Emerging Industries | Venture Capital
Partner, Badger Fund of Funds
Managing director, Kegonsa Capital Partners LLC | Madison
After working as a chemical engineer and licensing manager at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Ken Johnson went on to become a successful early-stage venture capitalist. In recent years, he’s dedicated his efforts to growing the state’s ecosystem of entrepreneurship as a partner of the Badger Fund of Funds and managing director of Kegonsa Capital Partners. Founded in 2004 to manage Wisconsin-based venture capital funds, KCP’s niche is being the first to invest $500,000 in entrepreneurial startups. In 2011, the firm partnered with Sun Mountain Capital to form Sun Mountain Kegonsa, which was selected to manage the Badger Fund of Funds. The Badger Fund is the lead investor in five Wisconsin-based VC funds managed by first-time managers. As of June 2022, funds under the Badger Fund umbrella have invested $12.5 million in 34 Wisconsin startups, and those companies have gone on to raise an additional $54.4 million from other sources. The Badger Fund funds include the $13 million Idea Fund of La Crosse, $11 million Winnebago Seed Fund, $10.2 million Winnow Fund, $13.5 million Gateway Capital Fund and $26.5 million Rock River Capital Partners.
Education: Bachelor’s, University of Wisconsin-Madison; MBA, Illinois Institute of Technology