Deming Center Venture Fund

We are thrilled to announce our newest investment: DifferentKind DifferentKind helps dental practices improve patient and employee experience, through the use of data. DifferentKind's data driven process helps dentists make decisions that elevate patient outcomes, boost employee morale, and demonstrate how their practice is perceived by patients. With the impressive work of founders Matthew Allen, DDS and Dr. Carolyn Brown, DDS, MA, DifferentKind is poised to become a difference maker in dental care. If you are a growth stage company looking to elevate your operational capabilities, we invite you to get in touch with us!

Finally, we want to welcome Brian Seckel to DCVF! CU Program: MBA Undergrad: Miami University (OH), Economics/Entrepreneurship Hometown: Columbus, OH Brian is looking forward to getting involved with the Colorado startup and venture capital communities. He is also excited to be on the money side of venture deals and deal flow. Fun Fact: Brian played ping pong, shuffleboard, pickleball, and broomball, all at a competitive level!

We are excited to welcome Lilian Jensen to DCVF! CU Program: MBA, emphasis on Entrepreneurship and Finance Undergrad: Villanova University, Economics Hometown: Pinedale, WY Lily is hoping to learn how to more technically evaluate startups during her time with DCVF. She is also looking forward to becoming more connected with the Denver/Boulder startup community. Fun Fact: Growing up, Lily used to work on a ranch in Wyoming!

We are excited to announce our newest MBA members! First off, James Anderson: CU Program: MBA/MS in Supply Chain Management Undergrad: Pennsylvania State University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with a minor in Chemistry Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa James is hoping to use his time at DCVF to gain hands-on experience in VC, while also learning how to evaluate local startups. He is also looking forward to working with the DCVF team, and interfacing with the Denver/Boulder startup community. Fun Fact: James loves to get away on the weekends. You can find him skiing, camping, or fly-fishing when time allows.

We’re excited to announce our investment in Joyn’s pre-seed round, our first female-founded investment! Want to improve collaboration between Product & Engineering with Sales & CS but finding yourself lost in tools like Jira, Notion, Gmail, Linear, and Slack? Joyn can help! We’re proud to back Founders Larissa Licha (CEO) and Kendra (Kenny) Wilkins (COO). These trailblazing women are creating smarter, more efficient workplaces with AI—transforming collaboration, enhancing productivity, and empowering teams to focus on what truly matters. Read more about their story and why we invested! https://lnkd.in/e7qE4uVY

As we near the end of the spring semester, our team at DCVF presented this semester's updates to our board of directors and hosted our semesterly reception for our alums and supporters.?The team shared our excitement about our new investments, conversations with our portfolio companies, and focus on interdisciplinary learning in our due diligence processes. Thank you to our incredible team for their hard work and dedication, and a heartfelt congratulations to our team members who are graduating in a few short weeks! We want to express our sincere appreciation to our incredible board, advisors, and the supportive community that surrounds us. Your unwavering support has been instrumental in our success, and we look forward to continuing this journey with you in the Fall!

DCVF is proud to announce another new JD/MBA team member: Mackenzie Friedman! CU Program: Dual Degree JD/MBA Undergrad: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Political Science and Journalism, Certificate in Education Policy Mackenzie joined DCVF to gain hands-on experience in startup due diligence and to collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of graduate students. Fun fact about Mackenzie: She was a coxswain for the University of Wisconsin Women’s Lightweight Rowing Team and learned to row at Boulder Reservoir! ??♀?

Announcing another new DCVF team member, Jair Castillo! CU Program: PhD in Biomedical/Medical Engineering Undergrad: The University of Texas at San Antonio, B.S. in Biomedical/Medical Engineering Jair joined DCVF for the opportunity to get hands-on exposure to venture capital and the startup scene in Colorado. As an engineer, Jair's focus has tended to revolve around the technical aspects of a product, but he is looking forward to learning about all the economics behind bringing that product to market through DCVF. Jair believes venture capital is a great starting point for societal change by fostering innovative solutions to the challenges we encounter. Fun fact about Jair: He can cook great Mexican food ?? ?? as well as great Neapolitan-style pizza ?? from scratch! He also enjoys hiking, soccer, and playing the drums!?? ? ??

As we near the end of the Spring 2024 semester, DCVF is proud to announce new members joining our team next year, starting with Jacob Woodford! CU Program: Dual Degree JD/MBA Undergrad: Hope College, Political Science Jacob joined DCVF to strengthen his ability to evaluate early-stage startup companies and to work with a multidisciplinary team. He views his time at DCVF as a unique opportunity to gain genuine venture capital experience while in law school. Fun Fact about Jacob: He worked at a dude ranch before law school, even though he hates riding horses. ??

Check out our new DCVF Overview video featuring insights from our fantastic alumni,?Maggie Rodney,?Alex Houghtalin, and?Westford Lang. They share what made DCVF meaningful to them and how it shaped their experiences at the?University of Colorado?and in their careers. "DCVF gave me real-world applicable experience in venture capital that would have been impossible to gain anywhere else." - Maggie, MBA '22 "DCVF was the best part of my MBA experience by far." - Alex, MBA '22 "One of the most powerful pieces of the DCVF is the network of people in the greater Denver/Boulder community that you get exposed to." - Wes, JD '19 You'll also hear from Professor?Brad Bernthal, Director of?Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, discussing the invaluable benefits DCVF offers students and how those students use those skills in their careers. "The DCVF students bring a real-world level of experience into their careers moving forward. They get the depth and rigor of an education at CU, but they combine that with real-world experience working in cross-disciplinary teams." - Professor Bernthal University of Colorado Boulder - Leeds School of Business https://lnkd.in/eiz39mSV