Robb Moore wins Sacramento SBA Person of the Year

Robb Moore, CEO of IoSafe Inc., wins the 2015 Small Business Person of the Year from the Sacramento Small Business Administration

Robb Moore, CEO of IoSafe Inc., recently won the 2015 Small Business Person of the Year from the Sacramento District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Robb was selected from over 30 nominees from around the area and chosen for his numerous business accomplishments, community involvement, and personal character.

IoSafe was founded in Auburn, CA in 2004 and has quickly become the technology leader in disaster-proof hardware design and manufacturing. Over the course of a decade, and various product launches, ioSafe has garnered national recognition having been featured on the Discovery Channel, BBC, with articles in the Wall Street Journal, PC Magazine, and other leading publications. In addition to his work at ioSafe, Robb Moore has served as a Board Member of SARTA (Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance) since 2008, aiding in the development of the technology sector throughout the Sacramento region.

Ed McNulty, a Principal at Central Valley Fund who recently led an equity investment in ioSafe, echoed his support of this award. “Robb is a creative entrepreneur with a drive to solve life’s particular challenges. The ioSafe product lines are great examples of that mentality, providing a simple and elegant solution to protect your business and personal records from unpredictable life events. It is that type of vision and commitment that first attracted us to Robb Moore and IoSafe and that continues to drive our relationship today.”

Robb Moore, along with the other regional awardees will receive their honors at the SBA’s Annual Awards Luncheon on May 8, 2015, at the Doubletree Inn in Sacramento. The event will commence at 11:30 am and additional information can be found at http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/event/126411

About ioSafe

ioSafe is a privately-held company established in 2005 and is headquartered in Auburn, California. Like an aircraft black box for data, ioSafe provides rugged, fireproof, and waterproof hardware and data recovery services as a cost-effective way for both businesses and consumers to protect critical and irreplaceable data. For more information, please visit http://www.iosafe.com.

About Central Valley Fund

The Central Valley Fund (CVF) was established in 2005 to finance later stage growth and buyouts through mezzanine and preferred equity investments. CVF has managed over $175 million in committed capital since its inception with offices in Davis, CA and Fresno, CA. It is focused on making investments in California’s Central Valley and throughout the Western United States. For more information, please visit http://www.centralvalleyfund.com.

California Job Market Powers Forward

Projected $3 Trillion in GDP by 2030

The California economy has recovered from the effects of the 2008 Great Recession with employment rebounding to historic levels, albeit with certain sectors outperforming other sectors – highlighting a zero-sum outcome. The California economy is expected to exceed $2.04 trillion in output in 2014, ranking the state as the 8th largest GDP in the world, just behind the United Kingdom and Brazil. Among the winners, the California service sector has shown very strong employment growth as social media and mobile app development has taken hold in the technology sector and driven robust hiring gains. The flurry of new IPOs and growing market capitalization of Silicon Valley technology firms like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. have ushered in a wealth effect in the Bay Area economy, driving real estate prices and consumption back up in Northern California.

The NAFTA treaty substantially motivated the growth in cross-border trade and investment with Mexico, benefiting California as the state has undergone greater economic integration with Mexico.

Other service sectors with strong employment growth include Education, Healthcare, HR Services, and Leisure & Hospitality. All four sectors have benefitted from a growing tailwind and increased consumer demand for improved lifestyles; spurring growth in healthcare (motivated by the Affordable Care Act) and education as a portion of household budgets. This is dramatically different than historical norms where retail consumption or new home purchases represented a larger portion of household budgets.

Leisure and hospitality businesses have benefitted from a rebounding global economy and a dramatic upturn in foreign visitors to California (up 7% YOY), led by Mexico and Asian visitors. The upturn has been a bright spot for the Southern California economy, which was particularly hard hit by the reverse in the housing market between2008 and 2010 and the resulting increase in unemployment.

Finally, the state’s Agricultural economy did well, with $60 billion in annualized output and record exports to California’s principal trading partners, Mexico, China, and Japan.

However, not all sectors rebounded following the Great Recession. Sectors of the California economy that have lagged and are expected to lag include the goods-producing sectors, primarily construction, and all sectors of manufacturing. Collectively these sectors have lost almost 300,000 jobs since 2008 and are expected to see minimal growth in the next few years.

Although construction employment has rebounded almost 15% from a decade low in 2010, 2015 projections remain well below peaks in 2008 and should remain compressed as new housing starts have slowed in previous months.

Manufacturing employment has decreased dramatically over the past two decades and has been a drag on overall employment growth. However, with the increasing costs of overseas manufacturing and general re-shoring of production capabilities, manufacturing employment should level out over the next few years, resulting in one to two percent employment growth through 2017. While this is a vast improvement from the contraction seen in previous years, this trend remains an area of concern for the broader manufacturing sector.

Additionally, government employment has seen the effects of the economic recession and Federal sequestration as general government employment has decreased roughly five percent since 2008 and projections remain weak as the local government continues to struggle.

CalPERS private investment lead Desrochers, Congressman Costa to Highlight 9th Annual Central Valley Venture Forum

Central Valley Venture Forum

WHAT: 9th Annual Central Valley Venture Forum, including:

Valley Entrepreneur Showcase (Five Central Valley businesses presenting to a panel of judges actively seeking investment opportunities)

• Réal Desrochers, head of private equity investing for CalPERS

• Congressman Jim Costa, representative of California’s 16th Congressional District

• Ag & Water Technologies panel

• California and Mexico Trade and Investment panel

• Tips regarding how to raise investment capital

Full agenda: www.ValleyVentureForum.com

WHO: Keynote speakers are Réal Desrochers, head of private equity investing for CalPERS, and Congressman Jim Costa, representative of California’s 16th Congressional District

California & Mexico Trade & Investment Panel will include:

• José Blanco, Central Valley Fund (MODERATOR)

• Ricardo Cervantes, Chair, California ProMexico Trade Group

• Jacqueline Paniagua, Fondo de Fondos

• Dora Westerland, Fresno Area Hispanic Business Foundation

WHEN: 8:30 a.m.to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014

WHERE: Clovis Memorial District – 808 4th St, Clovis, CA 93612

WHY: The all-day event will bring more than $1 billion in investment capital into one room. It is designed to provide Valley business leaders with relevant, useful information to help them survive and thrive in today’s economy. Attendees, expected to number about 500, will include local business executives, entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, professional services providers, consultants, educators, and civic leaders.

The Central Valley Venture Forum is a partnership between the Lyles Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Central Valley Fund.

For more information, visit www.ValleyVentureForum.com.