Great Lakes Crystal Technologies (GLCT), a high-tech startup in Michigan’s Capitol Region, was selected by Michigan State University’s Student Venture Capital Fund (SVCF) for an early stage startup investment.
The MSU SVCF was launched in 2019 as a collaboration between Red Cedar Ventures — the wholly owned venture investment subsidiary of the Michigan State University Foundation — and the Center for Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance, or CVCPEEF, is now delivering venture funding experiences directly into the classroom.
Michigan State University Finance Professor Zsuzsanna Fluck, who is the Director of CVCPEEF, was awarded the 2019 MSU Foundation a Grant for the MSU Student Venture Capital Fund, which this year led to the selection of five companies slated to receive investment and ongoing support from Red Cedar Ventures.
GLCT’s president and CEO Keith Evans commented, “We are thankful for this nice investment; the students were great in asking important questions and making sure our business has exciting growth potential. The MSU SVCF program is yet another great example of the superb and growing entrepreneurial startup ecosystem that MSU Foundation and its subsidiaries have developed.”
About Great Lakes Crystal Technologies (GLCT)
GLCT is a spin out of the world-class diamond research collaboration between Michigan State University (MSU) and MSU-located Fraunhofer USA Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies (CCD). GLCT’s mission is to become the leading supplier of high performance diamond materials for advanced (non-gemstone) applications.
About the Center for Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance
The Center for Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance integrates financial thinking and strategic decision-making with innovation and entrepreneurship via research and education across Michigan State University, and in the venture capital and private equity community around the world. For more information please visit https://broad.msu.edu/cvcpeef/.
About Red Cedar Ventures
RCV is a wholly owned subsidiary of the MSUF. Founded in 2014, RCV is proud to be the first venture fund in Mid-Michigan. RCV’s objective is to help accelerate commercialization of MSU startups and create opportunities for affiliated partners and technologies. Our vision is to be one of the leading Midwestern pre-seed venture funds providing economic impact for the region and the state with new companies, high-paying jobs and value-added partnerships. To date Red Cedar Ventures has deployed approximately $5M dollars in technology startups which have gone on to raise over $200M in outside capital. For more information please visit www.redcedarventures.com.
