How To Raise Venture Capital In A Down Market

Posted on | Blair Garrou | Advice, Midwest
Fundraising in Down Turn
How to Raise Venture Capital In A Down Market, by Tom Taulli, was originally published on Forbes.com. Mercury Fund Partner, Blair Garrou, shares what entrepreneurs can do to make their startup a more investable business as fundraising becomes more challenging. For entrepreneurs, it’s likely to get much tougher to raise …
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5 Tips for Entrepreneurs Meeting with Investors

Posted on | Blair Garrou | Advice
Image Source
Joshua Kraus’ article, 5 Tips for Entrepreneurs Meeting with Investors, was first published on SitePoint. Joshua Kraus asked several investors, including Blair Garrou, a Partner at Mercury Fund, for the most important things entrepreneurs can do to meet and secure investment for their startups. Shark Tank, Dragons’ Den, Lion’s Mouth: …
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How Ag-Tech Ripened Into a Growing Market

Posted on | Adrian Fortino | AgTech, Software
Ag-Tech Software
This article was first published by Margaret Littman in the December issue of Entrepreneur. In Margaret Littman’s article about agricultural technology and software (ag-tech), Mercury Fund Partner, Adrian Fortino, highlights some of the market forces that make this sector attractive to investors. Image Source: VLAB   With the rise of …
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Why We Invested in Benson Hill Biosystems

Posted on | Dan Watkins | Midwest, Science
Benson Hill Biosystems
Benson Hill Biosystems improves photosynthesis Mercury Fund recently invested in the $7.3 million Series A financing of Benson Hill Biosystems. The company is a St. Louis and Research Triangle Park-based agriculture biology startup. Using a unique computational biology platform (PSKbase) and novel experimental platforms for high efficiency translation into model …
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How Early Exit Disease Stunts The Growth Of Midwest Startup Communities

Posted on | Adrian Fortino | Midwest
Early Exit Disease in Midwest Startup Communities
This article was originally published on TechCrunch Adrian Fortino leads Mercury Fund’s Midwest office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Based on his years of experience as a both entrepreneur and investor, Adrian shares his analysis of one of the factors that Mercury believes is holding back startup communities in the middle…
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Why a Solid Customer Data Strategy is Essential for VC Funding

Posted on | Aziz Gilani | Advice
Customer Data Strategy
Aziz Gilani, a Partner at Mercury Fund, wrote an article published by VC List that outlines why startups need to have a strategy for collecting, processing, analyzing, and responding to customer data. Knowing your customers is easy. Interpreting the stories told by their data and product usage, however, is not …
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Mercury Fund Wants to Drive Entrepreneurial Growth

Posted on | Blair Garrou | Houston, Texas
Houston Skyline
This interview was originally featured in the Houston Business Journal One of Mercury Fund’s Managing Partners, Blair Garrou, sat down with Houston Business Journal to discuss challenges facing the venture capital industry and the Houston startup ecosystem. Photo: Jackson Myers What’s one part of your job that people don’t know …
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Adrian Fortino in Detroit’s 40 Under 40 in 2015

Posted on | Adrian Fortino | Uncategorized

This excerpt was originally published on Crain’s Detroit Business Adrian Fortino has been making a splash in Michigan’s venture capital world. In the past three years, Fortino has invested in 27 local early stage companies, first through his role as vice president of Invest Detroit, where he managed the Detroit …
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