Founders First Capital Partners, LLC (“Founders First”) is expanding its support for businesses led by underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs to the Greater Chicago area. Founders First provides education, resources, and revenue-based financing to businesses led by minority, military veterans, or women founders.
Founders First has committed to investing five million dollars into Chicago area businesses. The first Chicago business to receive funding is OnShore Technology Group, an independent validation and verification firm specializing in the development and delivery of innovative products and services that power lean validation processes.
“We are excited to expand into Chicago and begin working with the talented entrepreneurs of the area to provide them with programs and funding to help them grow,” said Kim Folsom, founder and CEO of Founders First Capital Partners. “We plan to continue to grow strategically in Chicago to become the leading resource for underrepresented founders in the region.”
Valarie King-Bailey, CEO of OnShore Technology Group, shares, “OnShore is currently experiencing a growth trajectory as we continue to deliver innovations that power computer systems validation and software assurance for life sciences companies across the globe. We are excited and honored by the commitment to our mission from Founders First Capital Partners and will use this strategic investment to fuel our continued growth and innovation.”
Through Founders First Capital Partners proprietary business accelerator programs, learning platform, and growth methodologies, underserved service-based businesses grow into profitable, tech-enabled companies. Their mission is to empower underserved groups of business owners by providing them with access to growth capital, expertise, and resources to enable them to build sustainable, profitable, and accretive legacy businesses.
Along with its accelerator program, Founders First Capital Partners offers businesses revenue-based financing, an innovative funding mechanism that generally requires entrepreneurs to pay a fixed percentage of revenue up to a predetermined cap. This solution offers small businesses a highly attractive alternative that aligns with business performance, self-liquidates, and does not dilute ownership from business proprietors representing underserved backgrounds and communities.
