The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund announced this week that it has invested $600,000 in three tech startups: Flocktag, Larky, and FreeStride Therapeutics. To date, the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund has invested $16.5 million in 75 Michigan companies. While Flocktag and Larky both want to leverage customer satisfaction and their hunger for discounts, FreeStride Therapeutics is working on treatments for bone-related conditions. Flocktag and Larky received $250,000 each, and FreeStride Therapeutics received $100,000.
Ann Arbor, MI-based Flocktag, which has eight employees, was founded by Adrian Fortino (who also started University of Michigan spin-off Shepherd Intelligent Systems and San Francisco-based ride share startup Sidecar) and David Lin a year and a half ago. Lin owns the Bubble Island beverage shops in East Lansing and Ann Arbor, and Fortino says Lin’s challenge as an independent restaurant owner was to fight against the encroachment of Starbucks and other “big box” entities. “The whole point is to get businesses in tight geographical areas to share customers and fight big box stores,” Fortino says. “We’re encouraging regional independence.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund Invests $600K in Three Tech Startups | Xconomy
