2026 Alumni Honors: Mickayla Rosard, '11
Early in her career, Mickayla (Zinsli) Rosard, ’11, noticed that women often approached investing differently than men. That observation would help shape her professional path.
Today, Mickayla is a partner at Groove Capital and Groove Investment Group, which provide funding and support to Minnesota startups. She also founded Angel Fest, an annual conference that has grown into the Upper Midwest’s largest gathering of early-stage investors.
Her commitment to investing takes many forms.
“One of my personal North Stars is the intersection of empowering women to take agency over their money,” she said. “Financial independence is the key to being able to leave a bad housing situation, a bad job or a bad relationship.”
For the past 15 years, Mickayla has mentored her Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters and currently serves as the Facility Board’s Treasurer. She is also a fellow with Forge North, a regional coalition working to strengthen the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul startup community. In that role, she leads a statewide initiative aimed at engaging more angel investors, particularly for women and other underrepresented groups.
She also shares her expertise as a columnist for Twin Cities Business.
Mickayla’s interest in entrepreneurship began at UND.
“I wanted to study entrepreneurship, and at the time innovation and entrepreneurship weren’t common vernacular,” she said. “UND’s program was ranked fourth in the nation, so it seemed like an exciting place to be.”
As a student, Mickayla joined Dakota Venture Group, where she first discovered venture investing.
“Dakota Venture Group was my first exposure to early-stage investing, and you can
draw a clear line from that experience to where I am now,” she said.
Mickayla also credits Kappa Alpha Theta and her four years working at an on-campus
coffee shop.
“Working at Stomping Grounds gave me my core group of friends, and Kappa Alpha Theta taught me the importance of personal excellence and setting high standards,” she said.
