Jeff Rusinow

About JEFF

I'm a retired angel investor (with my remaining startup investments now playing out) and former big box retail exec, avid birder and active lister, grandfather, author of the only book on the history of Kohl’s Department Stores, lifelong student of business models, collector of neat stuff, and a seeker of fun experiences.   I've always loved the journey of planning and enjoying fun experiences with my family and friends.   I have also had a lot of fun collecting older, finely detailed objects made by incredibly talented artisans, drawn to the romance of antiquity. For years, I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for that elusive item; although of late, it’s become more about culling the herd and focusing on what you love vs. what you just really like.

I'm really into birding.  It's the source of my spiritual connectedness. When I go birding, it's like going to church, which is great because I don't have people between me and my maker. I live on 16 acres on Lake Michigan, north of Milwaukee, and now spend a lot of time on the property.  Keeping two birding life lists plays to my competitive side.  I'm world-ranked (#44) for having identified 851 bird species in the ABA Area (the United States, including Hawaii and Canada).  And to date, I’ve identified 192 species on my property.   You can read more about my passion for birds here. I also really like (but am not addicted to) golf and for years try to play at least once the Golf Digest Top 50 U.S. public golf courses (I’ve now played 43 of the current top 50).  The list is updated every two years, and new courses are invariably added, so it’s become more of a journey than a destination!  It’s a lot of fun.

After spending 22 years in retail management, I left corporate mainstream in 2000 and founded Milwaukee's first angel network.  Over the next 22 years, I invested in dozens of early-stage companies after reviewing thousands and thousands of business plans and conducting what I thought was good due diligence.  I have been very fortunate to have had such a wide range of experiential variety by being involved in so many startups across various industries and businesses.   In November 2015, I was inducted into the Wisconsin Investors Hall of Fame, and in August 2012, I received the George Dalton Inspirational Entrepreneur Award.  I've been on the board of directors of several private and public companies and non-profits. I've always derived immense satisfaction in helping to build something from nothing.  And when there's a 'win,' it's exhilarating.

It’s hard to beat the rush of working with brilliant people as part of a team and on a mission to succeed and accomplish the agreed-upon goal. It’s immensely satisfying. I’m one lucky boy to have had some wins like that over the years.  Conversely, it's no fun when a startup fails, as most of them do. More to the point, it sucks.  People who know me will confirm that I don't like to lose!  Yes, it's a little crazy making that I've been so into startups for so many years, and it probably helps explain why I’ve retired from making new investments.  But to be clear, I still have a few dogs on the hunt. Since early 2020, I have been Chairman and lead investor of a digital health startup, MediCardia (www.medicardiahealth.com). I am also the Chairman of SpayVac (www.spayvac.com), which develops single-dose wildlife fertility control vaccines.

To put it simply, a big part of my journey, as it has been for so many years but even more so today, is about actively surrounding my little world -- literally, my space, inside whatever four walls I reside in at the moment as well as outside when I am in the open air -- with the good and the beautiful and the genuine and the intellectually honest, as best I can, and distancing myself from, you know, the craziness. Shields up, Scotty! At least, that's part of the plan and a cornerstone of one of my fundamental truths.  This usually means spending a lot of time around birds.

I have been startled at just how hard it is to be heard in today's world. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting this.  There is so much noise, distraction, and content overload with ever-shrinking attention spans. So much for much value being put into a person’s experience and wisdom; those days now seem long gone.  As I head toward my version of retirement, I am devoting little time and energy to producing online content.   There's only so much time in a day, and I want to dedicate a nice chunk of it to being outdoors, and enjoying this incredible golden age of series, movies, podcasts, and the written word. 

However, this website helps me to maintain my voice. You have access to my writings, thoughts, selected photos, book, and all kinds of stuff.  I get genuine satisfaction from having a repository of a representative chunk of my world available for people to see and explore.

I hope you find some nuggets if you so choose to mine.

Contact Jeff.

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