This past year was monumental for our team at Render Capital for many reasons. 2021 marked our second full year as a fund and my first year leading our team as Managing Director. Our team moved into our new offices in Louisville’s NULU neighborhood and our regional ecosystem experienced incredible growth despite the persistent and unique challenges we all continue to face.
If you are unfamiliar with Render Capital, we are a $15 million investment fund committed to increasing the access to capital for businesses within Louisville and Southern Indiana. We were started by Access Ventures and carry forward their core belief that the economy must function for all people.
We are a unique capital vehicle that provides access to capital across products from traditional venture capital with checks sizes up to $250k all the way to grants for black and brown founders as a part of our First Dollar Program with traditional debt and venture debt in between.
One of our cornerstone events, the Render Competition, was thankfully able to happen in person this year. We had over 300 applicants from 27 different countries, 22 different states, and 6 different continents. All of those companies committed to move to our great region and tap into the amazing opportunities and resources we have as a part of our Render network and the startup ecosystem in our region!
Our region is on the rise and access to capital, while growth is still needed, is flourishing now more than ever. If you want to know more about our work unlocking capital for entrepreneurs, download our annual report below. Also, if you would like to get involved whether as an investor, mentor, advisor, or support please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at patrick@render.captial.
Because of our amazing community of founders, startups, program partners, and co-investors, it truly was a year to remember. We started Render Capital because we wanted to play an active role in unlocking more capital for our region’s entrepreneurs. Increasing access to capital has been the mission of Render Capital from the beginning and that will not change.
Finally – a big thanks to our whole Render team for making this our best year yet with amazing growth and an even more exciting year for 2022 ahead!