Local investors helping local startups achieve success

Fuse Fund is the only early stage investment fund that is focused solely on helping Tri-City startup businesses achieve success.  It was created as a complement to other services offered by Fuse, specifically co-working and educational offerings, all of which are intended to support entrepreneurs in and around the Tri-Cities.  Fuse’s mission is to create a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem adding breadth to our local economy and Fuse Fund fulfills a crucial aspect of this mission by being a source of capital to help local early stage businesses become successful.

By investing in Fuse Fund, you are supporting entrepreneurs in and around the Tri-Cities and their efforts to create new businesses, long established as a harbinger for innovation and growth. This creates a vibrancy for our area that is contagious - feeding on itself by drawing other entrepreneurs to the Tri-Cities who want to enjoy the quality of life we have come to value such as the Tri-Cities being a great place to raise a family, with a reasonable cost of living and commutes mostly free of the gridlock that plagues larger more population concentrated areas. Further, local entrepreneurs are more likely to remain in our area if supported by the community, all the more so if supported by local sources of investment.

While such an altruistic outcome for the Tri-Cities is laudable, another primary objective of Fuse Fund is to generate a healthy return for its investors. To the extent our invested companies are successful, they generate rapidly increasing revenue and profit, and this creates value that once monetized translates into a return on investment to participants in the fund.

There is risk and uncertainty associated with investing in early stage companies, with this type of investing being on the higher end of the risk/reward scale.  We cannot in any way guarantee a return but similar funds that are well managed have generated returns in the 2X to 3X range over a period of roughly 8 – 10 years.  Further, we are doing several things to increase our chances of a solid return:

• Fuse Fund is modeled after other successful early stage funds and we maintain networking and mentoring relationships with such funds.
• Keeping expenses to a minimum.
• Investment and start up experience on the Board & Investment Committee.
• Rigorous due diligence process to evaluate investment worthy companies.
• Assigning a member with relevant experience to mentor invested start ups.
• An accelerator program to bolster the skill set of first-time entrepreneurs.
• Funding may be in increments tied to milestones/outcomes   
• May consider follow on funding if needed for a final push to success.

The size of the fund depends on how many investors participate and the amount of their investment.  In general, we anticipate the fund to be at least $2M and no more than the maximum fund amount of $10M, and if reached the fund will be closed.  The fund may be closed even before the maximum amount, if necessary, to enable equitable accounting of gains and losses among the investors.

The number of invested companies will depend on the amount of investment raised and the number of worthy investment opportunities, but it is likely to be between 15 and 30. 

You must be an accredited investor¹ to join Fuse Fund.  The minimum investment commitment is $50K with 20% due upon signing, and subsequent funding calls will be made as funds are needed to make investments.   There are several documents you will need to review and execute including a Limited Partnership Agreement and a Subscription Agreement.  Contact Marty Conger, Managing Partner Fuse Advisors, LLC at conger.marty@gmail.com or call (509) 521-4065 for information if you are interested in investing in Fuse Fund.

¹Accredited investor - have a net worth of at least $1M, excluding the value of primary residence, or have income of at least $200K each year for the last two years ($300K combined income if married) with expectation to continue exceed these income thresholds.