This summer Groove launched the Minnesota Women’s Investment Collective. The collective brought together a group of remarkable women who learned and grew their angel investing knowledge. Intended to educate, empower, and actually invest capital into early-stage Minnesota based startups, the program was a huge success.
The Learning Process
During the kickoff session, the group walked through the fundamentals of angel investing and built their personal and collective investment thesis: “make the world a better place for individuals, families, and our community”.
Now equipped with a collective consensus on investing in companies that are creating a real difference, the group built their due diligence muscle at the bootcamp where they learned about the process, risks, agreements, terms, and investor rights.
In addition to the in-person sessions, each member received access to six courses developed by Seraf to round out their learning.
With a solid foundation on the investment process, it was time to move into the screening process. With the help of Groove’s investment team, the collective looked at 10 different local companies, across a variety of industries, and narrowed the list down to 5 companies to invite to pitch to the collective live in-person. And of course that’s where things got really fun!
The Investments
After learning about the power of building a portfolio, the collective opted to invest into two startups. In no particular order, they were…drum roll please!
Bim Bam Boo is a tree-free paper products company with items ranging from toilet paper, to paper towels, wet wipes, and facial tissues.
CEO and founder Zoë Leven (The TP Queen) wow’d the collective with her compelling pitch and initiative to make a real difference by helping reduce deforestation through the use of regenerative bamboo to make sustainable paper products.
Bloom Standard is developing a hands-free ultrasound to rapidly detect heart and lung abnormalities earlier in maternity, primary care, and in underserved and under-resourced communities.
CEO and Co-founder Annamarie Saarinen’s pitch to the group made a big impact. The collective found Bloom Standard’s initiative in reducing morality and poor outcomes tied to delayed detection compelling and aligned with their thesis.
As a whole, the collective invested a total of $107,500 across the two companies.
Recap
The MN Women’s Investment Collective offered an incredible opportunity to educate and empower women interested in angel investing, while also enabling real capital deployment into local startups. But don’t just take our word for it - here’s what members of the group had to say:
“I loved the chance to engage in Angel Investing alongside a remarkable group of women. Their insights provided a ton of value to the due diligence process. And the content and deal flow Groove provided was invaluable. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this experience!”
“I was so impressed with the women that were brought together through the MN Women's Investment Collective to start or continue their angel investing journeys as well the founders that pitched. It's a wonderful way for women to jump in to angel investing in Minnesota and quickly build the skills and experience needed to develop a wider angel portfolio.”
Interested In Joining?
If you weren’t able to join the collective this year, but are interested in being on the short list for any others we run in the future, we’d love to have you. Fill out this form indicating your interest and to stay in the know.
