Community Investment Corporation

Location

Tucson, AZ

Project Name

BOOST Innovation Seed Capital Fund Development Project

Award Amount

Federal Share: $300,000
Local Match: $300,000

This EDA investment aims to address issues facing early-stage startup and tech entrepreneurs in Southern Arizona, including inefficiencies created by high-stakes equity funding approaches of angels and venture capital investors, by:

  1. Opening more funding pathways for diverse entrepreneurs, including tools for pre-seed businesses 
  2. Giving viable businesses, especially in tech, longer runways to succeed 
  3. Providing “off-ramps” along the business development lifecycle for businesses not meeting growth profiles required by most equity investors 
  4. Increasing diversity among funders through directed recruitment 

By leveraging local efforts like RAIN (Rising AZ Investor Network) to build a broader investor network and creating/expanding innovative and equitable investment tools, Community Investment Corporation will level the playing field for diverse founders. This project will ensure more underrepresented founders succeed at every stage of the startup business pipeline, generating higher quality investment opportunities for local crowdfund equity investors, angels, and venture capital investors.