# Zell Founders Fund

> Zell Founders Fund is a VC fund in Ann Arbor backing Food and Beverage and Art. See 4 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Sep 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Ann Arbor, United States
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Aug 2021
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Sep 2026
- Website: https://zli.umich.edu/programs-funds/zell-founders-fund

Zell Founders Fund is a VC fund in Ann Arbor focused on Food and Beverage and Art. Zell Founders Fund analyses and invests in exceptional student entrepreneurs whose business ventures require assistance in moving from idea to profitability. The Fund is intended for all University of Michigan students who are graduating or nearing the end of their undergraduate or graduate programme and are looking for money to assist a companythat they want to continue after graduation. The amount of investment will be determined by the necessity and stage of the firm.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $100k–$100k |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Food and Beverage | 3 | 75% |
| Art | 1 | 25% |
| Universities | 1 | 25% |
| Product Design | 1 | 25% |
| Sustainability | 1 | 25% |

7 industries tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 3 | 75% |
| Guatemala | 1 | 25% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Just Enough Wines | Just Enough Wines is a producer of premium, great-tasting canned wines. It creates a wine that enables people to enjoy canned beverages that are more portable, convenient, and sustainable. The company was co-founded in 2020 by Jessica Hershfield and Kaitlyn Lo and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. | $100K | Seed | Aug 18, 2021 | https://justenoughwines.com |
| SMPL | Organic superfood bites developed for the modern lifestyle consumer. | $100K | Seed | Sep 18, 2018 | https://livesmpl.us |
| Kojo | Kojo food and drinks company which makes and markets jerky made from plants. | $100K | Seed | Aug 08, 2018 | https://kojojerky.com/ |
| Sneakers By Jordana | Jordana Schrager is the owner and designer of Sneakers by Jordana LLC. She is currently a Junior at the University of Michigan, majoring in Art and Design and minoring in Business. Jordana started designing sneakers when she was a sophomore in high school. She first doodled on a pair of old white vans for herself and wore them around town. Afterreceiving great feedback and high demand for the custom orders, Sneakers by Jordana was born. She has made sneakers for celebrities such as Nick Cannon, Selena Gomez, and P!NK, and has worked with many charities such as Best Foot Forward and St. Mary's Hospital. Today, Jordana has created over four hundred pairs of custom sneakers each unique and hand drawn specifically for you. | $100K | Seed | Oct 08, 2016 | https://x.com/sneakersbyjordi |

4 of 4 investments shown.

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## FAQ

### What does Zell Founders Fund invest in?

Zell Founders Fund invests primarily in Food and Beverage, Art and Universities startups, most often at Seed stage. Most of the 4 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Zell Founders Fund's check size?

Zell Founders Fund typically joins rounds of $100k–$100k at Seed. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Zell Founders Fund participates in.

### When did Zell Founders Fund last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Zell Founders Fund closed in Aug 2021. Shizune tracks 4 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Sep 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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