Often known as one of the strongest startup states in the Midwest region, Minnesota is home to thousands of startups led by famous entrepreneurs.

The state often has a lot of ventures in the fintech, edtech, and healthcare sectors, attracting attention from related investors and VC firms.

Do you also want to attract funding for your startup and know these angel investors? 

Well, let’s wait no longer and jump onto the list of the top 6 angel investors in Minnesota and ways to pitch to them. 

Top Angel Investors in Minnesota

Following is the list of some of the top angel investors in Minnesota, along with some additional tips about how to pitch to them. 

David Brown

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Mechanics

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Funding startups since 1998, David Brown is also an experienced angel investor as well as the CEO of Brown Venture Capital. Although most people know him through his VC firm, David Brown also makes individual investments and funds startups that show potential for growth.

He selects such ventures through pitching competitions, investor meetings, or other startup events. During the selection, David prioritizes ventures that are related to tech and have low competition in the market.

Aside from his startup investments, David Brown also acts as a mentor for his portfolio companies, thanks to his diverse experience in the startup industry. Previously, he served as an advisor at C2FO and was the Managing Partner of Oak Hill Venture Partners. 

The investment range of David Brown ranges from $100,000 to $500,000 when making inividual investments. Some of his portfolio companies are:

Moventas: Moventas is a company that specializes in mechanical power transmission equipment and services, particularly for the wind energy sector.

Cone Drive: Cone Drive is a world leader in precision motion control technology. They specialize in double-enveloping worm gearing, which delivers drive solutions with the highest torque and shock load capacity in the smallest amount of space.

Parson Peebles Group: Parson Peebles is a global leader in the provision of high voltage motors, medium voltage motors, generators, service & repair, and parts.

Michael Berman

LinkedIn: (3) Michael Berman | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Healthcare

Investment Stage: Early

Michael Berman is a medical device entrepreneur and angel investor who works with a select group of high-potential, early-stage companies. He co-founded and served as a board member at Prospect Medical and serves as Chairman at CardiacSense. He also serves as a Consultant & Venture Partner at RiverVest Venture Partners.

When it comes to funding startups, Michael Berman has a strict focus on healthcare-related startups and only invests in ventures that can generate 4-5x ROI within 2 years of funding. He usually invests in startups that are attracting attention or are already included in a fundraiser. Even though it isn't common but Michael Berman has also funded 2-to 3 companies through investor meetings.

Similarly, once a startup has been funded, Michael Berman also provides it with the required guidance because of his exceptional knowledge in the medical sector. 

The investment range of Michael Berman ranges from $50,000 to $300,000. Some of his notable portfolio companies are:

S.T. Stent: S.T. Stent operates within Trendlines Medical, a business incubator that is part of The Trendlines Group. They developed a composite, removable sinus stent designed to be placed in the ethmoid sinus following functional endoscopic sinus surgery.

PharmaCentra: PharmaCentra provides expert pharmaceutical marketing and sales strategies. They offer a lot of services, including clinical trial recruitment, pharmacy locator, teledetailing, and comprehensive healthcare management strategy.

Prospect Medical: Prospect Medical Holdings provides management services primarily to affiliated independent physician associations. They offer many healthcare services designed to provide coordinated and personalized care.

John Cosgriff

LinkedIn: (3) John Cosgriff | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech and Healthcare 

Investment Stage: Early

John Cosgriff is an individual angel investor who is also the Senior Vice President at UnitedHealth Group. He has been involved in various roles, including Advisor and Investor at Seasats, Investor at Hinge Health, and Chief Strategy Officer & Senior Vice President of Business Development at UnitedHealth Group.

When funding startups, John Cosgriff takes a very careful approach and only funds companies that have massive chances of success. He usually invests in the tech and healthcare sector, prioritizing companies that have low competitors and can grow 2-3x.

The investment range of John Cosgriff ranges from $50,000 to $250,000 as he funds startups at the early stage. Some of his portfolio companies are:

AddStructure: AddStructure offers a white-labeled natural language understanding (NLU) platform that retailers and brands can use to enable conversational commerce channels. Their technology uses machine learning and natural language processing systems to deploy search and discover products based on retail search, recommendation, and personalization algorithms. 

Blueprint Registry: Blueprint Registry is a gifting platform that allows users to create a wish list based on the layout of their home. It is a wedding website builder and universal registry platform that helps you plan your big day. 

