Showcasing early-stage companies from southeast Michigan to top regional angel and venture investors.
This event was presented by Ann Arbor SPARK.
Congratulations to Decimal Code, Electric Outdoors, and Culturebie for winning their respective categories during this year’s Invest360! Special recognition to Decimal Code for also taking home the People’s Choice award!
The winners of Invest 360 collectively walked away with $200,000 in investments, reaffirming Ann Arbor’s position as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Invest360 2024 Agenda
Networking & Coffee
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Welcome
9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Mobility Startup Pitches
9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
- 9:15 a.m. – Electric Outdoors, Inc.
- 9:30 a.m. – GEKOT Robotics
- 9:45 a.m. – HiPer Fiber, Inc.
- 10:00 a.m. – Marel Power Solutions, Inc.
- 10:15 a.m. – Staxel
Break
10:30 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.
Technology Startup Pitches
10:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- 10:45 – Clixie Media LLC (dba Clixie Al)
- 11:00 – Culturebie
- 11:15 – KindKatch
- 11:30 – RIZZARR
- 11:45 – SecuritySnares, Inc.
Lunch
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Keynote Speaker + Q&A
12:45 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Sean Ainsworth, CEO | Immusoft
Currently the CEO and Board Chair of Immusoft, Sean is a serial entrepreneur with a long and successful history in the SE Michigan ecosystem. In addition to 20 years’ experience in pharmaceuticals and biotech, Sean founded and led RetroSense Therapeutics, a gene therapy company sold to Allergan in 2016 in a deal valued at up to $555 million. Join us as Sean recounts his entrepreneurial journey over the last few decades – founding and growing companies, fundraising, and FDA fun.
Healthcare Startup Pitches
1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- 1:20 p.m. – Arborsense Inc.
- 1:35 p.m. – CircNova Inc.
- 1:50 p.m. – Decimal Code
- 2:05 p.m. – Magsorbeo Biomedical
- 2:20 p.m. – Paintools
Entrepreneur Panel Session
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Moderator: Ben Marchionna, CIEO | MEDC
Priya Gogoi, Co-founder | Celsee
Moses Lee, Co-founder | Seelio
Mark Gurney, Chairman & CEO | Tetra Discovery Partners
The investor and entrepreneur community is a cyclical ecosystem. Investment capital funds companies whose growth and exits return money that then funds future companies. Join us for a panel discussion with three co-founders whose exits are funding the current Invest360 program and other SPARK fund investments.
Awards & Pictures
3:30 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.
People’s Choice Voting & Award
3:40 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
$50k Investment Check Award
3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Presenting Companies
Invest360 Speakers
Jim Adox
Executive Managing Director
Venture Investors Health Fund
Jim Adox is the Executive Managing Director of Venture Investors Health Fund and is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He joined Venture Investors in 2006 as a Managing Director and has 25 years of venture capital experience.
Jim serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of HistoSonics, Inc. and serves on the Boards of ViaLase, Inc. and Dvant Pharma Inc. He was previously Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tissue Regeneration Systems (TRS), where he was a co-Founder and the Company’s first CEO (acquired by Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic). He was a Board Observer of NeuMoDx, Inc. (acquired by Qiagen) and of LenSx, Inc. (acquired by Alcon.)
Jim is the Vice-Chair on the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering Leadership Advisory Board and is a member of the Innovation Partnerships National Advisory Board. Jim previously served on the Board of the Michigan Venture Capital Association and was its Chairman from 2013-2015.
Jim has a B S and M S in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA with High Distinction from the University of Michigan. Jim is fluent in Spanish and is a competitive triathlete and five-time Ironman finisher.
Jim Adox
Venture Investors
Sean Ainsworth
CEO
Immusoft
Sean Ainsworth is Immusoft’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Immusoft, which has advanced the first-ever engineered B cell into a human clinical setting. Sean has more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Previously he founded and led RetroSense Therapeutics, a gene therapy company he advanced into human clinical trials and sold to Allergan in 2016 in a deal valued at up to $555 million. That program was the first ever non-human gene to be tested in a human clinical setting and the work spawned a revolution in the field of optogenetics.
