Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York (HBSAANY) and The National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) today launched the Venture Capital Access Program ("VCAP©"), a collaborative venture that provides women and diverse entrepreneurs nationwide with access to venture capital through accredited investors within the HBSAANY network. VCAP©, the first program of its kind, bridges the gap between venture capitalists and angel investor networks and women and diverse entrepreneurs, many of whom have not traditionally had access to these sources of capital.
HBSAANY is comprised of New York City tri-state area Harvard alumni who are venture capitalists and other accredited investors investing in early-stage, private companies around the United States. The National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) is the trade association representing women and diverse private equity and venture firms. VCAP© will be operated through NAIC's subsidiary, The Marathon Foundation, a business development network that supports entrepreneurial growth, access to capital and deal flow. HBSAANY's investment in VCAP© was inspired in part by the Harvard Business School U.S. Competitiveness Project and its call for HBS alumni to help continue U.S. competitiveness.
"The Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York is one of the most successful and active angel investor networks in the country," said Ed Dandridge, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAIC. "We are pleased to partner with them on VCAP©, which will provide women and diverse entrepreneurs with access to capital essential to innovation and job creation."
"The $6 trillion annual diverse marketplace represents a significant and often overlooked investment opportunity," said David Teten, Founder and Chairman of HBSAANY, and Partner at ff Venture Capital. "Research has proven that investors who focus in less-contested sectors and who source proprietary investments get superior returns. VCAP© provides our members with a pipeline of unique opportunities."
In addition to serving as a catalyst for job creation, women and diverse businesses, which are owned, operated and/or led by minorities, provide an important source of investment returns. According to a study performed by the Kauffman Foundation and the Angel Capital Education Foundation, angel investments generate net annualized returns of approximately 27%, beating many traditional forms of investing. Women-owned businesses, according to the Forte Foundation represent about 775,000 new startups per year. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce & the Minority Business Development Agency, between 2002 and 2007, diverse-owned firms outpaced the growth of non-diverse firms in gross receipts and employment. During the same period, paid employment of diverse businesses grew by 24% compared to a decrease in employment of 1.1% for non-diverse firms.
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