Entrepreneur spotlight: Christopher Rizik of Downtown-based Renaissance Venture Capital Fund

If you are in the venture capital game in Michigan, you know the name Christopher "Chris" Rizik.

The 48-year-old is a product of local schooling with a bachelor's in accounting from Michigan State University and University of Michigan law degree. He served as managing director of Avalon Investments (then Michigan’s largest VC fund) before co-founding Ann Arbor-based Ardesta.

He helped start the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund (a spin-off of Detroit Renaissance) last year. The Renaissance Center-based firm has already made a couple of large investments, including $3 million into the TGap Venture Capital Fund.

Describe your business in two sentences or less.
The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund is a Michigan-based fund of funds that is playing a key role in the growth of venture capital in Michigan while serving as a bridge between Michigan's emerging innovation company community and its strong industrial and commercial base. Formed out of the groundbreaking "Road to Renaissance" initiative of Detroit Renaissance, the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund received its initial support and investment from some of Michigan's most important organizations.

Why did you decide to set up shop in Detroit?
The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund is extremely focused on using venture capital as a key to raising the level of entrepreneurism in Michigan. And Southeast Michigan has a tremendous amount of research and development as well as business leadership. It was a natural place to locate.

What are some of the advantages to doing business here?
Access to the universities in the region as well as to the business leadership, including those organizations that are part of Detroit Renaissance, is key. Also, there is a tremendous amount of technical and engineering talent that makes investing in Michigan attractive.

What do you see in Detroit that other people who live outside the city don't?
There is a wonderful openness and friendliness to the city. We've taken some hits and developed a bit of an inferiority complex over the past couple of decades, but that has only increased the desire make the city a place that we can be proud of. This includes diverse groups wanting to work together, though that is often truer at the grassroots level than at the political leadership level.

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking about opening a business in the Motor City?
There is a long history of both hard work and loyalty in Detroit. I've been involved with dozens of companies around the country, and those qualities can't be taken for granted or assumed. A good team in Detroit stays together for a long time, which provides a level of stability we don't see elsewhere.

If you could change one thing about Detroit, what would it be?
In our business, growth happens because of smart people, good ideas and cooperation. The lack of sustained regional cooperation continues to hinder Detroit. There is a surprising lack of high level acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of all we do in the region, leading to too many "win-lose" postures as opposed to "win-win" discussions.

Source: Christopher Rizik, CEO and fund manager of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund
Writer: Jon Zemke