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Item 1. Business
      Rand Capital Corporation (“Rand” or “Corporation”) was incorporated under the law of New York on February 24, 1969. Commencing in 1971, Rand operated as a publicly traded, closed-end, diversified management company that was registered under Section 8(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”). On August 16, 2001, Rand filed an election to be treated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the 1940 Act, which became effective on the date of filing. On January 16, 2002, Rand formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, Rand Capital SBIC, L.P., (“Rand SBIC”) for the purpose of operating it as a s investment company. At the same time, Rand organized another wholly owned subsidiary, Rand Capital Management, LLC (“Rand Management”), as a Delaware limited liability company, to act as the general partner of Rand SBIC. Rand transferred $5 million in cash to Rand SBIC to serve as “regulatory capital” in January 2002 and on August 16, 2002, Rand received notification that its Small Business Investment Company (“SBIC”) application had been approved and Rand SBIC had been licensed by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”). The following discussion will include Rand, Rand SBIC and Rand Management (collectively, the “Corporation”).

      Throughout the Corporation’s history, its principal business has been to make venture capital investments in small to medium sized companies that are engaged in the exploitation of new or unique products or services with a sustainable competitive advantage typically in New York and its surrounding states. The Corporation’s principal investment objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation while maintaining a current cash flow from its debenture instruments. The Corporation invests in a mixture of debenture and equity instruments. The debt securities most often have an equity piece attached to the debenture in the form of stock, warrants or options to acquire stock or the right to convert the debt securities into stock. Rand SBIC was the primary investment vehicle in 2004 and 2005 and it is anticipated that will continue in 2006. Consistent with its status as a BDC and the purposes of the regulatory framework for BDC’s under the 1940 Act, the Corporation provides managerial assistance, often in the form of a board of director’s seat, to the portfolio companies in which it invests.

      The Corporation operates as an internally managed investment company whereby its officers and employees conduct its operations under the general supervision of its Board of Directors. It has not elected to qualify to be taxed as a regulated investment company as defined under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code.

      The Corporation’s website is www.randcapital.com. Available through the website is the Corporation’s annual report on Form  10-K, quarterly reports on Form  10-Q, current reports on Form  8-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Regulation as a BDC

      Although the 1940 Act exempts a BDC from registration under that Act, it contains significant limitations on the operations of BDC’s. Among other things, the 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between a BDC and its affiliates, principal underwriters and affiliates of its affiliates or underwriters, and it requires that a majority of the BDC’s directors be persons other than “interested persons,” as defined under the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act also prohibits a BDC from changing the nature of its business so as to cease to be, or to withdraw its election as, a BDC unless so authorized by a vote of the holders of a majority of its outstanding voting securities. BDC’s are not required to maintain fundamental investment policies relating to diversification and concentration of investments within a single industry. More specifically, in order to qualify as a BDC, a company must (1) be a domestic company; (2) have registered a class of its equity securities or have filed a registration statement with the Commission pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (3) operate for the purpose of investing in the securities of certain types of portfolio companies, namely immature or emerging companies and businesses suffering or just recovering from financial distress; (4) extend significant managerial assistance to such portfolio companies; and (5) have a majority of “disinterested” directors (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Generally, a BDC must be primarily engaged in the business of furnishing capital and providing managerial expertise to companies that do not have ready access to capital through conventional financial channels. Such portfolio companies are termed “eligible portfolio companies.”

      An eligible portfolio company is, generally, a U.S. company that is not an investment company and that (1) does not have a class of securities registered on an exchange or included in the Federal Reserve Board’s over-the -counter margin list; or (2) is actively controlled by a BDC and has an affiliate of a BDC on its board of directors; or (3) meets such other criteria as may be established by the SEC. Control under the 1940 Act is generally presumed to exist where a BDC owns 25% of the outstanding voting securities of a company.

