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| Skip Simms |
Vice President
Ann Arbor SPARK |
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| Speaker |
Extreme Power Connect
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| Judge |
| Business Plan Competition |
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As an Executive Director of Ann Arbor SPARK, Skip works with Business Accelerator, early stage start-up technology companies. He focuses on preparing start-ups for equity fund raising. Skip was successful in raising an $8 million Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, the largest state 21st Century Jobs Fund program. He is currently the administrator of this fund.
Prior to his role at Ann Arbor SPARK, Skip was the Managing General Partner at the Ralph Wilson Equity Fund, which is a $31 million fund-of-funds with LP investments in five venture capital funds and six side-by-side direct investments. In this capacity, Skip performed due diligence and analyzed nearly 100 opportunities, recommended level of investment, participated at board meetings and served on advisory committees.
Skip has 29 years of experience serving in management positions at several television stations around the country. His last position was President and General Manager of a Charter Fox affiliate in Indiana owned by Ralph Wilson Enterprises. During his time there, he started the markets first independent news operation and directed the network affiliation switch to CBS. The station was sold for a 5X return on investment.
Skip participates on both profit and non-profit boards, and was a founding member of the Michigan Venture Capital Association. |
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