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About

Rooted in Detroit.
Backing what venture overlooks.

Fresh Ventures is an early-stage venture firm (pre-seed → Series A) rooted in Detroit, focused on underrepresented founders across the Midwest and the markets venture has historically skipped.

The thesis is simple. The talent is everywhere. The capital is not. The firms that learn to discover, evaluate, and back founders outside their existing networks will see what the rest of venture keeps missing.

“We don't optimize for what got funded. We optimize for what should have.”

Team

Operator built.

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Erin Lawler
Founding GP · Fresh Ventures
With a background in engineering and product leadership, Erin has helped outlier founders raise $50M+ by turning raw ideas into market-ready, investor-backed companies — across AI, FinTech, Automotive, HealthTech, and SaaS.
Erin partners with founders to turn bold ideas into scalable, fundable ventures. Electrical engineer by training, UX expert by practice, fellow at UC Berkeley's VC University.
12+
Years of experience
20
Products launched
$50M
Venture generated
Advisors
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Gavin Christensen
Founding Partner · Kickstart Fund · NVCA Chair-Elect
One of the most established VC operators in the Mountain West. Built Kickstart from concept to multi-fund firm. Brings institutional discipline and a network spanning the entire LP / GP ecosystem.
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Barbara Bickham
Founder · Trailyn Ventures
Veteran technologist and investor focused on AI and emerging tech. Brings deep technical diligence and a global network across Silicon Valley, Europe, and Asia.
Fresh Ventures
Nvested ↗© 2026 Fresh Ventures · Detroit
Fresh Ventures publishes market commentary and its investment thesis. Nothing on this site is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, nor investment, legal, or tax advice. Any such offer is made only to qualified investors through definitive offering documents.