Founders First Capital Partners, Inc.

10/13/2026

Not all capital is built the same.

With revenue-based financing, repayment is tied to how your business actually performs, not a rigid fixed payment that ignores slow months.

For service-based B2B and B2G founders, that can mean funding growth without giving up equity or control.

Swipe for the basics 👉

10/12/2026

Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

Real economic transformation starts when we honor the foundation. Today, we celebrate the Native communities and tribal nations whose rich culture, history, and contributions have shaped our country.

At Founders First, we know that building an inclusive economy means recognizing and elevating the diverse voices that have always driven our local communities forward.

10/09/2026

🎙️ Daniel Amaro is joining us at the Capital Activation Experience in San Diego.

Daniel Amaro has spent more than 25 years watching good technology go unused. Today he’s CEO of Klarinet Solutions, the San Diego firm he’s been building since 2010, helping organizations get their people to actually use Microsoft 365 and Copilot.

He works with CIOs, digital workplace leaders, and the communications, HR, and operations teams who feel the friction first. He also writes The Human Layer, weekly field notes on why people adopt a tool or ignore it.

His core belief: nobody adopts a tool because it’s powerful. They adopt it because it solves a problem they actually have. Capital works the same way. Having access isn’t the same as putting it to work, and closing that gap is what we build these rooms around.

Come hear from Daniel and meet the capital providers who can help you grow.

📍 San Diego
🗓️ Wednesday, October 21
🔗 Register: https://hubs.la/Q04zP_bR0

10/08/2026

Thank you, Twin Cities!

Today at the Hewing Hotel, founders, funders, and partners came together for the Capital Activation Experience, and the energy in the room said everything.

Thank you to our speakers, Christine Lantinen of Maud Borup and Dr. Kristin Morris of Genesis Consulting Services, for sharing honestly about what it takes to build and grow.

Thank you to CRF and every table host who sat down with founders at the VIP Deal Makers Luncheon and had real conversations about capital.

And thank you to the founders who showed up ready. You've already cleared the bar. Now it's about putting capital to work.

We'll be sharing photos, highlights, and the impact from the day soon. Stay tuned.

Access to capital shouldn't be a privilege. It's the whole point.

10/06/2026

Founders First exists to drive economic mobility by expanding access to growth capital for entrepreneurs in underinvested communities.

That mission has never mattered more. In 2025, the SBA ended the use of 7(a) loans to refinance merchant cash advance debt, closing the primary traditional refinancing path for businesses carrying it. Today, MCA refinances make up more than 61% of our loan fundings, and our deployment is up 46% year over year.

We're proud to announce that we've closed $18.59M for Change Catalyst Fund II, outpacing our fundraising and deployment targets.

To our investors, partners, and every founder building with us: thank you. This milestone belongs to all of us.

To read more:

Founders First closes $18.59M for Change Catalyst Fund II, outpacing targets as loan deployment grows 46% year over year.

10/03/2026

Meet the funders at our Twin Cities table!

On Thursday, October 8, the Capital Activation Experience comes to the Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis, and these capital partners are hosting tables at our VIP Deal Makers Luncheon. They're coming ready to have real conversations with founders about what it takes to access capital and grow.

Song Chae, Senior Regional Development Manager, Founders First Capital Partners
Erin Chase, Vice President of Lending, CRF
Andriana Abariotes, SVP of Advancement and Capital Strategy, Neighborhood Development Center
Emnet Addo, Supplier Development Manager, MEDA
Lynn Herbert, Director, Women's Business Development Center (WBDC)

If you run a service-based business and you're ready for your next stage of growth, this is the room to be in. Seats are limited.

Register here:  https://hubs.la/Q04z5gnq0

10/01/2026

October is National Women's Small Business Month, and it overlaps with Hispanic Heritage Month and LGBTQ+ History Month.

That's a lot of founders worth celebrating. Many of them built service businesses without the bank relationships or VC networks others take for granted.

At Founders First, backing those founders is the whole point — with non-dilutive growth capital and hands-on advisory that lets them keep 100% of what they've built.

All month long, we're sharing tools, stories and strategies for growth-minded founders. Follow along. 🍂

09/29/2026

Meet our Twin Cities speaker: Dr. Kristin Morris

Capital fuels growth, but people sustain it. As founders scale, the teams behind them have to grow just as fast.

We're excited to welcome Dr. Kristin Morris, Founder of Genesis Consulting Services, to the Capital Activation Experience in the Twin Cities. Dr. Morris is an award-winning adult educator and leader who helps businesses build learning and development solutions that drive real performance.
Her work spans organizational development, process improvement, performance management, curriculum design, and change management, always with a focus on making sure employees feel supported as their organizations evolve.

For founders preparing to take on new capital and new contracts, she brings a practical lens on building the team, systems, and culture that growth demands.

📅 Thursday, October 8

Seats are limited. Reserve yours:
 (https://hubs.la/Q04yFXmz0

09/24/2026

She started as an 18-year-old sales associate. Today she runs a company that shipped 17 million units this year.

Christine Lantinen is joining us as a speaker at the Capital Activation Experience: Twin Cities 🎤

Since purchasing Maud Borup in 2005, Christine has grown it into one of the top candy companies in Minnesota, a wholesale manufacturer of gourmet candy, confections, and snacks for specialty and mass retailers.

This year Maud Borup brought 150 products to market across factories in Le Center and Plymouth, MN and Delafield, WI. It's also one of only six thousand certified B Corporations in the world.

If you're a CEO in growth mode, this is a conversation worth being in the room for. Christine has navigated the moments that stall most growing companies: buying a business and making it her own, expanding into multiple facilities, landing major retailers, and earning the certifications that open bigger doors. She's done it while building a lean supply chain and staying true to her values.

Those are the same decisions you're facing as you scale, and the capital strategy behind them is exactly what we'll be talking about.
Join us Thursday, October 8 at the Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis for the Capital Activation Fireside Chat & Reception, 3:30 to 6:30 PM CT.

Register here: https://foundersfirstcapitalpartners.com/capital-activation-events-2026-twin-cities

09/21/2026

Tomorrow is the day. 🎉

The Capital Activation Experience lands in Philadelphia.
Growth-stage founders, active funders, and ecosystem partners — in one room.

Not a conference. Not a panel marathon.

A curated room built for real conversations: the Capital Activation Brunch, followed by our Fireside Chat & Happy Hour.

To everyone joining us tomorrow — come ready. The people across the table from you are there for the same reason you are.

🗓️ Tuesday, September 22

See you in Philadelphia. 🔔