NBIA Teams with LocalFund to Help Match Start-ups with Angels

To help business incubator managers match start-up businesses with private investors through an Internet-based network, the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) has partnered with LocalFund, Inc., a network service provider based in Billings, Mont.



The program allows incubator managers to establish their own entrepreneur-investor networks where potential investors can learn more about local start-up companies ready for investment. Entrepreneurs submit business plan summaries through a secure website, and potential investors search the site for companies that match their interests. Investors then contact entrepreneurs directly.



Under the partnership agreement, NBIA members receive discounted rates on all LocalFund software. By creating a local entrepreneur-investor network, incubator managers provide new businesses with access to capital and give angel investors opportunities to develop their portfolios.



The Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire at Durham estimates that approximately 350,000 angels invest more than $35 billion of capital annually in the U.S. Most investors look to fund start-ups in their communities to promote local economic development, so local entrepreneur-investor networks are an effective way to bring the two groups together.



Business incubation catalyzes the process of starting and growing companies. A proven model, it provides entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. Incubation programs diversify economies, commercialize technologies, create jobs and build wealth. Today, there are more than 900 of these programs in the U.S., up from 12 in 1980.