Business research tools can be prohibitively expensive, making equitable access to high-quality information problematic. Through a partnership on an EDA grant, sp3nw is covering one-third of SPL’s subscription costs for a Bloomberg Terminal and PitchBook subscription. The two resources alone, lacking any outside funding, would cost SPL over $45,000/year. By being able to crowdsource the subscriptions allows SPL to provide public access to tools that are generally out of the reach of even well-funded businesses.

Beyond the funding partnership, this innovative approach closely ties sp3nw with the broad set tools and resources of SPL. SPL’s Business Librarian, Mark Pond is chairing sp3nw’s Rural Angel Investor Network (RAIN) with the goal of developing a deep and wide pool of local investors who will receive training and education on how to become an accredited investor. Not only is SPL helping to building well-researched companies, SPL is also becoming a hub for local investing activity.

Within the first six months of sp3nw’s EDA grant cycle, SPL was able to use PitchBook to pull together a directory of angel investors, angel investing groups and venture capital offices across sp3nw’s service area (WA, ID and MT). We began to vet training opportunities through the American Capital Association, among others, and have begun recruiting potential local investors. The goal of all of this is to develop funding for Spokane’s early-stage businesses to bridge the funding gap prior to SBIR/STTR funding.