RedHawk Ventures, Miami University’s student-led, seed-stage venture capital firm, has announced it will raise a $1.5 million fund to further invest in startups created by both Miami students and alumni. Co-managing directors and Miami seniors Laura Mena and Andy Newman are leading the fundraising efforts, which are planned for the 2019-2020 school year.
Mena said the impetus for the fundraise was a way to give back.
“We decided to raise this new fund because RedHawk Ventures has given us so much in terms of professional development and knowledge of venture capital,” she said. “When our organization was founded we were one of the only student-managed funds in the country. But even today with new university funds coming to the surface, undergraduate education in venture capital is still pretty rare.”
“The development students have gained in RedHawk Ventures has actually set them up for unique experiences working at venture capital firms.”
This isn’t the first move for the 1997-born fund, which counts Portland-based OROS, New York-based Routinely and Chicago-based Digs as companies in its portfolio. In early 2019, the group created a “rigorous” curriculum for new members, one that “introduces students to the venture capital model, due diligence process, quantitative and qualitative deal analytics and valuation strategy, term sheets, and the general implications of venture funding (e.g., capitalization tables, board composition, follow-on funding, and so on).”
Said curriculum supports a five-week long training program that allows participants to engage in a final investment project.
“With these advancements, RedHawk Ventures leadership has seen more students than ever pursuing internships and career opportunities in the venture ecosystem,” a statement on the move reports.
And that ecosystem extends throughout Cincinnati to cities across the country.
“The development students have gained in RedHawk Ventures has actually set them up for unique experiences working at venture capital firms,” Newman said. “We have had members placed in roles at Hyde Park Venture Partners, Cincy Tech, H Ventures, VentureOhio, Cintrifuse, and even Walt Disney’s Brand Accelerator.”
Ultimately, RedHawk exists to support Miami-spurred startup initiatives and provide thorough education on investing, said Tim Holcomb, director of the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Farmer School of Business.
“A distinguishing feature of our undergraduate entrepreneurship program is our emphasis on practice-based, immersive learning across all of our curricular and co-curricular programs. RedHawk Ventures brings students from across Miami University together to make real investment decisions about real companies with real consequences,” he explained. “I don’t think there’s a better way for our students to learn about venture investing than to do venture investing.”
