Venture Capital
for the Upper Midwest

Mairs & Power Venture Capital

Mairs & Power Venture Capital

Upper Midwest Geography

We are committed to partnering with high potential venture-stage companies located in the Upper Midwest states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and the Dakotas. Our network roots are deep in this region, where we believe we can assemble the best combination of technology, management, workforce, research, and professional services to build great businesses.

Investment Profile Sought

Our interest is in a variety of industries, notably including companies in the Software, Business Services, Healthcare, FinTech, EdTech, and other high growth sectors. A typical initial investment averages $1 million per company and our total capital commitment to each portfolio company can, over time, be up to double our initial investment.

How We Choose Our Investments

TECHNOLOGY

MANAGEMENT

MARKET SIZE

VALUATION

EXIT POTENTIAL

ESG

Achieving Success Together

To achieve our investment objectives, we partner with companies and founders who have compelling growth prospects, a sufficiently large addressable market, and a logical exit scenario based on M&A markets. We care deeply about environmental, social, and governance factors, including being advocates for diversity in management teams and boards of directors.

Meet Our Venture Fund Team

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John Bergstrom

General Partner

John Bergstrom has spent his entire career in the venture capital and entrepreneurial support world. Prior to joining Mairs & Power, John was a Partner with advisory firm RiverPoint Investments in St. Paul and before that he was a Vice President and Investment Officer of Cherry Tree Ventures in Minneapolis.

John has been involved with more than 50 companies as an investor and advisor and served as a member of the board of directors for more than 25 companies. Those companies, cumulatively, have raised hundreds of millions of dollars of equity financing. John has also been intimately involved in liquidity events for a large number of those companies, including initial public offerings, strategic acquisitions, and private equity transactions.

John is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, B.A. Economics, and the University of Minnesota, M.B.A. Finance. He is also a Certified Director awarded by the National Association of Corporate Directors. John is committed to the community and has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including Goodwill Minnesota, Twin Cities Habitat, Chicagoland Habitat, SchoolStart, and NACD Minnesota.

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Scott Burns

General Partner

Scott Burns joined Mairs & Power Private Capital Management in 2023 as General Partner after nearly 25 years leading venture-stage companies.

With a deep-rooted passion for supporting entrepreneurs, Scott brings his own extensive entrepreneurial experience across multiple successful ventures, having founded GovDelivery and Structural. GovDelivery was one of the first companies to move governments into the cloud and was sold in 2016 to an investment group led by Vista Equity Partners for $153 million. Structural was an employee connectivity and engagement platform that was sold to Augeo, a global leader in enterprise engagement and loyalty, in October 2022. Scott has been an active investor in startups and growth enterprises since 2010 through his own direct investments and through investments in a number of venture capital funds. He’s served as an informal and formal advisor to countless entrepreneurial ventures.

Scott is a graduate of Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in economics and environmental studies. He started his career at McKinsey & Company in the Chicago / Minneapolis Office. He is committed to the St. Paul and Minneapolis community, sitting on the board of the Star Tribune currently and serving in past board leadership roles with the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the St. Paul Library, and the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation. In 2021, Scott was appointed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to serve on the Council for Economic Expansion.

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Elise Riniker

Venture Capital Associate

As a Venture Capital Associate, Elise directly supports the Mairs & Power Venture Capital team by conducting due diligence, sourcing investment opportunities, and supporting the existing portfolio.

Before joining the firm in 2024, Elise was a Managing Partner of Atland Ventures, a student-owned and operated venture firm based out of the University of Minnesota. Her professional experience is augmented by internships at Bread and Butter Ventures, Techstars, and early-stage startups.

Elise is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management where she studied Marketing, Business Analytics, and Strategic Management.

In her free time, Elise enjoys reading, running, and trying out new coffee shop and restaurants in the Twin Cities.

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Austin Uline

Principal

Prior to joining Mairs & Power Venture Capital in 2022, Austin spent five years at CliftonLarsonAllen in Minneapolis, MN as an Investment Banking Associate, supporting sell-side M&A transactions for privately held companies across a diverse set of industries. Austin began his career at CliftonLarsonAllen in the firm’s tax practice.

His career began with Boston, MA-based Peloton Consulting Group, a technology and management consulting firm focused on providing enterprise planning and management recommendations to aerospace, life sciences, and financial services firms.

Austin is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in Finance, Investment, and Banking; and Management and Human Resources.