ALUMNI VENTURE GROUP LAUNCHES ANTI-BIAS FUND
Manchester-based investment firm Alumni Venture Group has launched the AVG Anti-Bias Fund, which it says will focus on deploying capital to support diverse founders, teams and business models addressing systemic biases.
CEO Michael Collins said the fund will compile a broad portfolio of 20 to 30 investments over the next 12 to 18 months.
He added that the firm defines “diverse” as “not a white male.”
“There are numerous studies showing that companies with diverse leadership significantly outperform their all-white, all-male counterparts,” said Collins. “Yet most venture capitalists and VC-backed founders are still disproportionately white and male. The thesis for our new annual fund is primarily to back promising ventures that we think are good investments and that also fit our impact thesis. It’s a false dichotomy to say you can’t do well and do good through the same investment.”
The company said the new fund is an outgrowth of its ongoing efforts to facilitate more diverse representation in the venture capital arena.
HITCHINER BEGINS OFFERING ON-SITE COVID TESTING
Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. Inc. and SolutionHealth, parent company of Southern New Hampshire Health in Nashua and Elliot Health System in Manchester, have formed a partnership offering Hitchiner employees rapid Covid-19 testing at the Milford-based company’s on-site health and resource center.
Tim Sullivan, vice president of corporate affairs at the company, which manufactures parts for the automotive, aerospace and defense industries, said the system allows the more than 600 employees at the facility to get a test almost immediately at the company’s on-site health clinic.
He said the process avoids what can be days-long delays between needing a test and actually getting one. That kind of turnaround time can affect the entire manufacturing process, since employees must remain out of the plant until they are tested.
“This new service allows our employees to get tested and back to work as soon as possible in the event of personal travel or an exposure to Covid-19, as well as peace of mind that our colleagues are working in a safe environment,” he said.
PORTSMOUTH’S SILVERCLOUD ACQUIRED BY MASS. FIRM
SilverCloud LLC, a Portsmouthbased provider of software for financial institutions, has been acquired by TimeTrade Systems of Tewksbury, Mass. — a company that itself was acquired nine months ago by Clearhaven Partners, a Boston-based investment firm.
TimeTrade is a developer of enterprise scheduling software.
The new combined company is being called TimeTrade SilverCloud. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The company is based in Tewksbury, Mass., with a Portsmouth office.
NH SPECIALTY BUILDING PRODUCTS FIRM ACQUIRED
Specialty building products distributor Selectwood of Portsmouth has been acquired by Eldredge Lumber & Hardware Inc., which operates a chain of six hardware and lumber locations around Maine.
Selectwood, founded in 1982, operates out of a 70,000-square-foot facility and serves custom home builders and remodelers from around New England as a distributor of high-grade cedar, mahogany, redwood, Douglas fir and highend composite building materials and hardware. The transaction was handled by Peloton Advisory LLC.
