3 Takeaways - Patti Glaza of Invest Detroit Ventures

As the managing director of Invest Detroit Ventures, Patti Glaza leads an active effort to support early-stage Michigan startups while preparing them for growth and additional investment.

Glaza's portfolio of companies spans sectors such as life sciences and healthcare, information technology, fintech, mobility, and advanced manufacturing and materials.

Invest Detroit Ventures is the venture capital arm of Invest Detroit, committed to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem with capital, on-going mentorship, and community engagement. Since 2009, Invest Detroit Ventures has provided more than $11 million to 112 high-tech Michigan-based startups, attracting more than $800 million in additional investment and leading to 11 exits. Its Accelerate Michigan, First Capital Fund, and Hacker Fellows programs, supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation initiative, provide further support to the startup community, offering an annual startup pitch competition, initial investment and yearlong fellowship, respectively.

In the following video, Patti shares three takeaways for successful investor matchmaking meetings. In addition to the three takeaways in the video, Patti provided a few additional tips for those hoping to take their idea from concept to commercialization:

1. Make sure you’ve practiced your pitch so it’s concise and prepared, and you can walk away with a meeting, a good impression or both.
2. Integrate yourself with different people in the matchmaking ecosystem so you can understand what roles people play.
3. Remember that people have networks; don’t be afraid to ask someone if they have a connection who would be a better fit for your company.

If you’ve got a high-tech start-up idea you’d like to explore further and don’t know where to start, contact the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation initiative at 888-522-0103 or visit https://www.michiganbusiness.org/entrepreneurship.

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