Our Portfolio Companies

Hand-Built in Asheville
Over two decades ago, entrepreneur Lang Hornthal built his first log bed with a friend, sold it at a...

Lavender Helps a Family Farm Bloom
Norma DeCamp Burns wants to keep her North Carolina family farm from disappearing. In the Tar Heel state, that’s...

Conserving Water Resources
Shannon Brines began operating Brines Farm in 2004. Located in Dexter, Michigan (roughly 10 miles northwest of Ann Arbor),...

Furniture From Unwanted Urban Trees
Connecticut brothers Ted and Zeb Esselstyn, co-founders of City Bench, create one-of-a kind furniture from unwanted urban trees. Each...

Beef And Pork With A Local Flavor
Co-founders Tina Prevatte and Jennifer Curtis sought to build a sustainable food system that benefited their own community and...

Benefiting Land, Livestock And The Bottom Line
James Joyner, 60, grew up on the same 100 acre plot of land since childhood. For over 68 years,...

Promoting A New Generation Of Farmers
In 2008, with hopes of building healthy, self-sustaining communities, Adrienne Lee and Ken Lamson started New Beat Farm. Lots...

Returning To His Farming Roots
Roger Outlaw, who is 64, has farmed all his life. Most recently though, his work in manufacturing meant he...

Montana Homegrown Wood
Artisan craftsmanship is evident in every product Sustainable Lumber Company (SLC) produces. By combining local timber, skilled workmanship, and...

Increasing Farm Productivity
Adam and Dru Montri started Ten Hens Farm in 2008 with little more than a quarter acre of land....

Natural Capital Investment Fund Helps Dairy Employees Become Owners in North Carolina
Goat Lady Dairy has found success not only as one of the largest and oldest cheese dairies in the...

Bailey Mountain Bike Park
Parents today continue to search for an answer to the question: How can I get my kid to spend...

Swift Level Farm
Swift Level Farm, a 152-acre historic landmark located in West Virginia’s Greenbrier Valley, has been in Jennifer “Tootie” Jones’...

A Bright Idea for Big Energy Savings: Inter-State Hardwoods
Inter-State Hardwoods, located in Bartow, West Virginia, is a family-owned sawmill with roots dating back to 1939, when it first...

Southern West Virginia Tourism Initiative
Despite having plentiful natural resources, many communities across southern West Virginia that have been historically dependent on coal are...

River's Edge Treehouse Resort
When Laila and Doug Mortimer retired to Robbinsville, North Carolina, they did not expect to be building treehouses.
But the...

Grand Co-Opening
Durham Co-op Market and Hendersonville Community Co-op opened their respective doors this April at new locations, complete with open...

A Simply Natural Approach to Dairy
Simply Natural Creamery and Dairy Farm is a testament to Neil Moye’s willingness to innovate and diversify beyond tobacco...

Moving to Mainstreet and Conserving Energy: The Custard Stand
Since first opening in 1991, The Custard Stand, owned by Dee and Angie Cowger, has opened locations across West...

Annie's: Baking in Benefits in Asheville
When Joe and Annie Ritota first met, Joe was a fourth generation baker of artisan bread and Annie owned a...

Gypsy Queen Cuisine
Suzy Phillips could be credited with introducing the food truck to Asheville. When she moved to the area from...

Earthseed Land Cooperative
The eight co-founders of Earthseed Land Cooperative (ELC) have a vision: to use land to support the collective health,...

Sustainable Solutions
Sustainable Solutions, LLC is a natural resource management company located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, that uses an ecosystems services...

Sickler Farm
When Lisa and Jeff Sickler moved to their new Moatsville, West Virginia, farm in 2009, they started off simply: ...

SolFarm Solar Company
SolFarm Solar Company, based in Asheville, North Carolina, provides consultation and installation services for solar energy systems. The company...

Earning More per Acre with Grain Bins
Curtis Branch grows wheat, soybeans and corn on his Murfreesboro, North Carolina farm, a 240-acre property that has been in...

Misty Mountain Threadworks
Misty Mountain Threadworks was founded on the belief that it could make the finest climbing harnesses in the world, and...

Young Loggers Buck the Trend
Entrepreneurs Will and Wes Coleman are doubling harvesting capacity in an industry seeing fewer young workers. Logging crews are...

Hawk Knob Hard Cider and Mead
Many great ideas are hatched over drinks. For Josh Bennett and Will Lewis, their great idea was the drinks...

Mother Earth Produce
Despite being surrounded by agriculture, Andrea and Graham Duvall realized that many people in Western North Carolina did not...