Keeping West Virginia ‘Almost Heaven:’ Country Roads Angel Network offers angel investments and counsel to entrepreneurs

As a native West Virginian, I know the struggles faced every day to make good on our state’s mantra ‘Almost Heaven.’  As a people, West Virginians are determined, balanced, and incredibly innovative. These qualities perfectly describe the group of accredited investors I am fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from in my role as Associate Director for Country Roads Angel Network. With an origin story like so many others I have heard about over the last few years, CRAN was born out of well-intentioned change-makers looking to solve a problem. The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) and the WV Hive embraced a vision by a core team of investors, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs to form an angel investment group unlike any West Virginia has operating today.

We’re excited to bring our network of accredited investors to the state while simultaneously offering an environment where entrepreneurs can maximize their networking opportunities and connectivity to statewide resources. One of the core individuals who has been a part of CRAN from the beginning, Kevin Combs, further detailed the work of CRAN in late 2020 by offering the Mountaineer Media Podcast audience insights on securing capital for West Virginia entrepreneurs while also sharing how his southern West Virginia upbringing provided him the skillset to succeed in his career. 

While Kevin’s impressive background in successful life sciences and pharma companies that generated over $2 billion dollars in returns to investors and himself as a founder is impressive, his success is just one of the stories that make up an impressive line-up of investors that are contributing to the make-up of CRAN.

Our current membership boasts experts and thought leaders from various business sectors including marketing and media relations, technology-based businesses, pharmaceutical and life sciences, leadership and strategic planning firms, and a host of others that have been culminated through decades of experience.

Since Kevin’s appearance on the podcast, CRAN made its inaugural investment of $135,000 in Iconic Air, a Morgantown company formed by two promising engineering graduates from West Virginia University. Iconic Air’s co-founders Kyle Gillis and James Carnes were recently recognized on Forbes “30 Under 30” list in the Energy Sector. This investment serves as what we hope is the first of many success stories for a group of investors dedicated to growth of West Virginian-led businesses. 

This investment proves that West Virginia doesn’t have to struggle to provide early access capital through private equity investing to homegrown West Virginia talent. 

While we’re excited to get our first investment behind us, we’re in no way planning to be a one and done investment group. We’re currently working towards finalizing our second investment and are excited to review new opportunities.

It is important that all entrepreneurs in West Virginia are aware that this resource exists. Our investors review opportunities on a quarterly basis, with the next review taking place in April 2021. If you’re a high growth business and looking to secure capital to implement your strategic plan, visit wvcran.com/investment and apply by the end of March for consideration.

CRAN didn’t materialize out of thin air. Our success to date is attributed to many groups and organizations that helped us to reach this point. Serving all 55 counties in the state has meant that our network must engage with partners from across the state.

The angel network offers emerging businesses early stage, seed funding to bring their creations to market. Bringing your innovative business to our investors may not always result in an investment monetarily, but as West Virginians so often do, we pledge to take care of our own. Our investors open their networks, resources, and guidance to each entrepreneur that pitches their business. For us, it’s about making investments that reward not only our investors, but also the bright, energetic entrepreneurs that push our state forward.

Revisit Kevin Comb’s interview with Mountaineer Media to learn more about his origin story and how CRAN became more than just an idea.