A Portland venture capital firm wants to invest in socially
responsible companies in low-income communities of Vermont,
Maine and New Hampshire.
CEI Community Ventures will give 12 to 15 businesses
$100,000 to $500,000 each as part of the New Markets Venture
Capital Fund, half funded by the U.S. Small Business
Administration, said Michael Gurau, president of CEI Community
Ventures.
Only one company has received funding from the new account
- Juno Rising Inc. of Burlington, Vt. The maker of Isis-brand
outdoor clothing for women had been based in a Colchester home
when the owners heard about the new fund for startups.
"It's really hard to find venture capital money in this
economy and even harder if you are a small startup like we
are," said Carolyn Cooke, co-founder and chief executive.
The fund is available only in areas of the three states
that need new jobs. In Maine, the size of tracts range from
all of Aroostook, Franklin, Piscataquis, Somerset and
Washington counties to parts of communities including
Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Lewiston and Auburn.
"This New Markets initiative will bring investment to areas
of the state where incomes are low and opportunity is needed,"
said Gov. John Baldacci, in a statement. "It will promote job
growth and environmental sustainability. Maine will benefit
from this collaborative effort."
Vermont's Juno received $200,000 from the fund, as well as
$400,000 from its sister fund, Cooke said. Gurau used profits
from that sister fund created several years ago to start the
latest venture.
Maine doesn't attract nearly as much venture capital
investment as some of its New England neighbors, notably
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. For example, in
the fourth quarter of 2002, venture capitalists invested only
$1 million in Maine, compared to $9 million in Rhode Island,
$67 million in New Hampshire, $72 million in Connecticut and
$460 million in Massachusetts. Only Vermont saw less
investment than Maine.
"Small businesses serve as the engine of Maine's economy,
but identifying the venture capital to fuel this growth is too
often elusive - particularly in lower-income communities,"
said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. "Creation of
this New Markets Venture Capital Fund will make a real
difference in bringing resources to underserved com-
munities."
Gurau said he is looking for small companies with a
potential for sig- nificant growth and at least two members on
the executive team. The startup also has to have improved the
business climate in a socially responsible way. For example,
Juno Rising is operated by and for women.
Gurau hopes to spend the money over the next couple of
years, and then start another fund.
For the latest fund, Gurau spent a year and a half raising
more than $5 million from nonprofit organizations and other
venture funds. The SBA is matching the money Gurau raised,
said Kenneth A. Silvia, SBA's Vermont district director.
"What it will do is give companies that have a good idea
and a good product the ability to take that product and that
idea and grow on it and expand it and bring better jobs,"
Silvia said. "It is generally about creating a better economy
in the community."
Juno Rising will use the money for marketing and product
development. The company has six employees and expects to
double or even triple its revenues over the next few years,
Cooke said.
For more information on the fund, log on to http://www.ceicommunityventures.com/.
Matt Wickenheiser, staff writer, contributed to this
report.
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