TROY ? Less than 24 hours after Stage 2 Innovations introduced a $100 million investment fund available to second-stage companies, its web site had received 51 online applications.

The privately funded ? by a Michigan investor who is jealously guarding his anonymity ? and co founded by former Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda ? will work hand-in-glove with Oakland County?s Automation Alley to commercialize promising Michigan technologies.

?We?re very flexible on what we invest in,? said Simon Boag, Stage2?s Chief Executive Officer. ?Like Tom said during the press conference, if it?s new and big we?re interested.?

Boag declined to say much about the silent investor, other than to refer to the press release, which described him as ?an experienced investor in start-up companies with a proven track record.? He did confirm the investor lived in Michigan.

Canadian native Boag said he joined Stage 2 after leaving his position as head of Mopar and global parts and service, where he worked closely with LaSorda. Stage 2 was ?our coming out party.?

What sorts of companies is Stage 2 looking to invest in?

?A company or entrepreneur who already has received seed funding,? he said. ?Perhaps a second round, a Series A round. They?ve taken their innovations and got patent protection around it. They are at a point where within 18 months they can bring the product to market. We want to deal with commercialization. That?s where we view our role.?

The partnership with Automation Alley will become a farm team of sorts for Stage 2, he said. Automation Alley will take great ideas from great entrepreneurs, nurture, finance and mentor them, then pass them along to Stage 2 for multi-million-dollar investments.

?What is most important to us is the quality of the investment,? he said. ?If we found one really good idea that was a slam dunk, we?d do the whole shot in one company. We don?t expect we?ll have one for $100 million, so we?ll probably do investments of $2 million to $4 million. You could call it a Series B round, or Mezzanine Round.?

If you?re a company or entrepreneur that matches Stage 2?s investment criteria, you can submit your application online at Stage2Innovations.Com

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