Capital Regions Venture Partners, a new venture capital fund providing initial capital to startup emerging technology and digital media companies, will be officially unveiled Friday at the Kress Gallery downtown during a noon luncheon.
The fund has already raised $1 million from a group of investors but plans to collect an additional $4 million, said Trey Godfrey, Springboard Baton Rouge president. The money will help new businesses kick-start their first products, allowing them to generate even more money.
The project was conceived by Springboard Baton Rouge, a recently launched entrepreneurial business accelerator in the downtown area, and Vision City Development Group, a real estate development organization.
The idea to provide early-stage companies with the services to successfully take off spawned when John Schneider, managing partner of Springboard and Vision City, and Godfrey’s father, Brace Godfrey Jr., went into business together. But, like many new companies, it lacked the necessities for a smooth beginning.
Godfrey said the concept for Springboard was to “create an entrepreneurial atmosphere where we surround everyone with everything we wished we had when we were starting out in business.”
Many young, bright entrepreneurs leave the Baton Rouge area for places with a “more mature” entrepreneurial environment such as Silicon Valley or Austin, Godfrey said.
“It’s our effort to expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the capital region,” he added.
Springboard will also announce the first four companies selected to participate in the upcoming fall Startup Accelerator Program at Friday’s unveiling.
Godfrey said because the Vision City Development Group has a background in commercial real estate development, specifically in historic rehabilitation, several potential real estate projects are being evaluated for renovation or new construction.
The venture capital fund will help with pre-development expenses for these projects. There are about four or five projects in mind, he said.
James Digby, managing partner of Amsterdam-based business accelerator Rockstart, will be the featured speaker at the luncheon. Rockstart is in the final weeks of its six-month program that selects startups to travel to Silicon Valley to visit with other accelerators and entrepreneurs and pitch ideas to investors and venture capitalists.
