Ron Reed, managing director of Seneca Partners, is optimistic about Michigan’s economic future.

Seneca Partners is a venture capital firm with Michigan offices in Birmingham and Ann Arbor and a third office just outside Chicago.

“It’s easy (for investors) in California to sit back and have pity on Michigan, thinking everything is woeful, and it can’t be great in Michigan, but people are confused,” he said. “Don’t be ridiculous. Michigan is still one of the greatest places to be.”

He said that while he does have sympathy for those who have lost jobs in the traditional manufacturing sectors, the best way to help the state is to focus on “the next Michigan” and on up-and-coming industries.

Reed said that venture capital-backed startups are adding jobs in Michigan, but at the rate of 10 at a time or so. He said that makes it hard to keep up with recent job losses of hundreds or even a thousand at a time. However, he adds that the new jobs being created are quality ones that are likely to retain young talent in the state.

“Those jobs we’re adding 10 at a time are the kind of jobs kids coming out of the university want,” he said. “I’m fortunate that I get to meet the most vibrant, enthusiastic people working in Michigan. You can’t meet the people from these companies day after day without coming away with a sense of excitement.”

When asked about a recent news item that noted that Ann Arbor is attracting the bulk of venture capital and venture capital firms in the state, Reed said that’s a natural outcome of the way venture capital firms do business.

“Venture capital is a very local business,” he said. Successfully raising a fund for a new venture involves a lot of networking, and that’s much easier to do when you’ve already built relationships with local investors, lawyers and other important players, Reed said.

“It ends up being a very specific kind of labor pool, almost an ecosystem that gets developed,” he said.

Reed is a booster for Ann Arbor, but he’s equally enthusiastic about exciting things happening in the business world in Ypsilanti, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Detroit.

“Look at Kalamazoo, for instance,” he said. “You can’t show me a town the size of Kalamazoo in Ohio or Kentucky that has as much going on as Kalamazoo does. Or how about Grand Rapids? People living in Grand Rapids know it’s not a sleeper.”

Reed has worked and lived on both the West and East Coast, but he said he’s “a Michigan kid” from birth and is happy to be living here again. “I like Michigan. It’s part of my genetic code.”

Background

Age: 47.

Education: Eastern Michigan University, physics engineering.

Family: Wife, Lauren Bigelow; son, Franklin Rodeheaver; parents, Joy and Walt Reed; sister, Cyndi Reed
Residence: Ann Arbor.

Business Insights

Best business decision: Becoming an entrepreneur.

Worst business decision: Waiting too long to fire a bad fit.

Best way to keep a competitive edge: Read, ask questions, learn something new every day.

Personal hero: Bill Gates, for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

How do you motivate people? Share challenges with them.

What advice would you give to yourself in college? Never surrender.

Word that best describes you: Kinetic.

First Web site you check in the morning: Economist, Wall Street Journal and New York Times RSS feeds to my home page.

Confessions

What keeps you up at night? Work I want to get done the next day.

Pet peeve: Disorder.

Guilty pleasure: Haggis & Islay Scotch.

First job: Lawn mowing.

First choice for a new career: Philanthropy fund raising.

Treasures

Favorite cause: Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Favorite record: “Nefertiti” by Miles Davis.

Favorite movie: “Blade Runner.”

Favorite hobby: Rock climbing.

Favorite restaurant: eve.
LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? Yes.

Typical Saturday: Morning workout at Vie, followed by an admin meeting at the office, followed by a walk in the farmers market with my wife, Lauren.

What team do you root for? Pistons.

Wheels: Audi A6.

Who would play you in a movie? Al Pacino.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at sarahrigg@yahoo.com.