Arkansas Risk Capital Matching Fund
Plainview, AR, United States
Overview
The Arkansas Risk Capital Matching Fund (ARCMF) works to strengthen and advance the financial infrastructure that supports and accelerates the growth of technology-based enterprises in Arkansas. ARCMF will target fund investments in technology-based enterprises that are in the early stages of development and not yet able to attract adequate private sources of traditional financing, venture or investor-backed capital for their growth and development. A portion of this fund will be used to validate early stage technology before other investments can be made. ARCMF is a program of and managed by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA).
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Investment portfolio
- Acumen Holdings
Participated · Series B · Feb 2012
Acumen Brands operates a portfolio of e-commerce sites and uses SEO, SEM, social media marketing and business strategy to grow them. Its sites include toughweld.com (work apparel), scrubshopper.com (medical scrubs) and countryoutfitter.com (country lifestyle apparel). Led by CEO John James, M.D., COO Terry Turpin, J.D., CMO David Echegoyen, CFO Chuck Browning and CTO Jim Kane, the company focuses on digital marketing to scale its brands. According to an S.E.C. filing, Acumen Brands raised $83M in funding. Multiple reports said the funds were provided by General Atlantic. The company intends to use the capital to grow its portfolio of e-commerce sites. Acumen Brands, founded in 2009 and based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, operates twelve separate niche online stores supported by proprietary software and advanced fulfillment systems. The company began as a single medical-uniform store with four employees and has grown to seventy employees across its storefronts. Acumen offers uniquely branded storefronts across categories including medical uniforms, work wear and western wear. Recently it completed a $5.0 million growth financing, selling Series B preferred stock that included a $4.0 million investment from Dillard’s. As part of the deal, Acumen will collaborate with Dillard’s to enhance both Dillards.com and Acumen’s twelve sites and will provide technological marketing services and support to Dillard’s. Dillard’s Vice President Kent Burnett will join Acumen’s board to provide strategic guidance as the companies work together to grow their online presences. Acumen Holdings operates a portfolio of online stores including trailsedge.com (outdoor apparel), toughweld.com (workwear), scrubshopper.com (nursing scrubs) and babyhabit.com (baby gear). The company is a distributor for more than 200 brands, such as Timberland, Carhartt, Dickies, Fisher Price, Wrangler and Under Armour. It intends to use the new capital to expand into additional retail categories and to outfit an automated fulfillment facility. Management says the new infrastructure will allow Acumen to open 20 additional online stores in the next 24 months. The company is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas and plans to create technology jobs in Northwest Arkansas as part of its growth. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.
Team
No current team members are available.