Ways to participate
Four ways to take part.
Find the one that fits, then tell us where you see yourself. Every path starts with a conversation.
Choose your path
Capital, expertise, or a company to build.
Founding member
A successful local food entrepreneur, expert, or investor looking to support the next generation of successful local business.
What we ask
- A lead check, sized to anchor 20 to 30 percent of each early deal
- Chair a small advisory council of North Bay food operators
- A quarterly time commitment, rather than day-to-day sourcing
What you get
- First look at every deal, ahead of the broader syndicate
- A vehicle to formalize the investing you may already do informally
- Recognition as a champion of the next generation of local founders
Member
Someone passionate about the North Bay's agricultural roots, looking to build and invest in the local community through a diverse portfolio of local food and beverage founders.
What we ask
- An active role in the collective: events, founder mentorship, connections, committee work
- A commitment to invest $10,000 per year for five years
What you get
- A community of like-minded investors and partners
- An inside look at the founders building the next generation of local products
- The chance to mentor and support local business owners
- A way to build a diversified portfolio of local food and beverage companies over five years
Community partner
A business owner in North Bay food and beverage who can provide expertise, mentorship, connection, and opportunity. Think grocers, incubator founders, co-packers, growers, and distributors.
What we ask
- Active participation in the collective
- CPG and operating expertise, shared with portfolio founders
- Help building a pipeline of founders
What you get
- Early visibility into the region's most promising food and beverage brands
- A direct line to founders who need what your business provides
- A seat in the collective's network of operators and investors
Entrepreneur
A founder with the drive to grow your local brand, in search of the capital needed to take your business from the kitchen to the shelf.
What we ask
- Proven demand: a farmers market following, a home kitchen at capacity, or a first retail shelf
- A packaged food or beverage product made in the six-county North Bay
- A clear plan for the step into licensed commercial production
What you get
- $75,000 to $150,000 in a single SPV check, with one close date
- Working capital for co-packing, equipment, packaging, and retail launch
- A collective of local food operators invested in your success, with no fee charged to your company
Membership
What we ask of members.
Membership is a commitment to the collective and to the founders in it. All members must be accredited investors.
- Accreditation
- Annual income of $200,000 or more ($300,000 with a spouse) in each of the prior two years, or a net worth above $1,000,000 excluding your primary residence
- Annual commitment
- $10,000 per year for five years
- Founding member tier
- $50,000 to $100,000 per year, for the small group anchoring the collective's first years
- Participation
- An active role in the collective: events, founder mentorship, introductions, and committee work
- Term
- Five years, so the collective can back founders through the whole climb rather than a single season
How capital is deployed once you are a member, including per-deal mechanics and costs, is covered in the membership documents and in conversation. Nothing here is an offer to invest in any particular company.
The founding member opportunity
Credibility is the first thing we are raising.
We are seeking a small number of respected, successful local food entrepreneurs and investors to anchor the collective.
An anchor brings capital. An anchor also brings the credibility that makes the collective's very first pitch, to other members and to founders, self-evidently serious. That is the scarce resource at this stage, and it is why founding membership is limited.
Questions
Before you reach out.
Who decides which companies get funded?
You do, for your own capital. The collective sources founders and shares community diligence, then each member chooses which deals to join. Second Growth Capital does not manage members' money or make investment decisions on your behalf.
What is a Special Purpose Vehicle?
A single-deal entity that pools many small checks into one investment. The founder gets one investor on the cap table and a single close date, and each member keeps a decision on every opportunity.
What does the $10,000 per year actually commit me to?
It is the capital you commit to the collective for that year, to allocate as you choose across the opportunities the collective brings forward. We walk through how that works, including minimums and costs, in the membership documents and in conversation.
Do I need to live in the North Bay?
Members come from across the region and beyond. The companies we invest in are based in the six-county North Bay: Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma.
Am I an accredited investor?
You qualify with annual income of $200,000 or more ($300,000 with a spouse) in each of the prior two years, or a net worth above $1,000,000 excluding your primary residence. Accreditation is verified before any investment.
I am a founder. How do I get in front of the collective?
Use the form below and choose "Founder raising capital." Tell us what you make, where you make it, and what proven demand looks like for your product today.
Get involved
Let's talk about anchoring the next chapter of North Bay food.
Tell us where you see yourself. We will follow up personally.
Prefer to talk? Lauren Friedman, 707.775.7197 or hello@secondgrowthcap.com.