Rising ICON #17: Mickayla Rosard
What name do you prefer to be called?
Mickayla Rosard
What are your pronouns?
She/her
Where did you grow up?
Planet Earth 😬, ok but seriously that’s a hard question for me. I grew up in a military family, so I called many places home: California, Kansas, North Dakota, Minnesota, & even Germany for 3 years.
What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis, MN
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
“Hi I’m Mickayla, I connect angel investors with Minnesota startups. My true north star is the intersection of wealth and women.”
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
My love language is acts of service.
Who do you help?
early stage investors, but especially those who are just starting out.
What are you building now?
An ecosystem that is welcoming and inclusive for angel investors with all types of background and experience to learn, connect, and grow together.
What were you building ten years ago today?
The year is 2013, young me is entering a new job where I raised money from foreign investors to invest in North Dakota and Minnesota companies. The company had not yet been profitable, and I was the moonshot candidate to turn it around. I went on to secure $138 Million in investments, which created over 50,000 new jobs (we had to track and report job numbers to the government), and I led the organization to its first year of profitability.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
Continuing to help people accomplish their goals through investing.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Your attitudes and beliefs about money are solidified by age 7. It’s ok if you need to unlearn things.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
Angel investors are funding the future. It is another way to vote with your dollars.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
I’ve had a handful of great mentors throughout the years. Early in my career one mentor in particular, Jerry Van Eeckhout, taught me how to “manage up”. This concept was not something I learned in business classes but became a critical skillset to have in my toolbox. Managing-up has been wildly useful in cross-function work, when building partnerships between organizations, and in my ecosystem work too.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Creating Angel Fest, but not because it has quickly grown into the region’s larges gathering for early stage investors (that’s cool too), but more so because of the quality of content and amazing energy throughout the day. Mark your calendars for May 2, 2024 :-) https://www.groovecap.com/angelfest
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
Forbes
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
The ladies on The View
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
Women Invest Too
What award would mean the most to win?
Sioux Award given by my alma mater University of North Dakota.
What makes zero sense to you?
How massive space is.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Demystifying
What game are you changing?
Who has access to angel investing.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
I recently joined Impact100, started by Morgan Kennedy and have been loving it. https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact100-twin-cities/
Where can we follow you online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickayla-rosard/
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Being a lifelong learner and servant leaders.
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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Mickayla, for sharing your story!
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“Your attitudes and beliefs about money are solidified by age 7. It’s ok if you need to unlearn things.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting rising leaders. The future is bold.
