The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) has named sustainable design company Tricycle, Inc as Portfolio Company of the Year, at its 2006 annual conference. For 12 years, the conference has brought together hundreds of the CDVC industry's top investors and practitioners. Member from the Southern Appalachian Fund led an initial equity financing round for Tricycle, in 2004.
The award, which recognizes one portfolio company each year, honors Tricycle for exceptional achievements including financial performance, innovative initiatives, creation of sustainable jobs, performance in the marketplace, and outstanding management capacity.
Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tricycle provides digital carpet modeling services to the interior design industry. Tricycle sent out 37,700 of its flagship "SIM prints" product in 2005 in lieu of carpet samples, conserving 9,425 gallons of oil, keeping 56,500 pounds of carpets out of landfill, and saving the interiors industry over $5 million. In the past 15 months, Tricycle also created more than 20 sustainable, quality jobs in a low-income part of Tennessee.
"The CDVCA places strong emphasis on return on investment that extends beyond the financial, looking for companies that help transform communities," said Tricycle President and COO Jonathan Bragdon. "Tricycle is proud to be involved with the renewal movement in Chattanooga, as well as to be improving processes and products in an industry that also needs transformation. Not so long ago, both our hometown and our industry were assumed to be beyond help, that change for the better was not possible. But in just three short years our customers, who are using Tricycle services to reduce wasted time, money and use of natural resources in product manufacturing and interior design, have proven that the opposite is true."
"We are enthusiastic about the Tricycle's performance," said Grady Vanderhoofven of the Southern Appalachian Fund. "Tricycle has demonstrated an ability to grow recurring revenue at an accelerating rate and to achieve financial milestones necessary for long-term success. The company is demonstrating that positive financial performance and positive economic impact on their area are not mutually exclusive."