      The 1940 Act prohibits or restricts companies subject to the 1940 Act from investing in certain types of companies, such as brokerage firms, insurance companies, investment banking firms and investment companies. Moreover, the 1940 Act limits the type of assets that BDCs may acquire to “qualifying assets” and certain assets necessary for its operations (such as office furniture, equipment and facilities) if, at the time of acquisition, less than 70% of the value of the BDC’s assets consist of qualifying assets. Qualifying assets include: (1) securities of companies that were eligible portfolio companies at the time the BDC acquired their securities; (2) securities of bankrupt or insolvent companies that were eligible at the time of the BDC’s initial acquisition of their securities but are no longer eligible, provided that the BDC has maintained a substantial portion of its initial investment in those companies; (3) securities received in exchange for or distributed in or with respect to any of the foregoing; and (4) cash items, government securities and high-quality short-term debt. The 1940 Act also places restrictions on the nature of the transactions in which, and the persons from whom, securities can be purchased in order for the securities to be considered qualifying assets. These restrictions include limiting purchases to transactions not involving a public offering and acquiring securities from the portfolio company or its officers, directors, or affiliates.

      A BDC is permitted to invest in the securities of public companies and other investments that are not qualifying assets, but those kinds of investments may not exceed 30% of the BDC’s total asset value at the time of the investment.

      A BDC must make significant managerial assistance available to the issuers of eligible portfolio securities in which it invests. Making available significant managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted does provide, significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company.

SBIC Subsidiary

      On January 16, 2002, Rand formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Rand SBIC and Rand Management. On August 16, 2002, Rand received notification that its S Investment Company application had been approved and licensed by the S Administration. The approval allows Rand SBIC to obtain loans up to two times its initial $5 million of regulatory capital from the SBA for purposes of making new investment’s in portfolio companies.

      Rand formed Rand SBIC as a subsidiary for the purpose of causing it to be licensed as a s investment company (“SBIC”) under the S Investment Act of 1958 (the “SBA Act”) by the S Administration (the “SBA”), in order to have access to various forms of leverage provided by the SBA to SBIC’s.

      On May 28, 2002, the Corporation filed an Exemption Application with the SEC seeking an order under Sections 6(c), 12(d)(1)(J), 57(c), and 57(i) of, and Rule 17d-1 under, the 1940 Act for exemptions from the application of Sections 2(a)(3), 2(a)(19), 12(d)(1), 18(a), 21(b), 57(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4), and 61(a) of the 1940 Act to certain aspects of its operations. The application also seeks an order under Section 12(h) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Act (the “Exchange Act”) for an exemption from

separate reporting requirements for Rand SBIC under Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. In general, the Corporation’s applications seek orders that would permit:

  •  a BDC (Rand) to operate a BDC/s investment company (Rand SBIC) as its wholly owned subsidiary in limited partnership form;     •  Rand, Rand Management and Rand SBIC to engage in certain transactions that the Corporation would otherwise be permitted to engage in as a BDC if its component parts were organized as a single corporation;     •  Rand, as a BDC, and Rand SBIC, as its BDC/ SBIC subsidiary, to meet asset coverage requirements for senior securities on a consolidated basis;     •  Rand SBIC, as a BDC/ SBIC subsidiary of Rand as a BDC, to file Exchange Act reports on a consolidated basis as part of Rand’s reports.
      The Corporation has not identified from among the similar exemption applications on file with the SEC an example of a specific grouping of all of the exemptions requested by the Corporation in its application, but the SEC has commonly granted applications to other companies for orders applicable to each of the exemptions requested and for orders applicable to various combinations of those exemptions, and the Corporation’s applications do not appear to raise any specific policy issues that have not also been raised by applications for which exemptions have been granted.

      Rand operates Rand SBIC through Rand Management for the same investment purposes, and with investments in similar kinds of securities, as Rand. Rand SBIC’s operations are consolidated with those of Rand for both financial reporting and tax purposes.

Regulation of SBIC Subsidiary

Lending Restrictions
      The SBA licenses SBICs as part of a program designed to stimulate the flow of private debt and/or equity capital to ses. SBICs use funds borrowed from the SBA, together with their own capital, to provide loans to, and make equity investments in, concerns that (a) do not have a net worth in excess of $18 million and do not have average net income after U.S. federal income taxes for the two years preceding any date of determination of more than $6 million, or (b) meet size standards set by the SBA that are measured by either annual receipts or number of employees, depending on the industry in which the concerns are primarily engaged. The types and dollar amounts of the loans and other investments an SBIC may make are limited by the 1940 Act, the SBA Act and SBA regulations. The SBA is authorized to examine the operations of SBICs, and a SBIC’s ability to obtain funds from the SBA is also governed by SBA regulations.

