Kurt Baumgarten received a bachelor’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. While practicing law, he founded Applied Licensing in 2013 where he utilized his expertise in intellectual property laws to help entrepreneurs and founders secure the value of their ideas and products. He joined GM Ventures as a partner in 2022 and is a founding member of the Pointe Angels investment club. KURT BAUMGARTEN ‘05 Partner, GM Ventures and Founder of Pointe Angels investment club
entrepreneurs in Grosse Pointe, across the state, and from around the country with investment dollars, the experience of its members, and the networks they offer to help scale businesses and bring technologies to market. The strength of the organization is in its community focus and the active engagement of its members. The community supports innovation and commercializing technologies that positively impact people’s lives, and it gets to participate in the financial upside of these technologies in return. Q. What do you think makes the ULS community unique? What separates it from other schools? The small size encourages meaningful engagement with peers and faculty. This helps build relationships that are forged going through both fun and challenging times. It also brought me perspective and experiences that continued to enrich my life well after graduation. I carry great memories from my time at ULS, and much of who I am today was shaped during my time there.
Q. Who are some of the faculty, staff and school leaders you looked up to while at ULS? English teachers Carol Douglas and David Thompson had a significant impact on me. I learned critical thinking and communications skills in their classes, which helped me tremendously in college, law school, and during my career in venture capital. I really enjoyed Elizabeth Jamett’s classes, particularly US Management and AP Government. Her teaching style was strict but very fair, and she was always approachable. Antone Gallaher, Chris Hartley, and Shernaz Minwalla were also favorites during my time at ULS. Q. How did ULS help prepare you for your career? I developed many of the skills I use regularly in my career at ULS. ULS fostered self-confidence and supported intellectual curiosity, and we were encouraged to ask questions. I particularly liked critical thinking, debate, exchanging ideas and advocating for a position, and my classes at ULS allowed me to improve in all those areas. Q. What is your day-to-day life like in your current role? At GM Ventures I spend a lot of time meeting with entrepreneurs and founders to understand their technologies and learn how they align with GM’s internal strategic priorities. I think of ways to create mutual value through venture investment and strategic partnerships, and I also
support our portfolio companies by working closely with their executive teams to solve problems and scale their businesses. Much of what I do is built on the concept of “value-add investing” – applying yourself and your resources in creative ways to create mutual opportunity and help others be successful. Q. What prompted you to start Pointe Angels? As an independent investment club, Pointe Angels was founded to bring together early-stage investors in the Grosse Pointe community. While there were many active early-stage investors, there wasn’t really a way to share investment opportunities. Forming Pointe Angels was a joint effort with other like-minded investors. We wanted to build something durable that would attract high-quality deals and members. It’s an investment club, not a fund, so the members choose to be actively involved. Pointe Angels and its members have created an opportunity for The Pointes to support innovation and participate in the value it creates. It’s now one of the largest and most active angel groups in Michigan. Q. How is Pointe Angels helping to shape the future of VC and entrepreneurship in Michigan? People rely on their friends and family for support when starting their companies, but they soon need additional capital, expertise, and networks to continue building their
businesses. That’s where Pointe Angels can come in, supporting
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