Sean is also a co-founder and Chairman of Ray Therapeutics, an ocular gene therapy company and he is lead independent director of Ocuphire Pharmaceuticals (OCUP) a publicly traded biotechnology firm. Sean is also an advisor to FemHealth Ventures a venture capital group investing in women’s health innovations.
Earlier, he was deeply involved in the launch of Compendia Bioscience, Inc., and GeneVivo, LLC. At both he assisted in developing business models, licensing technologies, building management teams, and securing capital and first customers. Life Technologies acquired Compendia BioScience in 2012.
Sean founded Ainsworth BioConsulting in 2004 to provide licensing, as well as strategic and business planning services to the life science and entrepreneurial community. His clients included large pharma, small biotechs, universities, CROs, and venture investment funds. His other professional experience includes research at Medical Biology Institute (now Avanir Pharmaceuticals, developers of Abreva, the leading cold sore medication) in San Diego, CA, intellectual property at Koyama and Associates in Tokyo, and international corporate development consulting at The Mattson Jack Group – now Kantar Health – in St. Louis, MO.
Sean earned an M.B.A. in strategy and finance from Washington University in St. Louis and holds a B.S. in Microbiology from University of California, San Diego.
Sean Ainsworth
Immusoft
Kurt Baumgarten
Partner
GM Ventures
Kurt Baumgarten joined GM Ventures as Partner in May 2022.
Kurt has been involved in Michigan’s investment and entrepreneurial ecosystem for most of his career. In 2014, Kurt co-founded Applied Licensing, LLC, an angel investment organization specializing in intellectual property development and monetization. As Vice President & General Counsel, Kurt was responsible for all aspects of the firm’s investment activities, operations, and portfolio management, and he aided the development and execution of intellectual property strategy across the portfolio.
Kurt is a founding member of the Pointe Angels investment club and served as the group’s Lead for over three years. He frequently volunteers his time to assist founders and innovation through his engagements with entrepreneur support organizations like the New Enterprise Forum, and with academic institutions in Michigan.
Kurt serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Venture Capital Association, and he is and Advisory Board Member of the Global Corporate Venturing Global Mobility Council.
Kurt is an attorney and maintains active licenses across multiple jurisdictions. He holds a BA in Public Policy from the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Kurt Baumgarten
GM Ventures
Ben Bernstein
Principal
Beringea
Ben is responsible for investment sourcing, financial modeling, industry research, deal execution, portfolio management, and fundraising due diligence. Ben is a board observer to Optilogic, Akadeum and dscout and serves as a board director for TechTown Detroit. Ben was a founding member of the Diversity Committee with the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
Ben was recognized as a Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40” award winner and serves as a board member of the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
Prior to joining Beringea, Ben served as Principal at Invest Detroit Ventures, where he managed their new investment pipeline and diligence process, completing over 20 new deals in two years.
He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University.
Ben Bernstein
Beringea
Diane Bouis
Director of US Operations
MedTech World
Diane is the Director of US operations for MedTech World, and incoming COO of a Medical Device company. Through her company BullsView Ventures she consults with and invests in startups.
She previously served as Program Director for MedTech Innovator, the largest medtech accelerator in the world. She has extensive experience managing startup portfolios through prior roles as Innovation Manager at the University of Michigan’s Innovation Partnerships Startup Incubator and as an innovation consultant with The Inovo Group.
Diane has lived and worked on three continents, speaks six languages, holds a PhD from the University of Groningen, Netherlands and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Diane Bouis
MedTech World
Priya Gogoi
Co-Founder
Celsee
Priya Gogoi is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and author with published work in national media. She co-founded Celsee, Inc., in 2010, a life-science tools company developing products for cancer research and single-cell sequencing. In April 2020, BioRad Laboratories acquired Celsee for $100+MM.
Priya specializes in due diligence on Biotech startups, which involves technical due diligence, IP and competitive landscape, operations, and team efficiency. She also mentors several Ann Arbor area startups in preparing their Business Plans.
