Rand Capital Portfolio Companies, SciAps, Grainful and ClearView Social, Announce New Business Relationships

BUFFALO, NY--(Marketwired - September 28, 2017) -

• SciAps won order from Haynes International, one of the world's largest developers of high-performance nickel and cobalt alloys
• Grainful^® accepted into cohort two of Chobani Food Incubator
• ClearView Social won contract with Monro, a leading provider of undercar repair and tire sales and service

Rand Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: RAND) ("Rand"), a venture capital company which invests in growth businesses with unique product, service or technology concepts, announced that three of its portfolio companies have solidified new business relationships.

SciAps, Inc.
Boston-based SciAps, Inc., the leading provider of handheld analytical instruments, received a large order from Haynes International, based in Kokomo, IN. Haynes is one of the world's largest developers and producers of high-performance nickel and cobalt alloys, including the well-known HAYNES^® and HASTELLOY^® families of alloys. Haynes has sales and service centers located throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The SciAps X-300 was selected by Haynes to exclusively replace their global fleet of handheld XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analyzers. The decision resulted from a thorough evaluation of the latest generation of handheld XRF analyzers on the market. Some of the SciAps X-300 differentiating features include the ability to automatically download data globally, print wirelessly, and quickly customize aspects of the analyzer operation.

"We're honored to have earned the business from Haynes," said Donald Sackett, SciAps CEO and Founder. "They are a demanding customer both for analyzer performance and after-sale support, and we're very proud to have succeeded in the evaluation process. Haynes has provided us very valuable feedback regarding analyzer features and performance during the course of the evaluation, which we've been happy to incorporate."

Grainful (BeetNPath)
Ithaca, NY-based Grainful, a company that is disrupting the grocery store with innovative, globally inspired products with grains as their foundation, has been chosen as a member of the Chobani Food Incubator Fall 2017 program. The Chobani Food Incubator was launched in 2016 to support food entrepreneurs aiming to challenge the food industry, improve broken systems and bring better food to more people.

Grainful believes in and wholeheartedly supports Chobani's goals for this program. Born out of a passion for bringing real, clean food to the table in a convenient way, Grainful has grown into a staple in homes and at office desks all over the U.S. Because Grainful believes all people should be able to eat well, they've developed offerings leveraging the nutritional benefits of grains as a great platform to achieve this mission.

"We are excited to announce our acceptance into the second cohort of the Chobani Food Incubator, as the Incubator's mission of 'Good Food for All' is highly aligned with Grainful's mission," said Jan Pajerski, Grainful's President and Co-Founder. "The opportunity to be mentored by the Chobani team will be a one-of-a kind experience, and it is an honor to have been chosen out of the 500+ companies who applied."

ClearView Social, Inc.
Buffalo, NY-based ClearView Social, which started as a software platform to make it easier for corporate law firms to share information to social media in one click, has now gained traction in multiple industries, most recently with Monro, Inc. Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Monro is a leading provider of automotive undercar repair and tire sales and services with 1,140 Company-operated stores, 106 franchised locations, five wholesale locations and two retread facilities. Monro operates in 27 states, serving the Mid-Atlantic and New England states and portions of the Great Lakes, Midwest and Southeast.

Founded in 2013, ClearView Social is a simple online global solution for professionals to share content with their networks, helping to grow their businesses. Monro was looking for a way to amplify its digital coupons and promotions and ClearView Social presented its solution. Monro will initially roll out the program to a brand with about 50 stores. Employees will be encouraged to share coupons on different social media platforms and when those coupons are used, they will be tracked back to the employee who shared them.

"While we initially marketed our online sharing solution to law firms, we have learned that other industries, including recruiting, accounting and insurance firms, are interested in expanding their businesses with our software," said Adrian Dayton, ClearView Social's CEO and Founder. "If all goes well with Monro, this opens up a whole new addressable market for us -- companies that want to use our software in a retail setting."

Summary
Daniel P. Penberthy, Rand's Executive Vice President, commented, "The critical point of trajectory in the evolution of any small business is when the marketplace begins to show acceptance of the business's product offerings. Such acceptance often leads to future growth into new and expanding market sectors. SciAps, Grainful and ClearView Social are three excellent examples that epitomize Rand's strategy of investing in growth businesses with unique product, service or technology concepts that are now beginning to reach broader commercialization."

Rand has been an investor in each of these businesses for several years. The progress of the companies described above illustrates the dedication and perseverance of the entrepreneurs who work tirelessly to achieve commercial success for their businesses.

ABOUT SciAps
Founded in 2012, SciAps is an instrumentation company specializing in handheld instruments that are used to identify alloys, compounds, and minerals, both on-site and in real-time. Completing the company's line of XRF analyzers is the recently introduced Z-200C+. It's a laser-based analyzer (LIBS) and the world's only handheld analyzer capable of analyzing carbon in alloys including L-grade stainless. Other firsts include the world's fastest XRF for aluminum alloy analysis and the world's only handheld analyzer for the analysis of lithium in mining samples and many other applications. Headquartered in Woburn, MA, SciAps' manufacturing, service and customer support are operated from its fully ISO-certified facility. For more information, please visit: www.sciaps.com.

ABOUT GRAINFUL
Launched in 2013, Grainful is on a mission to bring globally-inspired, bold tasting foods to all consumers at an affordable price and in an honest way, with grains as the foundation. With an increasing awareness about the value of nutrient-dense real foods for both the individual and the planet, Grainful is leading the way with healthier meal solutions for the busy consumer, centered on high-protein grains and clean ingredients. To learn more about Grainful, please visit grainful.com and become a fan on Facebook or Twitter, or get recipe inspiration on Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.

ABOUT CLEARVIEW SOCIAL
ClearView Social…The easiest way to get your professionals sharing online. Based in Buffalo, NY and established in 2013, ClearView Social is a simple-to-use online global tool for organizations, facilitating the sharing of content with their employees' networks, helping them to grow their businesses. ClearView Social has over 100 clients all over the world including the UK, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, China (Hong Kong), India, and Australia, as well as the U.S. Learn more and request a demo at www.clearviewsocial.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 receiving a new SBIC license and funding, 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.