Huron River Ventures optimistic about local deal flow

Huron River Ventures recently announced its investment in Cribspot, leading a $660,000 seed round in the Ann Arbor-based startup. An Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm investing in a Michigan-based startup isn't that unusual. However, it's becoming much more par for the course for Huron River Ventures. The Kerrytown-based venture capital firm has made 12 investments since it launched in 2010, and is on course to make a couple more before the end of the year. "We are almost exclusively looking at Michigan-based companies right now," says Tim Streit, partner of Huron River Ventures. That includes two that are in the final stages of due diligence before a potential investment. Streit says that startups in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem are maturing after several years of development. It means that the team of nearly half a dozen people at Huron River Ventures don’t have to travel far to make investments. "We are seeing an exceptional deal floor out of the state of Michigan right now," Streit says. "We haven't had to look very far out of state to find companies." Cribspot is latest example of it. The 1-year-old startup was launched by University of Michigan students who were looking to make the process of finding off-campus rental housing more efficient. The startup, which also has an office in downtown Detroit, went through the Bizdom program to help it sharpen its business plan. "It's a great example of how the world is shifting," Streit says. Source: Tim Streit, partner with Huron River Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.