Currently, Priya serves as a Board member in several local and international nonprofits, including Colorado-based Kromatid Inc. and International Child Care, and a contributing author in the national publication: Entrepreneur Media. Priya graduated with an Executive MBA from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, in 2020, adding to her Master’s in Molecular Biology.
Priya Gogoi
Celsee
Mark Gurney
Founding Chairman and CEO
Tetra Therapeutics
Mark Gurney, PhD, MBA, was the founding Chairman and CEO of Tetra Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in Grand Rapids, MI. Under his leadership, Tetra Therapeutics started in the biotechnology incubator at Grand Valley State University, utilizing local talent and resources. The company successfully developed a drug to treat Fragile X syndrome through mid-stage human clinical trials. Tetra subsequently was acquired by Shionogi Ltd. in 2020. Mark retired from Tetra in 2021. Mark received his PhD in Neuroscience from the California Institute of Technology and his MBA from Northwestern University.
Mark Gurney
Tetra Therapeutics
Moses Lee
CEO
Michigan Language Center
Moses Lee has spent the past two decades helping thousands of students – from high schoolers to working professionals – to achieve their goals. He leads the Michigan Language Center, scouts for VC backable startups, and is the Applebaum Innovator-in-Residence at the University of Michigan. In 2011, he co-founded Seelio, an education technology company that partners with universities to help prepare students for meaningful careers. The company was acquired by Keypath Education, a public education company. He is a proud alum of the University of Michigan.
Moses Lee
Michigan Language Center
Ben Marchionna
Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Ben Marchionna is Michigan’s first-ever Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer. He oversees and directs the holistic development, growth, and sustainability of the rapidly growing Michigan innovation economy. Prior to his current role, Ben led technology and business development at Electra.aero, an aerospace and defense hard-tech startup near Washington, D.C., where he played a pivotal role in advancing a world’s first hybrid-electric aircraft for dual-use advanced air mobility applications. Before Electra, Ben built the global operations team at SkySpecs, a clean energy startup headquartered in Ann Arbor, where he led the product development and scaling of autonomous robotics and AI-based software solutions into 26 countries.
Ben’s career began at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the renowned national security innovation factory in the Mojave Desert. During his tenure, he contributed to numerous groundbreaking aircraft development programs and graduated from Lockheed Martin’s prestigious Engineering Leadership Development Program. Ben holds a B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in Product Development Engineering from the University of Southern California. He is the Chair of the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Industry Advisory Board, a Board Trustee and Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a founding nonprofit Board member of the Los Angeles County Air Show
Ben Marchionna
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Chris Thomas
Co-Founder and Partner
Assembly Ventures
Chris is a Co-Founder and Partner at Assembly Ventures. Detroit, Berlin and Silicon Valley. He is a board member at Metropolis and a board observer at ONE (Our Next Energy) and Sortera.
Prior to Assembly Ventures, he co-founded the Detroit Mobility Lab and the Michigan Mobility Institute and acted as a senior advisor to mobility start-ups around the globe. Previous to this, Chris co-founded Fontinalis Partners and for over a decade worked to build it into one of the premier investment firms in next-generation mobility. While at Fontinalis, he served as a board member for nuTonomy (acquired by Aptiv in October 2017) and Karamba Security, and as a board observer at ParkMe (acquired by INRIX in September 2015), Parkmobile (acquired by BMW in January 2018), Life360 (IPO in May 2019), Ouster (SPAC in December 2020) and SmartKargo.
Prior to Fontinalis, Chris served in the U.S. Army as a communications officer in the U.S. and Iraq. Before joining the military, Chris worked as an investment banker at UBS within its Technology and Energy groups in San Francisco and New York. Additionally, Chris acts as a senior advisor to the COMMIT Foundation and is a member of the Global Cleantech 100 expert panel. He is also a co-owner of Buddy’s Pizza, the birthplace of original Detroit-style pizza, and an avid angel investor. Chris has previously served as the chairman of Read to a Child, a national children’s literacy and mentoring nonprofit in the United States and acted as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Personal Transportation Systems.
