Michigan Angel Summit

Scott Shane
Comeback Capital

Scott Shane is managing director of Comeback Capital, a pre-seed stage venture capital fund that invests across the Midwest, now on its second and third funds. He is also a deal flow partner for Right Side Capital Management, a San Francisco-based pre-seed stage micro VC fund, and an advisor to Ivy Cap Ventures, a $150M Indian venture capital fund. He is an active angel and limited partner and mentor at the Iconyc, Acceleprise, and gener8tor accelerator funds, and an LP in Refinery Ventures and Illuminate Ventures.

He was the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University from 2006-20021. The author of 92 scholarly articles and 12 books, Dr. Shane was the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research, the most prestigious award in this academic field. According to a study by John Ioannidis at Stanford University, published in PLoS Biology, Dr. Shane is the 1,137th most impactful scientist out of seven million living scientists.

Dr. Shane has also written extensively for popular audiences, penning regular columns for Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc., Entrepreneur, and the New York Times. Dr. Shane has served on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Georgia Institute of Technology, and as a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He serves currently as an advisor to the Youngstown Business Incubator, the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship, and several startup companies. Dr. Shane received his Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jill Johnson
Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership Inc

Jill Johnson is the co-founder and CEO of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), based in Newark, NJ. IFEL, founded in 2002, is an independent, not‐for‐profit organization that supports economic development through entrepreneurship. With over 30 years of experience as a business strategist, Jill is a pioneering voice for inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and is especially focused on creating a new paradigm for the access to capital conversation. Most recently, Jill conceived and launched the Women of Color Connecting initiative to change the way we think about building the capacity of Women of Color entrepreneurs for the grow-scale-exit trajectory. She is also spearheading The Making of Black Angels movement to drive diversity and inclusion within the angel investing sector.

Jill started her career as a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co in mergers and acquisitions where she worked across industries groups to help clients execute deals at a minimum transaction value of $100 million. Following her time at Goldman, Sachs, she joined the family business, City News Publishing Company. There she was responsible for advertising, sales, and strategic partnerships for YES Magazine, a national youth magazine circulated in schools and organizations in over 30 states. After being promoted to Associate Publisher of YES Magazine, she added production oversight to her list of management responsibilities. In her next professional experience and immediately prior to launching IFEL, Jill was the President of On Point Consulting, a strategic business planning consultancy. In that capacity, she advised early-stage businesses through a variety of strategic planning and growth issues.

In her capacity as CEO of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Jill is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization and capacity building. She is especially focused on creating earned revenue opportunities and strategic partnerships. She has led the organization in successfully winning contracts with the New Jersey Department of Labor, the Newark Urban Enterprise Zone, Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, and Greater Newark LISC to provide entrepreneurial training and support services.

Jill is a member of the Women’s Forum of New York, the Women Business Collaborative, and Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs. She also serves on the board of the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. She recently served on the NJ Restart & Recovery Advisory Council Main Street Committee. In the past, she served on the Red Tape Commission created by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and was an appointee of Mayor Cory Booker to the Board of Trustees of the Newark Public Library. She has also served as a co-chair of the South Orange Main Street Economic Development Committee.

Jill has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University and is married with four amazing sons.

Roger Newton
Espervita Therapeutics, Inc.

Roger Newton has worked for 40+ years in the pharmaceutical and biotech life sciences industries. He is formerly the executive chairman and CSO, and also founder, president/CEO, and director of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., which has its business offices in Ann Arbor. Prior to these appointments, Roger was senior vice president, Pfizer Global R&D, and director, Esperion Therapeutics, a Pfizer, Inc. company.

He was co-founder, president/CEO of the original Esperion founded in July 1998. Under Roger’s leadership and the team’s effort, Esperion built a portfolio of mechanism-based biopharmaceuticals focusing on HDL therapy and small molecule lipid regulating agents. Esperion was acquired by Pfizer for $1.3 billion in February 2004 (13x cash on cash return) and operated as a separate unit within Pfizer until its closure in May 2007. Pfizer then divested Esperion in May 2008 and Roger restarted the company as an independent enterprise.

Roger and the Esperion team raised enough equity financing and venture capital to develop Nexletol (bempedoic acid) from preclinical to FDA approval in February 2020. Nexletol is a novel, oral LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering drug, which lowers LDL-C by an average of 18% without an increased risk of muscle pain and weakness as observed with statin drugs. Nexletol can be used with statins in patients who cannot reach their LDL-C goal because of muscle pain and weakness at higher doses. Bempedoic acid in combination with ezetimibe (Nexlizet), which also received FDA approval in February 2020, can be used to produce an average of 38% lowering of LDL-C. Prior to founding the original Esperion, Roger was with Warner Lambert/Parke-Davis from 1981-1998. As a Distinguished Research Fellow and Chairman of the Atherosclerosis Drug Discovery Team, he co-discovered and was the product champion of what is now the largest selling and most prescribed cholesterol-reducing drug in the world, atorvastatin (Lipitor®).

Roger began his career as a translational basic scientist with a focus on treating and preventing atherosclerosis (Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Metabolism) during his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego at LaJolla. Roger has a Ph.D. in Nutrition Science (Lipid Metabolism) from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Science degree (Nutritional Biochemistry) from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Biology from Lafayette College. During his research career, he has co-authored over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific articles and chapters.

