T HE P RIMER F OR A NGEL I NVESTMENT I N C ANADA
The Primer is a starting point not only for those new to angel investing or building a business but also for the NAO. The NAO’s mission is to help angel investors become more successful and thereby help the economy. We are building a truly representative group of 100 Founders that will span geographies, industries, clusters, generations and cultures. All angel investors who read this Primer are invited to join us on our journey. Challenge the thinking of what you read in the chapters ahead and let us know your thoughts. We hope what you read inspires you to get involved or perhaps make a future submission yourself. Good things don’t happen by themselves. Collectively we can and need to make a real difference. In the foreword to the first edition we challenged readers to help us build on the angel initiative. NAO members were invited to speak at events from coast to coast. In Nova Scotia, we met nascent and emerging angel groups. In British Columbia we helped kick off the country’s first women’s angel network. As NAO Chair, I was invited to speak at separate national conferences encouraging business development in technology, life sciences and clean energy industries. In response to Finance Minister John Manley’s request for input to the federal budget we conducted round table discussions with a total of more than one hundred angels in Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Golden Horseshoe, London Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. At the Angel Investor Summit, NAO Public Policy Committee Chair Andrew Wilkes moderated a debate deliberating the benefits of various tax incentive schemes. I am thrilled to report that we have been able to include a three-page summary of those discussions in this second printing of this Primer (see page 73). The full version is posted as a PDF on our website (www.angelinvestor.ca). We have received many ideas for follow-on editions of this Primer yet feel compelled to produce another run of this first issue as it is still relevant and there continues to be high demand. Angel investing touches every aspect of economic development that is critical to maintaining our standard of living. In subsequent issues and publications we will provide information on aboriginal angel investing, cluster specific investing issues, the importance of angels in social capital and venture philanthropy. We will also comment on the cultural and structural shifts that must take place if Canada is to become the most attractive jurisdiction in the world in which to make early investments.
To those that read this and see that it can be better, I ask you to join us. I look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you at the NAO Summit in Calgary on September 27-29, 2004.
Henry Vehovec Chair, Founder & Member, Founding 100 National Angel Organization Summer 2004
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