Chris earned his master’s degree in business administration from the Yale School of Management. While at Yale he served on the Honor Committee and graduated with distinction in former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s seminar on Faith and Globalization. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in both economics and international relations from Michigan State University. Chris is a resident of the City of Detroit where he lives with his wife and sons. He is a staunch advocate of connected communities, early childhood literacy, and the doctrine of the strenuous life.
Chris Thomas
Assembly Ventures
Charity Tarn
Senior Associate
Arboretum Ventures
Charity is a Senior Associate at Arboretum Ventures and is responsible for evaluating new investment opportunities and supporting Arboretum’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining Arboretum, Charity was a Senior Manager in Medtronic’s Corporate Development team where she executed M&A transactions across all portfolios and led enterprise level strategic initiatives. Earlier in her career, Charity held Corporate Finance and Corporate Strategy roles at Cardinal Health. Charity currently serves as a Board Member for SonarMD and is a Board Observer for Motif Neurotech, Reprieve Cardiovascular, Virtual Incision, Avation Medical, and Akadeum Life Sciences.
Charity earned her BA in Psychology and BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Charity Tarn
Arboretum Ventures
Joshua Tooker
SVP of Research and Portfolio Management
Union Heritage
Joshua Tooker is on a mission to help create a more inclusive and efficient economy by helping to grow and scale companies through capital allocation and strategic advisory.
He was born and raised in Northern Michigan and now calls Corktown Detroit home. Josh is the SVP of Research and Portfolio Management at Union Heritage, where he leads Union Heritage Ventures deal sourcing and diligence and serves on the investment committee.
Josh spent his early career leading digital transformation and supply chain strategy across public, private, and non-profit sectors.
He bleeds green, having earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, but also holds two master’s degrees from the University of Michigan.
Josh is an angel investor, loves spending time outdoors (even during the winter!), and is learning the joy of owning an old home in Detroit.
Joshua Tooker
Union Heritage
Sonali Vijayavargiya
Founder & Managing Partner
Augment Ventures
Sonali, an entrepreneur and investor, is the force behind Augment Ventures. With over two decades of experience, Sonali is actively mentoring and investing in startups that are transforming foundational industries with breakthrough technologies. Early in her career she guided Rediff.com to a NASDAQ listing. As an early backer of LLamasoft, a Michigan unicorn, she solidified Augment Ventures as a founder-centric venture fund. Sonali is committed to fostering innovation through extensive board roles and advisory positions. Holding a BS in Statistics and an MBA, she balances her leadership with roles as a technologist, traveler, and mother.
Sonali Vijayavargiya
Augment Ventures
Kristin Welch
Strategy and Operations
Ford Next Ventures
Kristin Welch is a veteran of the mobility ecosystem in Southeast Michigan and beyond. For two and a half years, she helped lead the ride sharing startup SPLT (Techstars Mobility ‘15) through growth, globalization and acquisition by Robert Bosch GmbH in 2018. Subsequently, Kristin has been an Advisor and Strategist for numerous startups, including an autonomous delivery/robotics company, a next-gen parking/payment technology and an innovative solution in the pharmaceutical industry. Kristin coaches founders through the New Enterprise Forum (NEF), works on the organizing committee for the Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge (GAMIC) and judges multiple pitch competitions nationwide. Prior to startups, Kristin spent ~15 years at Deloitte, including leadership roles in Boston, Zurich, London and New York City. In 2015, she obtained an Executive MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Kristin now enjoys working with Ford Next Ventures, Ford Motor Company’s venture incubator, to validate new mobility products and business models, to help shape the future of transportation. Throughout the pandemic, she led a team in the healthcare solutions/crisis response space. Working with program partners, they developed the Mobile Health Unit- innovating solutions for improving public health in the future. Kristin now focuses on pipeline analysis for Ford Next Ventures as well as various opportunities with connected vehicle data and other movement applications. When not focused on innovation at Ford Next Ventures, Kristin enjoys traveling, reading and eating great food with friends and family.
Kristin Welch
Ford Next Ventures
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