Ryan Waddington

Ryan Waddington is the founding partner (General Partner) of Huron River Ventures, an early-stage venture firm he co-founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2010 alongside Tim Streit. The firm invests in entrepreneurs "bringing digital and sustainable technology solutions to the global energy industry," backing seed and Series A software and hardtech companies aimed at transforming the energy, mobility, and agriculture industries that define the Midwest. Across his career, Waddington reports having founded, financed, or led more than 40 companies at the seed, venture, and growth-equity stages, representing over $200 million of invested and committed capital.

He began his venture career inside DTE Energy's corporate venture group, leading advanced energy technology investments, and also helped establish seed-stage funding programs at NextEnergy. Before founding Huron River Ventures, Waddington helped build an energy-focused private equity group within New York-based Ziff Brothers Investments — one of the largest family-office investment firms in the country — where he worked on transactions across renewables, biofuels, power transmission, and advanced materials. He has additionally served as a venture partner with Arsenal (a Florida-based growth-equity firm), a venture advisor to Aclaria Partners, and a mentor-in-residence at the University of Michigan's Office of Technology Transfer, and he teaches at Michigan's Center for Entrepreneurship.

Since 2020, Waddington has served as Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Cowboy Clean Fuels, a company commercializing University of Wyoming technology that produces Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and sequesters atmospheric CO₂ using natural geo-biological systems and repurposed energy assets. This operating role is now his primary focus, while he continues to be associated with Huron River Ventures.

Waddington holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan (1989–1993), an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1993–1995), and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, where he participated in the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

• Stated thesis: "We invest in bold entrepreneurs bringing digital and sustainable technology solutions to the global energy industry" — targeting companies using Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainability solutions to transform the energy sector.
• Stage: Seed and Series A rounds; Huron River Ventures' fund raised roughly $16M and made ~20 investments producing ~10 exits.
• Sectors: Energy/cleantech (primary), plus mobility/transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing — "cutting-edge technology to reinvent the industries that define the Midwest."
• Company type: A mix of software and hardtech businesses serving legacy industrial end-markets rather than pure consumer plays.
• Geography: A deliberate Midwest focus, investing in and helping build the region's cleantech and deep-tech startup ecosystem.