Arboretum Ventures, Duo Security Among MVCAs 2015 Awardees
Summary
The event drew a record crowd, the organization said in a blog post, and “focused on the tremendous growth of the entrepreneurial and investment community” in Michigan and across the region.Incoming MVCA board chair Tony Grover, of RPM Ventures, was on hand to help honor the awardees, and Gregg Kaplan, operating partner at Chicago’s Pritzker Group Private Capital, delivered a keynote speech about the power of a strong corporate culture and the lessons he learned while creating and leading Redbox, the DVD rental company.Arboretum, which focuses on devices, diagnostics, services, and IT, has some of Michigan’s biggest exits in its portfolio, including Accuri Cytometers, Esperion, and Handylab.—Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Detroit/Ann Arbor Xconomist Mina Sooch was at the helm of ProNAi Therapeutics, a biotech startup developing cancer drugs, in the lead-up to its successful IPO last summer, which raised $138 million after the value of the company’s shares jumped more than 80 percent on the first day of trading.—Lifetime Achievement Award: Tom Porter, a veteran of Michigan’s venture capital community, was honored for a 30-year career spent building the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and mentoring students and young professionals interested in joining the industry.
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