Investing in exceptional women-led growth companies has been our business since 1998
As business owners, we understand what it takes to build a successful company. We’ve invested more than $10 million in over 50 of them.
We are interested in businesses where our investment can be leveraged by the additional resources and support Sofia can bring to foster success.
Information Technology
Two of our managing partners have extensive experience as operators and investors in a variety of information technology businesses, including those that employ software, hardware, apps, analytics, IoT and/or AI technology and provide transformative, value-added outcomes for businesses and consumers.
Enterprise Solutions
One of our managing partners has been a serial entrepreneur in this space. Another has lengthy experience with a wide variety of technology innovations that will enhance business processes and operations.
Technology
Technologies that provide value to businesses and create change — whether it be materials-based, green-focused, IoT or new electronic capabilities.
Health and Wellness
Technology (materials, IT, analytics) applied to the health and wellness market space is an area in which we are very interested and involved. Our networks and resources in the health and wellness space are extensive.
Investment Criteria
Sofia Fund is interested in companies with:
- Excellent, gender diverse, experienced management teams.
- Scalable business models focusing on B2B markets. No food opportunities, real estate investments, or consumer driven products.
- Proprietary positionings.
- Growing, large markets.
- Well-defined, demonstrable business model with proof-of-concept revenues.
- Future exit that can be leveraged with Sofia’s network and resources.
- US Registered companies only.
Typical investments by Sofia are from $100,000-$500,000 in $500,000-$2 million rounds of equity. We are looking for opportunities where ideally there are no more than 2-3 subsequent funding rounds and exits are within 3-5 years. Preferred investments are in the form of preferred stock in C corporations.
Managing Partners
Cathy Connett, CEO
Cathy Connett is CEO and managing partner of Sofia Fund, which invests in high-growth women-lead businesses. She is also president and founder of CorConnections, which specializes in guiding businesses through new business initiatives, equity infusions, ownership transitions, and the building of alliances and partnerships. Cathy’s clients have included Sage Electrochromics, North Star Photonics, Hot Shot Products, JJ Hill Library and Hermes Floral.
Cathy is committed to making a difference by fostering the economic value created by small to medium-sized businesses. Cathy has served as the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas and, for the last 19 years, helped initiate multiple programs to support the entrepreneurial community, including the Minnesota Seed Capital Network, Women to Women (W2W) investment group and the Sofia Angel Fund. She has also served twice as a judge for the regional Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. Cathy has served on a number of private company boards, including Smarte Carte, Hot Shot Products, Woodland Container Corporation and Vixar and non-profit boards including MDI, Minnesota Project Innovation and the Harvard Business School Alumni Association, where she chaired the board, which serves the 65,000-member international alumni community. Cathy’s formal education includes an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She has a diverse operational background in all functional areas, in union and non-union environments and in a wide range of B2B industries and marketplaces. Her experience includes roles at large companies such as Procter & Gamble, Boise Cascade and 3M as well as within start-up and small private companies.
Read More
Lisa Crump
Lisa Crump is founder of Cairn Ventures, a company focused on making early stage investments in high-growth potential companies in the Midwest. She is also a managing partner of Sofia Fund, which invests in high-growth women-led businesses. Lisa has more than 25 years of leadership experience in start-up and later-stage growth companies in the technology manufacturing sector. She is co-founder of Stratasys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSYS), a high tech manufacturer of 3D printers used for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing.
Lisa is one of the company’s original directors, and was corporate officer and led marketing and European sales distribution when total revenues were $36 million. A trailblazer in medical 3D modeling, she led a talented team to secure FDA approval for the first 3D printer used in a hospital setting in support of surgeons for enhanced patient outcomes. Lisa served as board chair of MedModeler, LLC, a Stratasys spinoff for utilization of rapid prototyping technology with medical imaging modalities. She began her business career as the executive responsible for distributor sales and marketing for SI Technologies, Inc., a semiconductor equipment and weigh-scale gauge manufacturer that grew to $35 million in revenue before being acquired. Lisa holds a BA from Washington State University and earned an MS degree from Portland State University. She completed the ISS-Certified Director Training Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and Wharton Business School Executive Education courses. She has served as a director, investor or advisor to many companies and organizations. She’s active in supporting community based non-profits, including High Tech Kids as a judge and sponsor for the engagement of youth in the sciences. She supports entrepreneurs in the community, with a focus on helping change the trajectory for women in growth-oriented companies. She’s active with Minnesota Venture Conference, WE* (westart.mn) Initiative at the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship/University of Minnesota, MN Cup, Twin Cities Start-up Week and Pitch Fest. Lisa is a founding member of Growing Women’s Capital and an active member of Gopher Angels and the national Angel Capital Association.
Read More
Joy Lindsay
Joy Lindsay is the president and co-founder of StarTec Investments, a private venture capital firm founded in 1998 focused on investing in high-tech companies based in the Midwest. Joy is also a partner of Sofia Fund, which invests in high-growth women-lead businesses. Joy is a member and past chair of the Minnesota High Tech Association board of directors, a member of the Advisory Board at the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Minnesota, The Advisory Board of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Minnesota, and has served as secretary and vice president of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association.
