• A U.P.-based fund is investing in early-stage outdoor-industry startups.
• One goal, a fund manager says, is to find businesses making the outdoors more approachable.
• An electric RV-maker and a startup developing updated warning light technology for beaches have caught fund managers' attention.
A new investment fund based in the Upper Peninsula is giving money to businesses in the outdoor industry.
The $3-million Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund will invest in early-stage startups focused on outdoor activities or recreation.
“In the U.P., we have a lot of wilderness,” said Jim Baker, one of the fund’s managers. “And in COVID, a lot of people discovered that wilderness. But a lot of people also discovered that going deep into the wilderness isn't really their cup of tea.”
That’s one reason why the fund is looking to invest in early-stage startups based in outdoor recreation or activity – especially those with a technological bend that makes getting outside more approachable.
“How can we make the outdoors more accessible to those people?” Baker said. “We can have people in the backcountry enjoying the backcountry, and people on the edge of the backcountry still having a backcountry-like experience, but with the amenities that they like.”
Amenities like car charging or internet access.
The initial $3 million pool of money, started with funds from the state’s economic development arm and maintained by InvestUP, is designed to last three years. But Baker says the idea is for profits from their investments to regenerate the fund for much longer.
“[These companies] may not have a product in the marketplace or if they do, it's an experimental product or a product that's undergoing trials,” he said. “We will put anywhere between $50,000 to $250,000 into these companies, in return for shares or percentage ownership.”
The startups can be based anywhere but must have some substantial presence in Michigan, like operations or manufacturing.
Baker says they’ve already committed to one company called Grounded. The southeast Michigan-based startup is developing electric RVs.
Another they’re considering is Marquette-based business called SwimSmart. The company is working on warning light technology intended to update the swimming conditions flag system on beaches.
“In order to be genuinely successful, most investment funds, yes, they deliver capital to the companies, but they also provide expertise and network connections,” Baker said. “Throughout the U.P., we have rich networks of people who are actively engaged in making a living on outdoor recreation.”
Entrepreneurs can apply at michiganoutdoorfund.com.
