transfer follows each Keynote presentation. Each day will feature presentations in the MGCS company showcase by emerging growth companies to venture capital investors from around the US and Canada. 

The companies in the MGCS showcase span the life sciences, medical devices, agriculture/food, and tech industries. All featured companies will be seeking seed, Series A, or Series B funding. Presenting companies and investors will be in attendance from throughout the Midwest.

"Despite the pandemic, U.S. venture capital firms raised a record-shattering $128.3 billion in 2021," said David Brophy, founder of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium and University of Michigan professor emeritus. "The Midwest Growth Capital Symposium exposes these investors and business leaders to the innovation and growth opportunities that are happening in the Midwest." 

The 2022 Symposium will be hosted virtually on a robust online platform that provides easy access to companies' executive summaries. The integration of a calendar tool will allow attendees to connect and schedule meetings with others directly on the platform. This provides ample opportunity for early-stage companies, angel investors, venture capitalists, technology transfer professionals, and leading entrepreneurs to connect in groups, in 1:1 meetings, or via chat/email. Presenting companies and sponsors will be able to build out their company pages to best promote their brand and product, in a space where attendees and investors can view at any time. 

For more information on applying, attending, or sponsoring the symposium, please visit www.midwestgcs.com or email Hannah Burke & Drea Shipp-Caldwell at [email protected].

About the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium 

The Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) is the original university-based venture investment fair. First held in 1980, this decades-old event is the largest Midwest venture fair of its kind that brings together venture capital investors, angel investors, high-growth companies, university tech transfer officers and research faculty. The Symposium is presented by the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.     

SOURCE Zell Lurie Institute University of Michigan