Joy is a judge for the Minnesota Cup business plan competition and serves on the planning committee for the annual Minnesota Venture and Finance Conference. Joy takes an active role in StarTec’s portfolio companies, and routinely serves as a board director or board observer for a number of early stage companies including Apprise Technologies, Field Solutions, Restore Products, WindLogics, Kidizen, Pramata, Halo Innovation, and Iconoculture. Joy served on the state of Minnesota’s Science and Technology Advisory Commission, was earlier appointed by former Governor Pawlenty to the 21st Century Tax Reform Commission, and was a member of the Twin Cities Advisory Council of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Prior to founding StarTec, Joy was a senior vice president in the Westlaw division of West Publishing (now Thomson Reuters). She started her career at West Publishing in software development, and held numerous leadership positions in IT, customer support, account management and sales. After the sale of West Publishing to Thomson Reuters, Joy participated on a transition team of six executives to oversee the integration of two companies. She has a B.A. in mathematics from Carleton College and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
Read More
Dee Thibodeau
Dee Thibodeau is the founder and CEO officer of Charter Solutions, a Women Business Entity (WBE) Certified Minnesota-based consulting firm focused on bringing fresh perspectives to tough business problems through a potent combination of business experience and technology expertise in the areas of analytics and professional services. Charter Solutions is alliance partners with both Tableau and AWS and concentrates in the healthcare, financial and government areas across the United States. Dee is also a partner of Sofia Fund, which invests in high-growth women-led businesses.
Dee has led Charter Solutions in delivering sustained profitability and annual revenue growth while maintaining over 80 percent of clients in long-term customer relationships. Her expertise and passion are focused on business process improvements that profoundly increase business quality and efficiency. An experienced board member, entrepreneur, and investor in emerging companies, Dee has made companies successful by creating highly productive teams focused on strategic planning, customer relationships, sound business practices and innovative uses for new and existing technologies. She has served in top executive positions in the technology and financial industries since 1986, when she served as president of the largest computer training facility in the Midwest. She has been president of Arco Transcription and EDI Solutions, a translation software developer, where she negotiated its merger with St. Paul Software and served as executive vice president thereafter. Dee has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Minnesota State University, Mankato, and attended the Executive Management Development Program at University of St. Thomas. She currently serves on the M Health Board, and Chair of Patient Care and Quality, Minnesota High Tech Association and Women’s Health Leadership Trust Board. She has served on a number of boards including M Health, BRAAS, Dri-Steem, Milestone Investments, The Credit Company, Microworx, Women Corporate Directors, Minnesota Visiting Nurse Association, among others.
Read More
Fund Advisory Board
Deb Bauman, Brigid Bonner, Laura McCoolidge, Jeannine Rivet
Current Women-Led Portfolio Companies
Since 1998, Sofia Fund and its managing partners have invested more than $10M in over 50 companies.
Sofia Fund II
Focuses on the development of small molecule therapeutics targeting the toxic proteins that cause Alzheimer’s.
cogrx.com
Sofia Fund II
Creates innovative wellness solutions targeting the enormous but underserved female intimate care market with in-home, consumer products such as VFit.
joyluxinc.com
Sofia Fund II
Keeping industrial workers and at-risk individuals healthy and safe using a wearable device.
kenzen.com
Sofia Fund II
A marketplace that provides a storefront for moms to buy and sell the latest styles for their kids, and a brand discovery, engagement and loyalty platform for retail brands.
kidizen.com
Sofia Fund II
A technology platform created to increase the success and engagement of women in the workplace, and enable enterprises to attract, develop, and retain high-potental diverse talent.
landit.com
Sofia Fund I
A girls’ magazine and online communities of girls, parents and allies helping girls find their voice, and resources to help them cope with the challenges of growing up in today’s world.
newmoongirls.com
Sofia Fund II
Developing leading-edge technology to transform traumatic brain injury diagnosis. Brings personalized medicine to concussion diagnosis and treatment to improve outcomes for the millions of people who annually suffer TBI and concussion.
oculogica.com
Sofia Fund II
StormSensor tracks, predicts, and prevents stormwater pollution and flooding with a system-wide approach to data capture and analytics.
stormsensor.io
Sofia Fund II
A technology platform for enterprises to redefine the employee’s leave experience: streamlining the process & improving communication, resulting in a better employee experience and increased retention.
ourtilt.com
You could say we’re no ordinary angels.
We work side-by-side with our entrepreneurs, connecting them with resources and taking them, and our co-investors, to profitable exits.
Exited Women-Led Companies
Apprise Technologies Inc.
Sensor-based equipment for the aerospace, environmental and process control markets.
Acquired by Ecolab.
Clinician Nexus
Providing health systems, schools, and students with a transparent, people-centered platform that facilitates better clinical rotation management.
Acquired by Sullivan Cotter.
Coolibar
Trusted experts in sun safety, Coolibar designs, manufactures and markets sun protection clothing.
Acquired.
ExplORer Surgical
Providing remote, procedure support for the operating suite and teams.
Acquired by Global Healthcare Exchange.
Gentra Systems
Life science tools focused on the area of nucleic acid purification products.
Acquired by Qiagen.
iconoculture
Consumer research and advisory firm that provides consumer trend and market research services.
Acquired by CEB.
Magnet 360
Technology-based strategy and marketing firm aligned with Salesforce.com.
Acquired by Mindtree.
Rebiotix
A clinical stage biotechnology company revolutionizing the treatment of debilitating gastrointestinal (GI) diseases by harnessing the power of the human microbiome. Develops standardized and stabilized, regulated drug products that restore the gut microbiota.
Acquired by Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Tactile Medical
Provides clinically proven, at-home treatment options for lymphedema and chronic venous insufficiency with continuity of care, service, support that helps improve outcomes, reduce costs and gives people their lives back.
IPO
Vixar
Manufactures both standard and custom designed short wavelength (660nm to 1000nm) VCSEL-based optical components and subassemblies for sensor and device applications within the biomedical, industrial, office product, automative and consumer industries.
Acquired by Osram Semiconductors, Inc
xiotech
Data storage solutions.
Acquired by Seagate.
Resources
