Rand Capital Provides $1.5 Million of $5 Million F

BUFFALO, NY --(Marketwired - December 12, 2017) - Rand Capital Corporation ( NASDAQ : RAND ) ("Rand"), a venture capital company which invests in growth businesses with unique product, service or technology concepts, announced that it recently funded a $1.5 million follow-on investment in Tilson Technology Management, Inc . ("Tilson"). Consisting of an infusion of both equity and debt capital, Rand's investment was part of a $5 million total D round financing to support Tilson's growth.

Tilson is an award-winning, veteran-owned IT professional services and network deployment firm. The company primarily operates in two fast growing markets: 1) network deployment for cellular carriers, utilities, and governments; and 2) consulting for construction IT, broadband and energy, and government institutional markets. Recognized for its sustained high growth, Tilson has been on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private U.S. companies for seven consecutive years, from 2011 through 2017. As a result of this distinction, Tilson joins a select group of firms on the Inc. 5000 'Honor Roll,' a milestone which just two percent of the Inc. 5000 companies ever achieve, according to the publisher. Tilson has grown more than 410% to become one of the top 25 telecommunications firms on the list as of 2016.

Daniel P. Penberthy, Rand's Executive Vice President, commented, "One of the tenets of our investment strategy is to align with qualified and experienced management teams. We are proud of Tilson's CEO, Josh Broder, who was named as a 'Top Young Professional' in New England and one of America's 'Top 20 Under 40' professionals in commercial engineering and construction, both awarded by Engineering News-Record (ENR). ENR is a long-standing periodical for these industries, celebrating 100 years in 2017. Under Josh's leadership, the company has been awarded the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) 2017 Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year Award for Maine and New England. Funding for our investment was provided by Rand's subsidiary, which derives its capital from the SBA. Both Tilson's SBA award and this financing evidence the SBA's commitment to support high growth veteran-owned businesses in underserved markets."

Joshua Broder, Tilson's Chief Executive Officer, added, "This recent financing round, including Rand's and the SBA's ongoing support, is a critical part of Tilson's future growth. Over the past year or so, we have added approximately 150 employees to our team, putting us at nearly 400 currently, to service our customers and execute our increasingly large projects. We have around $100 million in new network construction backlog, and see growing opportunities ahead. We are building America's information infrastructure. Last week we broke ground on a $4 million intelligent transportation network for a state department of transportation, and this week we completed a design for a large city scale fiber optic network. It's exciting to be on the leading edge of the information economy."

Including this transaction, the cost of Rand's investment in Tilson is $2.5 million, which was invested in three separate financings.

ABOUT TILSON TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, INC. Founded in 1996 and based in Portland, ME, Tilson Technology Management, Inc. is an information technology professional services and network construction company. It is the world leader in executing information and communications technology projects. Tilson has a team of telecom, information technology and energy professionals that work collaboratively on meaningful, impactful projects for clients. Fifty percent of its employees are U.S. veterans. The company builds infrastructure for sectors that drive the economy and connect the world. More information can be found at https://tilsontech.com/ .

ABOUT RAND CAPITAL Rand Capital ( NASDAQ : RAND ) provides investors the ability to participate in venture capital opportunities through an investment in the Company's stock. Rand is a Business Development Company (BDC), and its first wholly-owned subsidiary is licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC). Its second SBIC is undergoing the approval process with the SBA. Rand focuses its equity investments in early or expansion stage companies and generally lends to more mature companies. Rand looks for strong leadership who is bringing to market new or unique products, technologies or services that have a high potential for growth. Additional information can be found at the Company's website where it regularly posts information: http://www.randcapital.com/ .

Safe Harbor Statement This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future net asset value growth, investment returns and opportunities as well as Rand's plans for utilizing proceeds from sales of portfolio companies when and if received. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such statements, including general economic and business conditions, conditions affecting the portfolio companies' markets, competitor responses, and market acceptance of their products and services and other factors disclosed in the Corporation's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, such forward-looking statements should be regarded as the Corporation's current plans, estimates and beliefs. The Corporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this release.