Minneapolis-based pre-seed investment firm Groove Capital just got a new partner: Mickayla Rosard, who previously served as the firm’s head of platform.
Rosard, who also leads the firm’s angel-investing network, takes on the new role alongside existing partner and founder, Reed Robinson, as the firm expects to soon begin making investments through its recently announced second fund, totaling $15 million. Groove will target investments of $250,000 to about 50 companies over the course of three years.
Rosard, who has been in private equity and financial services for more than a decade, currently serves as a fellow for the small-business support coalition Forge North, leading its angel investing engagement efforts. She also won one of the Business Journal’s Women in Business awards earlier this year.
In an interview with Minne Inno, Rosard discussed her new role, the fund and the future of Groove, including its role in the local ecosystem. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What significance does taking on this role have?
As a woman jumping into a partner role, there's a significance in the fact that very few funds have women in partnership roles. I do in many ways wear that as a badge of honor. My true north star in life, and what I get the absolute most excited about, is the intersection of women and women empowerment, with wealth, investments and finances. That's actually what brought me to Groove initially. It was really when Reed started talking to me about, we need more women in investing and we need to make sure that we're investing our fund equitably. That's when I was like, "Oh, okay, there's something different going on here. That's what I want to be part of." It is coming full circle then to join as a partner.
What are you excited about with the launching of this new fund?
We're increasing our check size. The real impact of that can be easy to get lost in conversation. What that really means for our founders is phenomenal. It means they can close their rounds faster and get back to building their business. That's so incredibly critical, especially at those early stages, because there's not that much value added in having long fundraising cycles. When I think of the ecosystem, the strategy, the value add, it is truly empowering the founders to get back to work. That's the part that's super exciting.
What vision do you have for the future of Groove?
The future of Groove is very vibrant. The ecosystem that we're building is one where founders have much easier access to capital and includes founders of all backgrounds and demographics. With that, we do a really great job in the ecosystem helping companies grow. It's kind of a flywheel, if you will. Our companies do better, our startups do better. They provide returns to our investors. And then, our investors continue to redeploy that money into new startups. The whole ecosystem continues to grow and flourish. That doesn't just help the founders and the investors; that brings new job creation, that brings new ideas, new opportunities to our entire ecosystem. When I think of the future of Groove, it's a catalyst to create change in our own local environment.
