Vineyard Capital sets up office in M@dison Building

Another Oakland County-based investor firm has opened an office in the M@dison Building in downtown Detroit, Vineyard Capital Group.

Vineyard Capital Group is a firm that specializes in providing entrepreneurial expansion capital for late-stage start-ups. The Bloomfield Hills headquartered company is the creation of Rich Helppie, after his efforts at retirement "flunked badly." The serial entrepreneur cashed out in 2005 and tried to live the good life, but it didn't take. He started Vineyard Capital four years ago.

The company now employs 10 people and the occasional intern. A few of those employees work out of the M@dison Building office where a couple of its portfolio companies have a presence, including OWN POS.

"I thought, in a small way, this could lend a little to the city's rebirth," says Rich Helppie, managing partner of Vineyard Capital Group. "We want to do that. In small steps, we want to see the city get stronger."

Vineyard Capital Group is one of a handful of venture capital firms that are either based or have an office in the M@dison Building. Among the other firms are 313 Ventures, an angel investor group, and Detroit Venture Partners, an aggressive early stage investor in tech start-ups.

Source: Rich Helppie, managing partner of Vineyard Capital Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.