      In addition, at the end of each fiscal year, an SBIC must have at least 20% (in total dollars) invested in “Smaller Enterprises”. The SBA defines “Smaller Enterprises” as concerns that (a) do not have a net worth in excess of $6 million and have average net income after U.S. federal income taxes for the preceding two years no greater than $2 million, or (b) meet size standards set by the SBA that are measured by either annual receipts or number of employees, depending on the industry in which the concerns are primarily engaged.

      SBICs may invest directly in the equity of their portfolio companies, but they may not become a general partner of a non-incorporated entity or otherwise become jointly or severally liable for the general obligations of a non-incorporated entity. An SBIC may acquire options or warrants in its portfolio companies, and the options or warrants may have redemption provisions, subject to certain restrictions.

SBA Leverage
      The SBA raises capital to enable it to provide funds to SBICs by guaranteeing certificates or bonds that are pooled and sold to purchasers of the government guaranteed securities. The amount of funds that the SBA may lend to SBICs is determined by annual Congressional appropriations.

      In order to obtain SBA borrowings, also known as leverage, an SBIC must demonstrate its need to the SBA. To demonstrate need, an SBIC must invest 50% of its Leverageable Capital (defined as Regulatory Capital less unfunded commitments and federal funds) and any outstanding SBA leverage. Other requirements include compliance with SBA regulations, adequacy of capital, and meeting liquidity standards. An SBIC’s license entitles an SBIC to apply for SBA leverage, but does not assure that it will be available, or if available, that it will be available at the level of the relevant matching ratio. Availability depends on the SBIC’s continued regulatory compliance and sufficient SBA funds being available when the SBIC applies to draw down SBA leverage. Under the provisions of the SBIC regulations the Corporation may apply for the SBA’s conditional commitment to reserve a specific amount of leverage for future use. The Corporation may then apply to draw down leverage against the commitment. All SBIC’s must obtain a leverage commitment in order to draw leverage from the SBA. Commitments expire on September 30 of the fourth full fiscal year following issuance and require the payment of a fee equal to 1 percent of the total commitment at the time of issuance. An additional fee equal to 2 percent of the amount drawn is deducted at the time of each draw.

      The Corporation paid $100,000 to the SBA to reserve $10,000,000 of its approved debenture leverage. The fees were paid in two installments of $50,000 each in July 2003 and in August 2004. These fees were 1% of the face amount of the leverage reserved under the commitment. The fee represents a partial prepayment of the SBA’s nonrefundable 3% leverage fee. As of December 31, 2005, Rand SBIC had drawn $7,200,000 in leverage from the SBA.

      SBA debentures are issued with 10-year maturities. Interest only is payable semi-annually until maturity. Ten-year SBA debentures may be prepaid with a penalty during the first 5 years, and then are pre-payable without penalty. Rand initially capitalized Rand SBIC with $5 million in Regulatory Capital. Rand SBIC was approved to obtain SBA leverage at a 2:1 matching ratio, resulting in a total capital pool eligible for investment of $15 million. The Corporation expects to use Rand SBIC as its primary investment vehicle.

Employees

      As of December 31, 2005, the Corporation had four employees.

Item 1A.      Risk Factors

The Corporations Portfolio Investments are Illiquid
      Most of the investments of the Corporation are or will be either equity securities acquired directly from small companies or below investment grade subordinated debt securities. The Corporation’s portfolio of equity securities is, and will usually be, subject to restrictions on resale or otherwise have no established trading market. The illiquidity of most of the Corporation’s portfolio may adversely affect the ability of the Corporation to dispose of such securities at times when it may be advantageous for the Corporation to liquidate such investments.

Investing in Private Companies involves a High Degree of Risk
      The Corporation typically invests a substantial portion of its assets in small and medium sized private companies. These private businesses may be thinly capitalized, unproven companies with risky technologies and may lack management depth and have not attained profitability. Because of the speculative nature and the lack of a public market for these investments, there is significantly greater risk of loss than is the case with traditional investment securities. The Corporation expects that some of its venture capital investments will be a complete loss or will be unprofitable and that some will appear to be likely to become successful but never realize their potential. The Corporation has been risk seeking rather than risk averse in its approach to venture capital and other investments. Neither the Corporation’s investments nor an investment in the Corporation is intended to constitute a balanced investment program.

