Renaissance Venture Capital in Ann Arbor is hosting its third “Spring DEI UnDemo Day” as a virtual event on April 17, and is accepting startup applications here through Feb. 16.
Spring DEI UnDemo Day will feature startups from the Central U.S. led by women, people of color, and other underrepresented communities so they can attract venture capital.
The past two DEI UnDemo Days had more than 500 meetings each between underrepresented founders and prospective venture capital and angel investors from around the United States. The 2023 event featured more than 200 Midwest startups, with 62 percent led by a person of color and 58 percent led by women.
The goal of DEI UnDemo Day is to provide startups access to hundreds of top tier venture investors from around the US. The virtual event will include larger group “pitch rooms,” as well as hundreds of curated one-on-one meetings between start-ups and VCs.
The opportunities are open to startups led by a founder or CEO from an underrepresented community including Arab American, Black, Hispanic/Latine, LGBTQ+, Native American, Veteran, and/or Women.
“Our goal is to make useful introductions that ideally lead to investment in historically underrepresented geographies and founders,” says Chris Rizik, founder and CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital. “The DEI UnDemo Day meetings are connections that founders may otherwise have trouble getting, and likewise, these are startup companies that the VCs might not otherwise find,” added Rizik. “Our job is to serve as the conduit for these two important groups.”
The participating startups will also have access to education sessions as well as 1:1 pre-event coaching.
Renaissance Venture Capital hosts UnDemo Day twice per year in spring and fall, and the event has received national acclaim for its attraction of venture capital to underrepresented geographies and founders. The Fall event is slated for October 2024 at Ford Field in Detroit
For more information, visit renvcf.com/.