Roger serves or has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Espervita, Esperovax, and Esperion Therapeutics, Celsee Diagnostics, Swift Biosciences, and Rubicon Genomics. He has also served as President and Board Director of the American College of Nutrition, and a member of the National Advisory Boards of the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, Life Sciences Institute, and Taubman Medical Research Institute. Roger also currently participates as an Executive-in-Residence in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan interacting with students, staff, faculty, and alumni.

Doors Open & Breakfast

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Welcome

9:00 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

Skip Simms, Manager of the Michigan Angel Community, the Michigan Angel Fund and Sr. Vice President of Ann Arbor SPARK

Keynote

9:10 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Scott Shane, Managing Director | Comeback Capital

Scott is an economist and was the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University from 2006-20021. The author of 92 scholarly articles and 12 books, Dr. Shane was the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research, the most prestigious award in this academic field.He is an angel investor and Managing Director of Comeback Capital, a pre-seed stage venture capital fund that invests across the Midwest.

When is a SAFE Note Not a SAFE Note?

10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Chris Sing, Partner | Rehmann
Erik Schumacher | Rehmann
Kaoru Suzuki | Attorney

Let the debate begin. Which is better for the investor, a SAFE or traditional convertible note?

Raising Capital

11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

George Khalife, Vice President of Capital Formation | Toronto Stock Exchange
John Abrams, CEO | Venzee Technologies
Mahdi Shams, Partner | MLT Atkins

This panel will explain how U.S. companies can go public in Canada on TSX or TSX Venture Exchange, a unique funding platform for high-growth companies looking to raise Series A & beyond. The panel will also share best practices and considerations on what companies can do today to get prepared for a go-public event down the road.

Lunch

Keynote

Noon – 12:50 p.m.

Hester M. Peirce, Commissioner | U. S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC)

Hester M. Peirce was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was sworn in on January 11, 2018. Prior to joining the SEC, Commissioner Peirce conducted research on the regulation of financial markets at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She was a Senior Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where she advised Ranking Member Richard Shelby and other members of the Committee on securities issues. Commissioner Peirce served as counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkin. Commissioner Peirce earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School. The Commissioner will give a broad overview of current SEC rules and regulations as they relate to early stage investors and then ask questions of the audience as to what is important to them.

10 Mistakes Angels Make, from an Attorney’s Perspective

1 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.

Matt Bower, Partner | Varnum
Joe Morrison | Bodman

When conducting their legal due diligence your attorney finds many mistakes that investors make leading up to a funding round or exit. This presentation is about the common mistakes angels make from investment structures to board responsibility, or IP ownership.

Diversity Boosts Returns

2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

Dr. Dawn Batts | Commune Angels
Jill Johnson | The Making of Black Angels
Dr. Marlo Rencher | TechTown Detroit

Teams of diverse founders (more than one gender and/or more than one race or ethnicity represented) create more innovation and — on average — better financial outcomes, including 30 percent higher multiples on invested capital. Build a portfolio that will maximize your return through diversity of entrepreneurs and investors.

Michigan’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

Fred Molnar | MEDC
Mark Ritz | Angel Investor
Lee Gorman | Angel Investor
Jeff Wesley | MSU Foundation

Leaders from Michigan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem provide an overview of state resources for entrepreneurs and startups and share an angel investor’s journey through the system.

Celsee Case Study

3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.

Kalyan Handique, Co-Founder | Celsee
Walt Young | Investor
Roger Newton | Esperion Therapeutics
Priya Gogoi | Celsee

In April 2020, Bio-Rad Laboratories, a global leader of life science research and clinical diagnostic products, acquired Celsee, Inc., an Ann Arbor company that offers instruments and consumables for the isolation, detection, and analysis of single cells. Celsee was founded by serial entrepreneur Kalyan Handique along with Priya Gogoi, Chris Siemer, and Saedeh Sepehri.

Groups vs. Going it Alone

3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.

Moderated by Dale Grogan, Executive Director | Angel Capital Network
Lee Richards | BlueWater Angels
Diane Durance | Michigan Capital Network

This panel will review the benefits of joining and investing through angel groups.

Wrap

3:50 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Skip Simms, Senior Vice President | Ann Arbor SPARK

Cocktail Reception

Invest360: Information Technology

4:20 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Michigan Angel Summit

Investing in Michigan’s economy.

Monday, October 4 | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

2021 Keynote Speakers

Scott Shane

Comeback Capital

Commissioner Hester M. Peirce

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Panelists, Guests, and Moderators

John Abrams

Venzee Technologies Inc.

Dawn Batts

Commune Angels

Matt Bower

Varnum Law

Diane Durance

Michigan Capital Network

Jill Johnson

Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership Inc

Priya Gogoi

Celsee

Lee Gorman

Barton Consulting Services

Dr. Kalyan Handique

BioRad

George Khalife

Toronto Stock Exchange

Fredrick Molnar

Michigan Economic Development Corporation

Joe Morrison

Bodman PLC

Roger Newton

Espervita Therapeutics, Inc.

Dr. Marlo Rencher

TechTown Detroit

Lee Richards

BlueWater Angels

Mark Ritz

Michigan Angel Fund

Mahdi Shams

MLT Aikins

Skip Simms

Ann Arbor SPARK

Chris Sing

Rehmann

Erik Schumacher

Rehmann

Jeff Wesley

Red Cedar Ventures

Walt Young

Serial Angel Investor

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