Donate Now
Contact Us
Shreveport angel fund invests in 10 companies

Second fund on the horizon

North Louisiana based angel fund New Louisiana Angel Fund 1 closed 2016 with 10 companies funded and three follow-on investments.

The fund, at $2.6 million, is expected to be fully committed by the middle of 2017, said BRF CEO and President John F. George Jr., M.D.

Sidecar investments, which are investments made by the fund’s investors outside of NLAF 1, total an additional $1.2 million at the close of 2016.

BRF spearheaded the formation of NLAF 1 in 2014 to fill the gap resulting from a regional lack of organized investment resources for high-growth startups.

According to the Angel Capital Association, startups account for nearly all net new job creation in the United States. NLAF 1 is the first North Louisiana angel investor group and meets monthly to evaluate startups for funding.

The fund’s portfolio spans industries from biomedical to entertainment, and to technology, with applications in sports, business, medicine and oil and gas.

As NLAF 1 closes, BRF is working to launch NLAF 2, which will include several of NLAF 1’s 53 accredited investors as well as new accredited investors.

The group, which meets in Shreveport, has funded only companies that are resident in North Louisiana.

The companies funded have generated 66 jobs, and have brought $32.9 million in investment from outside of North Louisiana through grants, syndication with other angel funds or networks and other investments.

Reported successes in 2016 for funded companies include an $11 million grant to Embera NeuroTherapeutics from the National Institutes of Health to advance its research involving drugs to fight addiction.

Other companies have received notoriety as finalists and winners of Louisiana pitch and startup competitions.

“Our young startups here in North Louisiana are in various stages of fundraising. We anticipate seeing some great growth among these companies in the coming year. NLAF 1 is a founder friendly group that has been eager to be involved in the early stages. NLAF 2 will continue this effort and will begin evaluating more startups this year,” said George.

NLAF 1 companies

Embera NeuroThereaputics – Clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on smoking cessation, cocaine dependence and other addictions

Swaybox Studios – Film and TV media technology studio that specializes in puppetry

Lagniappe Labs – Research company with system to determine the value of privately held companies

Mainspree – An E-commerce platform for small retailers using social media

Innolyzer – Science technology company offering a “lab on a chip” concept that measures hydrogen sulfide

Highly Favored Creations – Pet product company specializing in pet health and longevity

CyberReef – Technology company that makes machine-to-machine communication more secure

EndoPro Solutions – Medical technology company fighting obesity

SkyCoach – Software company aiding coaches in capturing and analyzing plays

Segue Therapeutics – Pharmaceutical company focused on cancer drug development

National beverage manufacturer Multipack Services to host job fair for wide range of open positions.
National beverage manufacturer Multipack Services, which packages and distributes beverages for nationally recognized brands, is hosting a job fair Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its Shreveport location.
Multipack is located at 2791 Valley View Drive in Shreveport.

Job titles for open positions include: Quality Manager, Quality Technician, Maintenance Manager, Maintenance Technician, Warehouse Manager, Warehouse Technician, Operations Supervisor, Operations Manager and Packaging Technician.

Starting wages will be $18 per hour and above. Some positions are salaried.

For more information on positions for hire, visit BRFLA.org/jobfair. Candidates should be prepared for on-site interviews.
“This job fair is an opportunity for people to join a new build and a national company at our Shreveport location in our first round of staffing. It’s not an everyday opportunity, and we’re looking for individuals who are high energy and want to start their new career,” said Justin Wilkinson, Vice President of Operations.

Louisiana Economic Development (LED), Multipack Services and regional and state economic development partners BRF, North Louisiana Economic Partnership and the Caddo Parish Industrial Development Board announced Multipack Services’ new location in December of last year.

The company expects to create 141 direct new jobs with an average annual salary of more than $51,000. LED estimated that the project would result in an additional 228 indirect jobs, for a total of 369 new jobs in the Northwest region.

“Multipack is ready to gear up its operation in its state-of-the-art facility to offer a wide range of services, including product specifications and design. The site is expected to produce more than 100 million cans of beverage products per year. We hope that the community is ready to join in on the ground floor of this operation and be a part of this scale-up,” said John George Jr., M.D., BRF President and CEO.

The job fair is sponsored by BRF, Career Adventures and Lagniappe Sourcing Consulting.