Startup Talk: Early Stage Funds Available For Arkansas Entrepreneurs

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STARTUP FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR ARKANSAS ENTREPRENEURS
For Arkansas entrepreneurs taking their first steps into the startup world, First Community Bank of Batesville is offering financing through a federal program aimed at promoting early stage business development and job creation.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, through its member banking institutions across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas, is now offering financing through Economic Development Program (EDP) advance loans.

At the same time, a borrower qualifying for an EDP advance may also be eligible for accompanying Economic Development Program Plus grants, which are noncompetitive and available in amounts up to $25,000 on a first-come, first-served basis.

“For a startup business, having enough down payment is often a challenge, especially since most financial lenders expect a potential borrower to have ‘skin in the game,'” said Herb Lawrence, First Community Bank vice president of government guaranty lending. “With the EDP Plus grant program, a $10,000 equity injection becomes $20,000. This program substantially increases the business owner’s equity position while reducing the size of the loan that would be required.”

In 2014, FHLB Dallas provided $997,276 in EDP Plus grants to support 49 small businesses. Of the $1 million allocated for the grants in 2015, $651,485 remained as of April 1, 2015.

“In a number of cases, especially with a startup business, First Community Bank uses U.S. Small Business Administration guaranty loan programs in conjunction with the FHLB Dallas EDP program, significantly improving the borrower’s probabilities to succeed,” Lawrence said.

However, Lawrence emphasized that access to the federal grant is dependent upon the borrower’s eligibility for a commercial loan. Also, there are several specific requirements set out by FHLB Dallas to be eligible for the grant, including contributing an amount at least equal to 15% of the loan amount.

For more information about the EDP programs, including eligibility requirements, contact First Community Bank of Batesville. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System, created by Congress in 1932. Click here to learn more.

COMMERCE DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES FIRST STARTUP GLOBAL PILOT EVENT
The U.S. Department of Commerce officially launched the Startup Global initiative on April 2, the first in a series of pilot program educational events.

The event took place at 1776, a local business incubator in Washington, D.C., which is one of four such locations to be selected as pilot sites. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced Startup Global, an initiative designed to help more startup firms think global from the earliest stages of a company’s growth in February.

The first workshop attracted dozens of early-stage companies looking to gain technical assistance on selling their goods and services worldwide. Participants learned more about the path to going global, the availability of key federal and local government resources, and best practices in intellectual property protection and licensing.

“Many U.S. entrepreneurs and early-stage companies are poised to rapidly expand to global markets as a means of growing their customer base and sales,” said Secretary Pritzker. “This is the first time the Department of Commerce has partnered with business incubators and the startup community to provide the know-how and technical assistance they need to export their goods and services to the 95% of global consumers outside the United States. We look forward to expanding our working relationships with incubators like 1776, to help entrepreneurs think global from day one.”

Startup Global pilot events will not only provide direct assistance to startups, but also collect data and measure demand to inform the creation of a national program. Upcoming seminars will be hosted in the first half of 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio; Nashville, Tenn.; and Arlington, Texas.

To learn more about Startup Global, click here.

STARTUP AMERICA PARTNERS HOLD DISCUSSION WITH LR ENTREPRENEURS
Traveling startup entrepreneurs from the Midwest and West Coast shared their adventures, successes and travails at this week’s edition of 1 Million Cups at the downtown Little Rock Venture Center.

Jake Hamann, president and CEO of Peoria, Ill.-based One Fire Media, and Kyle Ashby, who bills himself as Chief Instigator at Startupsb.com in Santa Barbara, Calif., were in Little Rock on Wednesday as part of the Startup America Partnership, which supports a national network of startup communities across the U.S. Read their advice at this link.

DELTA REGIONAL AUTHORITY, ASU TO BUILD RESEARCH GROUP
The representatives of 35 universities and other private and public institutions in eight states will join with the Delta Regional Authority Thursday to form a consortium for research and innovation that will have a long-term positive economic impact on the region, leaders said Tuesday.

DRA Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill and Dr. Andrew Sustich, vice provost for research and graduate studies at Arkansas State University, issued a joint invitation Tuesday to assemble the Delta Research Consortium to university research officers and local economic development leadership in the DRA’s footprint in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Read more here.