Dan Slifko
President & Director of Rocket Ventures
Dan Slifko brings a wealth of entrepreneurial experience to Rocket Ventures. Specializing in the Advanced and Alternative Energy field, Dan is dedicated to helping companies with their strategic and business development plans. A seasoned entrepreneur, he was Part-Owner, President, and General Manager of Alternative Services Inc., a direct supplier to the Automotive Industry.
Dan has been a statewide board member for the Ohio Peerspectives Program as well as a Business Advisor and Judge for both the Ohio Statewide Graduate Student Competition and the Bowling Green State University Entrepreneur Program. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Marketing from Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV.
Bob Savage
Fund Manager
As co-founder and managing partner of Savage Consulting and CoreNetwork, Bob Savage has played a key role in the growth of the venture capital industry in Ohio. His knowledge of business and funding strategy, negotiation, financial analysis, strategic sales management and contract management has made him a valuable partner for the RGP and its programs. Bob previously worked in mergers and acquisitions at Libbey-Owens-Ford and Seagate Venture Management. Prior to that, he was with Monoky Associates, where he was a consultant and trainer.
Active in his community, Bob is an investment committee member at the Toledo Community Foundation, a member of The University of Toledo College of Medicine Advisory Council, a board member of the Toledo Chapter of Rotary International, a member of the strategic planning committee for the College of Business at The University of Toledo, and the former vice-chairman of both the Lucas County and City of Toledo Planning Commissions.
A Toledo native, Bob received his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mike Bogdan
Entrepreneur in Residence
Mike Bogdan joined Rocket Ventures in 2008, with a strong finance and risk management background. As an Entrepreneur in Residence, Mike’s key role is to develop and implement business and strategic planning processes, develop capital funding strategies and transfer technical and business knowledge as an “interim” CEO or CFO.
Prior to Rocket Ventures, Mike spent a combined 12 years in the financial services industry as a vice president in the Business banking group at Key Bank and as an executive VP and senior lender at a local community bank. He also held sales and management positions in insurance, food retail brokerage, and technology industries, gaining invaluable experience working with entrepreneurs. Mike currently is Interim CFO of Nextronex, Inc. and Blue Water Satellite, Inc., COO of Buyvite, LLC, and a board member of Advanced Battery Concepts, LLC, Beyond Gaming, LLC, Blue Water Satellite, Inc, and Ceuticare Company, LLC.
Mike obtained his bachelor of business administration with a concentration in finance from The University of Toledo in 1987.
Active in his community, Mike serves as a faculty resource and student mentor at The University of Toledo College of Business, is a director for the Lutheran Homes Society at Wolf Creek, a member of the audit committee for Lutheran Homes Society, Inc. and a member of the finance committee at Community of Christ Lutheran Church.
Blake Culver
Director of Commercialization & Edison Program
Blake Culver comes to Rocket Ventures as the senior member of the Regional Growth Partnership’s technology-based economic development team, where Blake was Program Manager and the architect of the Ignite development program and Launch business incubation program. Since 2006, Blake has led the writing of grants for those programs, as well as for several scientific and economic development projects, which total $30.2 million in awards. He also participated in the successful grant writing effort to establish Rocket Ventures, Northwest Ohio’s first venture capital fund.
As Director of Commercialization & Edison Program, Blake prepares technology-based start-up companies for grant and investment funding. His clients range from a material science simulation company to a biotechnology company that has discovered an anti-obesity drug candidate. He directly provides business counseling and business planning services to clients, including business concept development, market research, financial projection, strategic planning, and funding development with investors. Blake also works on a variety of special projects and has cultivated industry cluster specialties in alternative energy and bioscience technologies.
Blake holds a Master of Public Administration degree and is coauthor of the instructor’s manual for Public Policy Continuity and Change, McGraw Hill 2006. He has taught collegiate courses in political science and sociology. An avid woodworker, writer, and 10K runner, he also loves music and plays trumpet in the Monroe Community Symphony and Concert Band (Monroe, Michigan).
Jon Klotz
Entrepreneur in Residence
Jon Klotz guides Rocket Ventures clients within the agbioscience industry. He brings to RV an extensive and diverse portfolio of work in the corporate world, honing skills in the agbioscience and industrial manufacturing industries.
Most recently, he was senior business consultant at IPA, Inc. where he leveraged his expertise to help several small companies manage their business activities and refine their business plans to accelerate profitable growth. He gained expertise in the ag/bioscience industry, first as COO with Vail Products, and prior to that as corporate VP of NAMSA Corporation.
In the manufacturing arena, Jon was a member of the board of directors at the BBA Holding Company, where he specialized in transactions involving first and second tier automotive plastics suppliers. He held the positions of CFO, COO, and member of the board of directors at The Andersons, where he was instrumental in integrating the company’s marketing, financial, and retail functions.
Jon has served on several community non-profit boards including: the Bishop’s Education Council, Chair of the Implementation Committee for the study of Toledo Public Schools, President of the Business Advisory Council of The University of Toledo, Chair of the Board of St. Vincent Medical Center, and Chair of the Riverside Hospital Foundation.
He received his bachelor of business administration from George Washington University and completed several graduate programs at Harvard University.
Jennifer Rose
Commercialization Coordinator
Jennifer Rose has worked in the venture capital industry, three start-up companies, and major corporations in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. She joins Rocket Ventures as Commercialization Coordinator, fulfilling key roles in client support, research, and coordination of resources.
Most recently, Jennifer was the Assistant to the President of Toledo Molding & Die, a major Tier-One automotive supplier. She has spent 15 years in the Tier-One automotive supplier chain, making significant contributions to the finance and human resources functions. In her venture capital career, Jennifer worked for Great Lakes BIDCO, a fund that made early-stage investments of up to $750,000, for which Jennifer performed due diligence, principal and interest billings, cash management, and accounting functions.
Jennifer has served as a volunteer with Stein Hospice, Hospice of Southeast Michigan, and the American Red Cross as a Disaster Relief Volunteer and First Aid / CPR Instructor.