About the job

Are you looking for an impactful role that combines your venture capital experience and exceptional interpersonal skills? This is the perfect opportunity for you.

About Renaissance:

Renaissance Venture Capital (Renaissance), a venture capital fund of funds based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is looking for a Senior Associate or Principal to lead the innovative connection work for which Renaissance has received national acclaim. Renaissance is a first-of-its-kind fund of funds built on the philosophy that venture capital is important not only as an investment class, but as a means for furthering innovation and growth in a region such as Michigan. Through its four funds raised to date, Renaissance invests in top-tier venture capital firms around the US, helps connect them with the region’s start-up ecosystem, and further engages those funds and their portfolio companies with major corporations looking for innovation, with the goal that those major corporations can become early, important customers that drive value to the Renaissance portfolio.

Renaissance’s pioneering work has led to several awards, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Crain’s Detroit Business Newsmaker of the Year, and the Impact Award from the Michigan Venture Capital Association. The unique model created by Renaissance has since been adopted, with our help, by new funds formed in Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Renaissance is a small team that values service to our community and to our limited partners, which include Fortune 1000 and large private companies, pension funds, foundations, university endowments and family offices. We have invested to date in more than 25 venture capital managers around the US.

Renaissance’s goals are (i) strong financial returns, (ii) attraction of capital to our region, and (iii) strategic benefit to our corporate investors and our portfolio by bringing them together.

About the Opportunity

A major part of Renaissance’s success in attracting capital to Michigan has been our bi-annual UnDemo Day®, where we connect the best Michigan start-ups with hundreds of venture capital investors from around the country. These start-ups are also part of the Renaissance Hotlist, a content-rich listing of Michigan’s best start-ups that is regularly shared with investors. Renaissance also actively works to connect our portfolio funds and their underlying companies with major Michigan corporations looking for innovation. This connection work is unique among fund of funds, and its value to VCs helps make Renaissance an investor of choice for great venture capital funds around the U.S.

This position would lead Renaissance’s “connection” work, both in connecting regional start-ups with venture capital funds, and in connecting portfolio companies with major corporations looking for innovation. The person in question would also be involved in and would grow to learn our fund of funds investing.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing relationships with local universities, angel funds, economic development groups, etc., to identify start-up companies to be included on the ongoing Renaissance Hotlist.
• Leading the Renaissance work connecting regional start-ups with venture capital funds, including both the Hotlist and the UnDemo Day® events.
• Monitoring the relevant start-ups in the Renaissance portfolio for purposes of strategic introductions to corporations.
• Managing the strategic relationships with Renaissance’s corporate investors and working to connect them with technology solutions in the relevant start-up companies of Renaissance’s portfolio funds.
• Being part of the team that screens and performs due diligence on potential new fund investments by Renaissance.

About you

The ideal candidate for this position has the following attributes:

• Background in and aptitude for business/corporate development and in relationship building.
• Venture capital or transactional experience.
• General understanding of and aptitude for technology, and a thirst for knowledge.

Other Considerations:

• Michigan-based with weekly meetings in Ann Arbor
• Out of State Travel (estimated percentage): <10%

Compensation

Competitive compensation includes base salary, annual bonus potential, and strong benefits package. Also includes incentive compensation (carried interest) in future raised funds. Compensation and title will depend on previous experience of the candidate.