Emerging Industries | Venture Capital
Managing director
Winnebago Seed Fund | Neenah
David Trotter manages the Winnebago Seed Fund, a Neenah-based fund founded in 2016 to make seed investments in Wisconsin startups. Trotter is also managing director of the fund’s general partner, Winnebago Capital Partners.
One of several regional funds under the Badger Fund of Funds umbrella, the $11 million Winnebago Seed takes a so-called “Money for Minnows” approach to investing by seeking to be the first investor in a startup, and in some situations joining entrepreneurs to form new companies. As of mid-year, the fund has invested $7.5 million in 16 startups, including the Milwaukee-based health-care analytics platform Sift Healthcare, the Madison-based document narration and sharing platform AirDeck, the Milwaukee-based AI platform Socialleads, Milwaukee-based medical device maker RoddyMedical, Mount Horeb-based personal care company American Provenance and Appleton-based inventory tracking and asset management software Arbre Technologies.
A Marquette University graduate, Trotter previously was a portfolio manager with Legacy Private Trust Co., where he managed over $350 million in client assets.
Education: Bachelor’s, Marquette University
