Check out this piece from Tom Henderson on UM’s student-led Social Venture Fund’s investment in LearnZillion:
The Social Venture Fund, a new fund operated by students at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, announced its first investment this morning — in LearnZillion, a Washington, D.C.-based company that offers online video lessons for students in grades three through nine from top teachers around the country.
The Social Venture Fund makes early-stage investments of up to $200,000 in for-profit companies that have a social impact. The fund joined a syndicate of 17 investors from around the country in a $2.4 million round.
The fund is managed by Gautam Kaul,a professor of finance at UM, and 34 business school students.
UM now has three student-managed funds. The first, the Wolverine Venture Fund, co-invests in early-stage companies with established venture firms around the country. The Frankel Commercialization Fund does seed-stage investing in companies not ready for venture capital.