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FIN Capital invests in Gain Complicance

June 6, 2017

Iowa’s first female angel investor network FIN Capital announced an investment in Gain Compliance, according to a release Tuesday from the Iowa Center for Economic Success.

According to the release, FIN Capital will invest $100,000 in Gain Compliance Inc., an early-stage software company located in Des Moines. Gain Compliance focuses on improving data quality for insurance compliance reporting and was recognized as “Outstanding Startup of the Year” by the Technology Association of Iowa in 2016.

FIN Capital is an initiative of Iowa Center for Economic Success and was established in 2016 with the goal of growing women’s wealth through private angel investing. It currently has 28 members who are individually accomplished, accredited and share a common interest in angel investing. The organization leverages its members backgrounds and expertise in a disciplined approach to vetting potential investments.

According to the release, the elapsed time between Gain Compliance’s initial pitch and FIN Capital’s final commitment of over $100k was a little more than a month.

“What struck us about Gain Compliance was the experience of the team in addressing this market opportunity,” Jolene Vermeer, a founding member of FIN Capital, said. “Gain Compliance’s veteran team of founders has a history of success in building enterprise software, and they are taking a thoughtful approach to the complicated and under-served market of insurance compliance reporting.”

Gain Compliance CEO Burch LaPrade said FIN Capitol is their ideal investor.

“I was extremely impressed by both the organization itself as well as the process,” LaPrade says. “We pitched to a panel of over twenty members, and the expertise of this diverse group was evident in the questions asked and throughout its due diligence process. Our ideal investors are ones who bring a new and valuable perspective to our business, and we feel like we hit the jackpot with FIN Capital.”

FIN Capital invests in Gain Complicance | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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