Need to Meet: Adrian Fortino, a thematic investor at Mercury Fund, was published in Venture Capital Journal and was written by Eamon Murphy.
Adrian Fortino, Partner at Mercury Fund, shares his insight into his experience as an entrepreneur and his thematic investment strategy as a VC.
Before Adrian Fortino joined Mercury Fund, an early-stage venture firm investing in startups in the middle of the United States, he ran two Detroit-based seed funds.
One was technology-focused, targeting healthcare, transportation and industrial applications; the other was industry-agnostic, intended to help revive the economy of Southeast Michigan.
That dual experience taught Fortino that “it’s much more effective to be a thematic investor,” he says. “You drive a ton more value if you really know the sectors that you’re investing in and, equally important, know the people in the sectors. It’s impossible for you to have a deep network in every sector you invest in.”
