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Criteria

RVI seeks high quality private equity investment opportunities in both early stage companies with significant growth potential as well as later stage companies.  Our screening committee uses the below criteria to determine which companies will be selected to present to the group.  Before submitting your executive summary, please be sure your company meets these criteria. 

  • Champion/Deal Lead - There must be at least one Member who possesses the needed domain knowledge, has spent significant time investigating the deal, and believes strongly in it. This criteria is by far the most important and can trump all others. Therefore your odds are significantly greater if you are referred to RVI by one of our Members.  If you are not currently networked into our group then one of our Members must take a strong personal interest in your company during the screening phase of our process.
     
  • Team - Research indisputably shows that successful investments are lead by strong, experienced management teams.  RVI seeks investments in companies with a strong (though not necessarily a complete) management team possessing unquestionable integrity, extensive industry/domain knowledge, and a track record of success.
     
  • Compatible Space - RVI looks at companies from a very wide array of industries. We take particular interest in the following industries (as defined by PWC's MoneyTree report): Business Products and Services, Electronics/Instrumentation, Financial Services, Industrial/Energy, and Medical Devices and Equipment.  We are not interested in companies in the following industries:  Biotechnology, Consumer Products and Services, Semiconductors, and Enterprise Software (we will look at other software). If you are unsure if you fit our profile, then please apply.
     
  • Location - No more than a 2-hour drive from Springfield. Preference is given for companies within 1 hour's drive. Short distances facilitate members making exploratory visits and, should we invest, a close and involved relationship with your company.
     
  • Stage (as defined by PWC's MoneyTree report) – RVI is most interested in companies in the "Early" (near/at revenue) and "Expansion" stages, but we also consider "Later Stage" opportunities. RVI generally is not interested in "Seed/Start-Up" companies.  
     
  • Return On Investment (ROI) - Our group targets companies than can offer at least a 10x ROI within 5-7 years.
     
  • Financing – Company should ideally be seeking no more than $2 million in the current round and no more than $20 million of follow-on funding to reach exit.  RVI's ideal investment size $250-500,000, though our median investment size to-date has been about $1 million. There are some exceptions to these criteria made for companies in syndication with other angel groups/venture capitalists or that are referred by an RVI Member who is passionate about the deal. We typically (but not always) require preferred stock with a liquidity event to take place in 5-7 years.