There are numerous avenues for venture financing in the Asheville Area. We consider there to be 5 levels of financing, locally. The following table discusses venture financing, as opposed to conventional loans that you can secure through banks or CDFI’s.
Our angel investing network, the Asheville Angels, was founded in 2014. In 2019, we launched the Asheville Impact Micro-Grant to address the need of Entrepreneurs at the start of their journey.
ASHEVILLE IMPACT MICRO-GRANT
This grant is community supported and awarded to early-stage startups in amounts up to $5,000. Fundraising is from January 22nd to March 1st. Applications will be accepted from March 1st to March 15th. A selection committee representing a broad cross-section of the startup community will award each grant the week of April 15th. For more information on this program, follow this link to the Asheville Impact Micro-Grant Page.
ASHEVILLE ANGELS
Asheville Angels is a member-based angel investor network. We invest in and support startups and early-stage, high-growth companies in Asheville and across the Southeast. Founded in October of 2014, Asheville Angels currently consists of about 40 angel investors. Asheville Angels is not an investment fund, but rather, an angel investor network with members who make individual investment decisions after working together to evaluate candidate companies.
To date, Asheville Angels has invested nearly $2M over 25 companies. Our angel investors possess a broad array of business experiences and skills that they utilize in helping to screen and evaluate potential portfolio companies. In 2014 we partnered with Venture South and now represent the Asheville Area in a network of nearly 300 Angel Investors across North America.
For more information on the Asheville Angels, including how to join and how to pitch, follow this link to the dedicated page.