Dedication
To W. Daniel (Dan) Mothersill, who helped transform a nascent National Angel Organization into today’s vibrant organization with funding, employees, governance and a mission to transform the Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem. As President of NACO and, for many years President of the organization now known as Angel Investors Ontario (AIO), he gave the organizations a home office, managed staff, raised funding, created Angel groups, lobbied government and inspired the current generation of Angels and entrepreneurs. Dan’s vision and drive, along with other early founders, such as Henry Vehovec, Ian Bandeen and Andy Wilkes, helped create Canada’s current world-class Angel investing environment that has great companies to invest in; government tax credits; annual research reporting; national and provincial Angel organizations; a stable funding base; thousands of Angel investors; and dozens of Angel groups, networks and funds throughout Canada. I was privileged to work with Dan in many capacities over the years: we co-authored Age of the Angel (Mothersill, et al.) sat on boards, coached entrepreneurs, started Angel groups and wrote government grants together. He hired dozens of my students, and I chaired NACO’s Education and Research Committees. He became a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University, where we taught together, and, shortly before his death, he was named Chaplain at Ryerson University. Dan firmly believed in the power of education to improve lives. Education has always been a central mission of NACO, and the organization continues to focus on: • Educating Angels about being better investors, coaches, mentors and board members • Educating entrepreneurs about becoming “investor ready” • Educating Angel group managers about improving deal flow, streamlining decision-making, and adding value to their members • Educating government officials about the role of early-stage investors in improving our economy He didn’t just educate others. Dan had just completed his Master of Divinity and was about to be ordained when he passed away unexpectedly. And we always said we would someday live in a Scottish castle with our wives to work on PhDs…
I am proud to help Dan’s continuing legacy with the NACO Academy and this book.
2 A Practical Guide to Angel Investing
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