LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Louisville venture fund Render Capital is again offering $100,000 investments to eight early-stage companies in a competition aimed at boosting the metro area’s startup scene.
The fund hopes to double the number of applicants, to 400, in the second year of the Render Competition.
Render Capital, a unit of the private foundation Access Ventures, seeks to invest in fledging, high-growth companies while attracting entrepreneurs to Louisville.
The program requires non-local companies to establish a presence in the Louisville-Southern Indiana metro area to receive the $100,000.
“These are pretty early-stage companies that are just on the verge of breaking out and need access to capital to accelerate their growth,” said Patrick Henshaw, managing director of Render Capital.
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In 2020, the Render Competition funded local companies BrainSTEM, Moxie Girl, Stuccco and Unitonomy, and out-of-state companies Briocare, Roborus, SplitGym and True Adherence.
Henshaw said all eight are “alive and well. In fact, many of them are doing better than we expected.”
Render, a $15 million fund managed by Access Ventures, was established last year. Access Ventures, which seeks to build “a more inclusive and creative economy,” had $48 million in assets as of Dec. 31, according to its 2020 annual report.
Applications for the Render Competition are due May 6.
