February 25, 2019

By Mike Graney

Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) hosted several roundtable discussions with partners of Charleston’s venture capital funds and private equity groups over the past 18 months. The amount and diversity of equity capital and the number of funds headquartered in Charleston or with a General or Managing Partner here is surprising.

Recently, we invited 14 firms ranging from early-stage venture capital to private equity to investment banking to attend a meeting dubbed “Capital Connections.” Instead of being pitched to, seven of these groups pitched CRDA Board members and their colleagues in the legal, accounting and finance world. Over 70 people attended the standing room only event.

CRDA’s goal is to better connect the traditional business and economic development community to this dynamic, nascent equity funding community, and provide introductions to funds that are raising capital and looking for limited partners.

While most people think of CRDA as corporate recruiters, our mission is to “build long-term economic prosperity by attracting the world’s best companies, talent and entrepreneurs.” Providing connections to financing opportunities and to service providers with the expertise to put deals together will further that goal. These connections will facilitate deal flow between the equity finance groups, traditional debt finance, and CRDA.

We are optimistic this initiative will generate enhanced entrepreneurship opportunities, as well as support startup and early-stage firms in Charleston. Please contact me at [email protected] for more information or to find out about available capital for your business opportunity.

Contact us:

Michael J. Graney
Vice President, Global Business Development
843.760.4526 | Michael Graney