Bluestem Ventures

 Cultivating Enterprise    

Bruce Sommer

Along with a group of dedicated business leaders and active investors in Springfield, Illinois, Bruce Sommer founded Bluestem Ventures, where he currently serves as managing director.  Bruce grew up and has worked in Springfield’s business community much of his life and continues to serve on the boards of start-up and mature businesses in the area.  He received his B.S. in public accounting from Illinois Wesleyan University and his MBA from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire.  

In addition to his position with Bluestem Ventures, Bruce is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics.  Over the last seven years he has lectured in both the undergraduate and graduate programs in subjects as Private Equity/Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, Management Information Systems, and Quantitative Business Analysis.  Bruce’s research, published in both academic journals and popular press, primarily focuses on early-stage financing of emerging business start-ups.  He began his research career at the Center for Venture Research, the nation's leader in business angel research.

Bruce has founded three companies and participated in founding and developing many more primarily in IT and energy sectors. He is currently managing director of Pierce Investments, a capital management firm specializing in private equity investing.  Additionally, Bruce is founder and director of the Kindle Fund; it promotes social change by placing procedes from socially responsible investing with dynamic social entrepreneurs. 

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