      Even if the Corporation’s portfolio companies are able to develop commercially viable products, the market for new products and services is highly competitive and rapidly changing. Commercial success is difficult to predict and the marketing efforts of the portfolio companies may not be successful.

The Corporation is Subject to Risks Created by the Valuation of its Portfolio Investments
      There is typically no public market for equity securities of the small privately held companies in which the Corporation invests. As a result, the valuations of the equity securities in the Corporation’s portfolio are stated at fair value as determined by the good faith estimate of the Corporation’s Board of Directors in accordance with the established SBA valuation policy. In the absence of a readily ascertainable market value, the estimated value of the Corporation’s portfolio of securities may differ significantly, favorably or unfavorably, from the values that would be placed on the portfolio if a ready market for the equity securities existed. Any changes in estimated net asset value are recorded in the statement of operations as “Net (increase) decrease in unrealized depreciation.”

Investing in the Corporation’s Shares May be Inappropriate for the Investor’s Risk Tolerance
      The Corporation’s investments, in accordance with its investment objective and principal strategies, result in a greater than average amount of risk and volatility and may well result in loss of principal. Its investments in portfolio companies are highly speculative and aggressive and, therefore, an investment in its shares may not be suitable for investors for whom such risk is inappropriate.

The Corporation is Subject to Risks Created by its Regulated Environment
      The Corporation is regulated by the SBA and the SEC. Changes in the laws or regulations that govern SBICs and BDCs could significantly affect the Corporation’s business. Regulations and laws may be changed periodically, and the interpretations of the relevant regulations and laws are also subject to change. Any change in the regulations and laws governing the Corporations business could have a material impact on its financial condition or its results of operations.

The Corporation is Subject to Risks Created by Borrowing Funds from the SBA
      The Corporation’s Leverageable Capital may include large amounts of debt securities issued through the SBA, and all of the debentures will have fixed interest rates. Until and unless the Corporation is able to invest substantially all of the proceeds from debentures at annualized interest or other rates of return that substantially exceed annualized interest rates that Rand SBIC must pay the SBA, the Corporation’s operating results may be adversely affected which may, in turn, depress the market price of the Corporation’s common stock.

The Economic Environment May Change
      The value of the Corporation’s common stock may decline and may be affected by numerous market conditions, which could result in the loss of some or the entire amount invested in its shares. The securities markets frequently experience extreme price and volume fluctuations which affect market prices for securities of companies generally, and technology and very small capitalization companies in particular. General economic conditions, and general conditions in the Internet and information technology, life sciences, material sciences and other high technology industries, will also affect the stock price.

The Corporation is Dependent Upon Key Management Personnel for Future Success
      The Corporation is dependent for the selection, structuring, closing and monitoring of its investments on the diligence and skill of its two senior officers, Allen F. Grum and Daniel P. Penberthy. The future success of the Corporation depends to a significant extent on the continued service and coordination of its senior management team. The departure of either of its executive officers could materially adversely affect its ability to implement its business strategy. The Corporation does not maintain key man life insurance on any of its officers or employees.

The Corporation Operates in a Competitive Market for Investment Opportunities
      The Corporation faces competition in its investing activities from many entities including other SBIC’s, private venture capital funds, investment affiliates of large companies, wealthy individuals and other domestic or foreign investors. The competition is not limited to entities that operate in the same geographical area as the Corporation. As a regulated BDC, the Corporation is required to disclose quarterly and annually the name and business description of portfolio companies and the value of its portfolio securities. Most of its competitors are not subject to this disclosure requirement. The Corporation’s obligation to disclose this information could hinder its ability to invest in certain portfolio companies. Additionally, other regulations, current and future, may make the Corporation less attractive as a potential investor to a given portfolio company than a private venture capital fund.

Fluctuations of Quarterly Results
      The Corporation’s quarterly operating results could fluctuate as a result of a number of factors. These factors include, among others, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which portfolio companies encounter competition in their markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, results for any one quarter should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future quarters.