ENSO: ENSO is a tire technology company that makes better tires for electric vehicles to extend EV range and reduce tire pollution. Their mission is to impact revenue by increasing organic traffic.

Hassan Syed

LinkedIn: (3) Hassan Syed | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Hassan Syed is also a notable angel investor in Minnesota. He started funding startups 2 years back and has accelerated his funding speed in mid-2023 with the release of his latest micro fund.

When funding startups, Hassan Syed prefers Camel startups over those that might become Unicorns. He looks for dedicated founders and tenacious teams running technology businesses that create real value for the long haul.

Similarly, once a startup has been funded, Hassan Syed ensures these startups can get the best guidance through his community, also known as the HassanAngels community. Moreover, Hassan Syed is also the Founder and Chairperson of the Board of IdeaGist, founding director of Minnesota Innovates, and founding director of the Institute for Innovators & Entrepreneurs Minnesota. 

The investment range of Hassan Syed ranges from $50,000 to $700,000. As for his portfolio companies, Hassan Syed often doesn't disclose the names of the ventures he invests in. Even though he has mentioned the number of total investments, Hassan Syed likes to make private investments and does not disclose the names. 

Gopher Angels

Website: Gopher Angels ⋆ The Most Active Investors and Partners in the Midwest

Investor Type: Angel Network

Investment Interests: Healthcare, Biotech, and Software

Investment Stage: Seed

Founded in 2012, Gopher Angels is an investment network that invests in seed-stage startups. The network was founded by David and Sara Russik, with almost 70 companies in their portfolio. They usually prefer startups that are at the growing stage and can promise profatibility. 

Their investors are a diverse network of seasoned F500 executives, successful entrepreneurs, micro VCs, and family funds/offices. During the screening tests, Gopher Angels only selects those startups that can at least generate 3x ROI within the first 2 years of investment. 

Like most other firms, Gopher Angels also focuses on guiding their portfolio companies through different startup stages. The network has arranged numerous startup events and continues to arrange more, boosting the entrepreneurial landscape.

The investment range of Gopher Angels ranges from $1M to $5M, depending on the startup. Some of their recent investments are:

Corvida Medical: Corvida Medical is a developer of a closed-system drug transfer device intended to reduce harmful exposures in the healthcare sector. The company’s device protects workers from exposure to chemotherapy and hazardous drugs, as well as prevents needle-stick injuries. 

Kidizen: Kidizen is a mobile platform that provides a storefront for parents to independently create and run, earn money, and find the latest styles for their kids. It is a parent-to-parent community for buying, sharing, and selling kidstyle. They offer a marketplace for parents to buy and sell slightly used products.

RoverMed BioSciences: RoverMed BioSciences is a biotechnology company that develops a targeted drug delivery technology designed to offer life-saving drugs. The company’s technology offers an ultra-small particle that has the capability to target cells affected by diseases.

Brightstone Venture Capital

Website: Brightstone Venture Capital | (brightstonevc.com)

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests:  Media, tech, healthcare, mobile applications, and consumer products

Investment Stage: Seed

Funding startups since 1985, Brightstone Venture Capital firm is one of the oldest investment firms in Minnesota. The network has funded around 70 startups and continues to fund more.

During the funding procedure, Brighstone Venture Capital prioritizes startups that present unique market solutions and can survive the markets for the coming 3-5 years. With headquarters in Minneapolis, Brightstone Venture Capital usually invests around $500,000 to $10M.

Some of their portfolio companies are:

Wasabi Tech: Wasabi Technologies, Inc. is an American object storage service provider. They offer a product called Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, which provides fast, affordable, and highly reliable cloud data storage for businesses all over the world. 

FLYR Labs: FLYR Labs develops a data and AI-driven Revenue Operating System for airlines, travel, and transportation. The company uses advanced AI to capture and contextually analyze massive amounts of data, enabling airlines to more accurately forecast demand.

Mosaic: The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company. They mine phosphate and collect urea for fertilizer through various international distribution networks.

Wrap-Up

Summing up, there are several angel investors in Minnesota that can boost your business. Although most of these investors are often located in Minneapolis, they still fund startups in many cities as long as the startup shows potential.

When pitching to investors, understand your business idea and study market competition beforehand to be fully aware of the situation.

Good Luck!

Frequently Asked Questions