Guide to Raising Capital

Outside capital is often (but not always!) the lifeblood of any growing startup. Here is a summary of the VCs, angel groups and other sources of investment for software startups in the Triangle.

Venture Capital

There are three active venture capital firms primarily doing early stage investments in the area. These firms are great places to start if you are raising a seed round.

Bull City Venture Partners

BCVP makes early stage tech investments in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Experience is especially important to them as they tend to invest in serial entrepreneurs and more mature startups. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule; maybe your startup will be one! Past investments include Spiffy (Scot Wingo’s startup), Levitate (Jes Lipson’s startup), Reveal Mobile and Adwerx. BCVP also hosts the popular Entrepreneurship Series Venture Outlook every year.

  • Based out of the American Underground in Downtown Durham.
  • Managed by Jason Caplain and David Jones.
  • Typical check size is between $250k and $2m.
  • Learn more from bcvp.com

Cofounders Capital

Cofounders Capital is an early-stage seed fund for B2B software startups, including pre-revenue companies, focused primarily in the Triangle and elsewhere in NC. CFC tends to be the first institutional money in a startup and is more hands-on than some of its peers, frequently encouraging newbie firms to work out of its Cary offices for a stretch. Past investments include Feedtrail, Myxx, and RewardStock.

  • Based in Cary.
  • Managed by David Gardner and Tim McLoughlin.
  • Typical check size is between $400k and $500k with larger follow-on investments.
  • Fun Fact: CB INSIGHTS ranks Cofounders Capital as the most active VC in North Carolina.
  • Learn more from cofounderscapital.com

IDEA Fund Partners

IDEA Fund is a seed and early-stage investor in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast. Past investment include FilterEasy, First, and Pendo.

  • Based in Durham.
  • Managed by John Cambier and Lister Delgado.
  • Typical check size is between $100k and $750k and up to $1.5m in a company’s lifespan.
  • Learn more from ideafundpartners.com

Angel Funds and Networks

Angel groups are great places to look for startup capital. There are two types — angel funds and angel networks. Angels funds operate like venture capital funds but the funds are often smaller and made up of more smaller individual investors. The most active angel fund in the area is Triangle Angel Partners.

Angel networks are becoming more popular. These networks differ from funds in that they don’t have standing funds but rather raise capital from their members on an investment-by-investment basis. In this area, most of them are associated with the local universities and invest in startups led by someone with an association with the university. These networks are great places to look for capital if someone on the founding team is connected to the university. Here are the local ones:

A couple other angel networks not associated with a university but also worth a look:

RTP Capital is a group of accredited investors interested in stimulating seed stage capital formation in the Triangle.

xElle Ventures is a collection of women dedicated to funding, mentoring and marketing female-led businesses in North Carolina.

Other Sources

One of the best sources of very early stage capital is NC IDEA (not to be confused with IdeaFund.) NC IDEA is a non-profit tasked with spurring on entrepreneurial activity throughout North Carolina. Every year, the organization offers a number of $50k grants to startups. These are grants, not investments, so they are non-dilutive — basically free money. Many of the area’s most successful startups have been recipients of these grants in the past.

There are other organizations that invest in area startups with more specific areas of focus. Here are some of them:

  • Jurassic Capital. They are based in Durham and invest in growth-stage B2B software startups with over $1M in recurring revenue. (Disclosure: GrepBeat and Jurassic share a financial backer.)
  • The Launch Place. They are based in Danville, Va., and RTP. They invest in a little bit of everything.
  • SJF Ventures. They are based in Durham and invest in socially conscious companies with more than $1M in revenue.
  • Bootstrap Advisors. They are based in Durham and focus on building and investing in consumer-focused startups.
  • Harbright Ventures. They are a private equity firm based in Raleigh-Durham that accelerates early stage and growth opportunities with capital and mentorship.

Good luck raising capital!