Richelle Martin tells The Savvy Entrepreneur show that she founded the Winnow Fund and got into venture capital by chance. She never planned to raise money for a venture capital fund. But with the encouragement of one of the directors of Wisconsin's state Badger Fund of Funds, she became the first woman to create a venture capital fund in the state.
The Fund of Funds was looking for someone to help more professors and researchers within the state's university system to take the plunge and become entrepreneurs. Wisconsin, like most states, has many people in academia creating new ideas. But the challenge is to get those ideas out into startup companies. Richelle's background as a lawyer, her familiarity with the University of Wisconsin system, and her knowledge of intellectual property and technology transfer made her a great fit for the Winnow Fund.
The Winnow Fund provides seed money to companies (and even just ideas) in agriculture, medical devices, medical imaging, advanced manufacturing and engineering products.
Click on the arrow to the left to listen to Richelle's amazing story of how she founded the Winnow Fund and tips on what seed investors look for. Or, you can read a transcript of the interview here.
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