Matt Otterstatter

Matt holds a Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University. He has professional certifications in project management, strategic decision making, and risk management from Stanford University.

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In his spare time, Matt teaches robotics to middle school students as part of the First Lego League.

Matt Otterstatter is a partner at Vilicus Ventures, a Minneapolis-based firm he co-founded in early 2012 on the principles of stewardship and trust. After acquiring 2 venture funds and successfully managing their closeouts, the firm has refocused its efforts on making opportunistic investments in the broader Midwest. 

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Prior to co-founding Vilicus, Matt was a program manager and senior engineer of rocket propulsion systems at Aerojet Rocketdyne in Sacramento, California. He has also co-founded a number of companies via a startup studio model, and now is the Innovation Principal at Donaldson. There he is focused on disruptive technologies in the food & beverage industry.

As a member of Class 18, Matt served his fellowship at Vilicus Ventures under the mentorship of his father and managing partner, Jon Otterstatter. Additional mentorship was provided by Jack Crawford (Class 16) of Velocity Venture Capital and Promod Haque, Senior Managing Partner of Norwest Venture Partners. 

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Upon graduation from the program, Matt was presented with the Jeff Timmons Memorial Award, in recognition of his service to his class and the Kauffman Fellows organization.