Let the Next Wheelock Whitney Step Forward

In early 1961, a young broker named Wheelock Whitney—a man who would one day run for U.S. senator and governor of Minnesota; who would play a key role in attracting to Minnesota our pro baseball and hockey teams, the Twins and the North Stars; who would become a part-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, a widely recognized philanthropist, and an all-around great citizen—approached his boss at J. M. Dain & Company (today, RBC Wealth Management) with an idea.

It was 50 years ago, and several iterations of everything ago. Whitney was 35 and JFK was president. Now 85, Whitney describes himself at the time as a “young whippersnapper” salesman “trying to sell stocks and bonds.”

His idea: In 1958, Congress passed the Small Business Investment Act, a law that allowed for the establishment of Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs)—professionally managed private equity and venture capital firms. Whitney had become “somewhat informed” on the subject and wondered if Northwest Bancorporation—which would later become Norwest Corporation and after that, Wells Fargo—might have an interest in sponsoring something like this.

His boss, Merrill Cohen, told him to take a run at it, and before long, Whitney found himself pitching his idea to Goodrich Lowry, president of Northwest Bancorporation and grandson of Thomas Lowry, the man who built the Minneapolis streetcar system (thus Lowry Tunnel and Lowry Hill).

Lowry said yes, and set Whitney off to find someone to run the new business and to raise money from wealthy individuals who would invest alongside Northwest.

I know all this because (full disclosure) I just spent the better part of the past half year at my day job being paid to help compile a history of Norwest Equity Partners, which turned 50 on April 1.

In the five decades since Whitney put together the initial $100,000 from private investors to launch what was then called the Northwest Growth Fund (NGF), the firm has completed around 400 deals and has become a national force in venture capital and private equity investing. Over its long history, the firm’s capital—all but a small fraction coming from its primary limited partner, Wells Fargo—has created hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of wealth. Along the way, it has helped build communities and launch industries.