The Venture Center Arkansas Fund, launched last year and having raised $10 million, announced Monday (March 3) it has made investments in four state-based startups, with three based in central Arkansas and one in Northwest Arkansas.
Billed as a new source of investment capital for technology-driven companies headquartered in Arkansas, the fund will focus on early to growth-stage B2B companies in high-value sectors that are important to the state’s and the region’s prosperity.
Since launching, the VC Arkansas Fund has invested in four Arkansas-based companies:
● Lexamica (lexamica.com), a Little Rock-based legaltech platform for law firm-to-law firm referrals;
● Participate (participateloan.com), a Little Rock-based fintech platform developed and launched by BankLabs for bank loan syndication and participation management.
● Servato (servatocorp.com), a Little Rock-based solutions provider that helps service providers maintain and manage their critical infrastructure; and
● Sober Sidekick (www.sobersidekick.com), a Bentonville-based digital platform and social network for maintaining sobriety.
The investment amounts and financial terms were not disclosed.
The list of limited partners (LPs) participating in the capital raise is led by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, which has invested in the fund from its State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program, a $10 billion federal program to support small businesses and entrepreneurship across the U.S.
Potential investment companies also are strongly encouraged to apply for Equity Investment Tax Credit (EITC) approval through a program managed by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
“The fund is managed separately from The Venture Center as a for-profit vehicle but serves as a complement to its mission and vision, which is to accelerate the success of Arkansas entrepreneurs for the long-term economic benefit of the state and region,” said managing partner and Venture Center CEO Arthur Orduña. “Our investment scope is broad, but we are deliberately seeking companies and founders who see their growth and success as contributing to the overall growth and success of Arkansas.”
“We are excited to invest in Arkansas founders who are passionate about growing the next generation of great companies in this state,” said managing partner Chad Brown. “And we strongly believe that is exactly who we have found in the leaders of Lexamica, Participate, Servato, and Sober Sidekick. They are building companies the right way, with outstanding customer-first values and cultures to match great execution and operations. This is truly meaningful to me as a native Arkansan.”
