Suggestions
Mike Freeman
CEO and General Partner at Innosphere Ventures
Mike Freeman is the Chief Executive Officer of Innosphere Ventures and a General Partner of the Innosphere Ventures Fund.12 Here are key details about his background and role:
Professional Experience
-
Mike has been the CEO of Innosphere Ventures since March 2012.2 Innosphere is a science and technology-focused incubator that has been operating for over 20 years, providing venture capital, acceleration services, and specialized facilities to startups and scaleup companies.12
-
As General Partner of Innosphere Ventures Fund since July 2017, he leads the fund's investments in MedTech and Cleantech sectors.2 He was instrumental in forming Innosphere Fund II and has led several investment rounds in science and technology companies across Colorado and neighboring states.1
Expertise and Focus
-
Mike works at the intersection of startups, venture capital, and economic development.2
-
He has led investments in notable companies like Aspero Medical, GelSana, Catalyze, Micro Grid Labs, Burst Diagnostics, and Red Drop.2
-
Under his leadership, Innosphere Ventures has been actively pursuing transformative funding opportunities to position Colorado as a top-performing economic region in the US.1
Board Positions
Mike serves on the board of directors for several companies, including:
- Origin Endoscopy
- RedDrop Dx
- Microgrid Labs Inc
- GelSana
- Aspero Medical, Inc.
- Catalyze Inc2
Previous Experience
Before joining Innosphere, Mike held various leadership positions:
- Chief Financial Officer for the City of Fort Collins (2006-2011)
- CEO of Local Government Solutions Group (2003-2006)
- Regional Partner at HDR (2001-2003)
- City Administrator of Ashland (1998-2000)2
Education
- MPA in Public Administration from The George Washington University
- Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2
Mike Freeman's extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, combined with his focus on startup acceleration and venture capital, has positioned him as a key figure in Colorado's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Highlights
The world wants to tackle climate change - we just can’t agree on how.
That’s my interpretation of the recent results of the UN’s Climate Mega Poll, which demonstrated the vast difference of opinion on how best to address the impacts of climate change.
Here are the top 5 takeaways:
Ecosystem building is intrinsically a complex, long-term process.
Few organizations have all the necessary information to see the big picture when it comes to place-based economic development, which means plenty of regions end up reinventing the wheel instead of driving actual innovation.
The rarity of meaningful data and insights into what makes a successful innovation engine is exactly why organizations like The Brookings Institution, The US Council on Competitiveness, and the Milken Institute are truly invaluable to anyone working in the innovation sector.
The quarterly journal “Issues in Science and Technology” recently highlighted some of the groundbreaking research done by these institutions on the geographic spread of innovation through regional hubs, including:
A collaboration between Brookings and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation identifying the right “ingredients” to realizing innovation growth.
New recommendations from the US Council on Competitiveness on effectively expanding the regionally-based innovation model.
Praise for the National Academies Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable’s historic advancement of regionally led innovation over the past 40 years.
As a personal testament to the impact these groups have on the sector, the origins of Innosphere and the CO-WY Engine go back to 2015 when I was first inspired by Brookings and the work done by Bruce Katz, specifically.
Sustainable regional innovation is a difficult formula to identify and even harder to put into practice, but prolific thinkers like Bruce, provide as good of a roadmap as anyone in the industry could ask for.
Anyone seeking to get their own projects off the ground would be well-served by familiarizing themselves with the reports and insights of Brooking, the USCC, and the Milken Institute. They’re innovators and their insight will keep you from reinventing the wheel.
Read the article firsthand here: https://lnkd.in/gTNxJCGk
