C HAPTER 8: B UILDING A N A NGEL G ROUP
Finding and evaluating deals Deals are brought to the attention of the membership through a structured, if somewhat informal, process. An angel member must sponsor a prospective business in order to bring it in front of the group. To be a sponsor, the investor must work with the network and be interested in making a personal investment in that company. By making an individual member do this initial due diligence, the group avoids having to deal with a formal application and screening process. Approximately one in four presentations made to the group receive capital. The investments range from as low as $25,000 to as high as $4 million. The group has a definite technology focus and only looks at applications from local Vancouver businesses. Three or four companies are brought before the group at each monthly meeting. The meetings begin at 7:30 a.m. and typically last two hours. Each presentation is restricted to 15 minutes; the presenters have ten minutes to present to the group, with five minutes reserved for questions. The presentations are not intended to spark a detailed discussion, but to gauge general interest among the group. Generally speaking, presenters do not listen to other presentations. At the end of the meeting, each business’ sponsor leads a discussion on the presentation, without the presenter in the room. Gauging interest is normally a simple process, with people just speaking their minds. Often it becomes clear very quickly who, if anyone, is interested in the opportunity. A nominal annual fee is used to defray the minimal administrative costs and to provide coffee and muffins for the breakfast meetings. No presenters or investors are charged for attending the seminars. OTTAWA ANGEL NETWORK - BAND OF SCOUNDRELS The Band of Scoundrels, formed in 2001 by several individuals to facilitate investing in the Ottawa community, is a general partnership consisting of eight individuals and two corporations. It is structured as a pooled interest with a formal process for selecting investments. Rather than providing a forum for individual investors to select targets, the Band pools the members’ funds and decides as a group on a per investment basis. Decisions are made by voting, with a 70 per cent vote carrying the day. Finding and evaluating deals Band members nominate candidates to present to the group; however two members of the Band must examine the deal before agreeing to hear the presentation. The champion or sponsor is responsible for ensuring the necessary information is presented. While each member of the organization shares equally in the financial risk, workload varies among the members depending upon availability.
63
Powered by FlippingBook