CAPCO Programs

EnviRelation will be expanding its business with the $100,000 investment it was awarded from winning the DC Business Plan Competition:

EnviRelation, a District-based environmentally sustainable food composter and winner of the 2010 Washington, DC Business Plan Competition, today secured an investment of $50,000 from Advantage Capital Partners and $50,000 from Enhanced Capital Partners via the District’s CAPCO Program. These funds will be used to expand this young business and position it for future growth.

“We appreciate the recognition and support that this investment brings to our innovative company. This exciting opportunity to grow our business would not have occurred but for the Washington, DC Business Plan Competition and the District’s small business investment tax credit program, known as CAPCO,” said Walker Lunn, Founder and CEO of EnviRelation. Lunn continued, “Working capital from commercial banks is not readily accessible for small but fast-growing companies like ours, and the District is fortunate to have a CAPCO program that it is specifically designed to provide access to capital to District-based businesses in need of funds to grow.”

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Wisconsin’s CAPCO program expired in 2009, but it provided excellent job growth:

A program that used state tax credits to invest in promising Wisconsin technology businesses has paid for itself several times over, according to a study by Donald Nichols, UW-Madison emeritus professor of economics and public affairs.

TomoTherapy, Virent Energy Systems, Alfalight and Cellectar are among the Madison companies boosted by the program, called Wisconsin Certified Capital Companies, or CAPCOs.

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The 2010 Business Plan Competition was announced today.  Here are details on last year’s winner:

Adams Morgan based Affinity Lab, a business cowork venture, took first place yesterday in a business plan competition qualifying for $100,000 in investment in a tight four-way competition staged at the Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP).

“We saw four great presentations yesterday,” says Steve Moore, President and CEO of the WDCEP. “These business concepts were very exciting, but Affinity Lab stood out as the new thing. They capture what is happening now in the incubation of small businesses. Without fail, when they are done telling you what they do, people say ‘I want to be a part of that.'”

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Small businesses can turn to their local CAPCO programs for funding:

Fostering new businesses in your county (with their new tax revenue potential) is obviously a much better way to deal with state budget cutbacks and dwindling local revenues than increasing taxes or cutting services or both. And it doesn’t necessarily take a new automobile assembly plant in your community to turn the revenue slide.

For most counties, small businesses are the economic engines for their communities. The National Association of Small Business Owners reports that small businesses employ 51 percent of private sector workers; provide two-thirds to three-quarters of the new jobs; and represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods.

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Enhanced Capital Partners and Advantage Capital Partners, DC CAPCO investment firms, awarded the winner of the PremierPlan business plan competition, Affinity Lab, $100,000:

Enhanced Capital, a national private investment firm participating in the District’s CAPCO program, is happy to announce that Affinity Lab is the winner of the 1st Annual PremierPlan business plan competition. Enhanced Capital, in conjunction with Advantage Capital Partners, awarded Affinity Lab with a $100,000 check at the Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) 2009 Small Business Awards and PremierPlan Business Plan Competition dinner.

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 Enhanced Community Development, LLC will provide loans and equity investments to businesses in underserved areas thanks to this $60 million allocation:

The United States Department of the Treasury announced today that Enhanced Community Development, LLC has been selected to receive a $60,000,000 allocation under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. Enhanced Community Development, LLC is a subsidiary of Enhanced Capital Partners, Inc. It will principally use its tax credits to provide loans and equity investments to businesses, including not-for-profit organizations, located in low-income communities in New Orleans, New York State and the District of Columbia.

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The DC CAPCO program has exceeded expectations and Advantage Capital Partners, Enhanced Capital Partners and Wilshire DC Partners continue to invest in start-up companies:

The District’s CAPCO program, a $50 million venture fund dedicated to Washington-based startup companies, has invested nearly $14 million in 11 companies since the program’s launch 18 months ago. While the program has far exceeded its initial goal of investing 20 percent by May 2007, it has only added one new company to the CAPCO portfolio in the last six months.

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Through the Washington, DC CAPCO program, Advantage Capital Partners was able to invest $500,000 in NuAmerica Bank:

Advantage Capital Partners, a leading investor in the Washington, D.C., Certified Capital Companies (CAPCO) program, has invested $500,000 in NuAmerica Bank, a proposed community bank that seeks to provide banking services to small businesses and professionals in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Advantage Capital is the first institution to invest in NuAmerica’s initial fundraising round, which aims to secure $20 million in capital this year.

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Through the CAPCO program, Advantage Capital Partners and Enhanced Capital Partners invested in ARC Solutions, Inc, located in Washington, DC:

Advantage Capital Partners and Enhanced Capital Partners have invested $2 million in ARC Solutions, Inc.,an association management software company in Washington, D.C. The fundswill be used to support continued growth.

“Advantage and Enhanced Capital believe in the value of our True On-Demand product for member-based organizations and have given us the financial ability to ramp up our efforts to reach more customers and accelerate our business expansion,” said Andrew Ryan, founder and chief executive officer of ARC Solutions.

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$11 million was raised by Advantage Capital Partners for the Washington, DC CAPCO fund.  Advantage Capital says it looks forward to investing this money into a small DC business:

Advantage Capital Partners has raised approximately $11 million for a Washington, D.C., Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) fund. The fund will invest in qualified small businesses located in the District.

“We look forward to investing in promising companies with solid growth prospects, companies that will create jobs and increase demand for goods and services from other local businesses,” said Steven T. Stull, Advantage’s managing partner. “Experience in several states around the nation have shown that CAPCO investments attract additional venture capital dollars from outside the area to support entrepreneurs and their businesses, resulting in a more diverse and stronger local economy.”

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