Returns and Risk in Angel investing

What Makes for Good Angel Investing?  

What Factors Generate Higher Returns for Angels?  

What is the typical Time to Exit for a Successful vs Unsuccessful Start-up Seeking Angel Funding?

The man who can answer these questions and more is  Dr. Robert Wiltbank.  He will be a Keynote speaker at the May 16 Seattle Angel Conference, providing his insights into Angel Conference investment returns, and factors for success.

Rob is actively tracking the activities of the OEN Angel Oregon style Conferences and the Oregon Angel Fund. His analysis of Angel Investing and Venture Capital returns have been referenced in many conversations, especially the Returns for Angel Investors in Groups.


Dr. Wiltbanks groundbreaking review of the returns and risks in Angel Investing leads him to conclusions that are of great interest to Angel investors:

"As a group, the risk taken by these angels is rewarded with overall returns—2.6X in 3.5 years—that are fairly attractive. This research also indicates that angel investors may positively influence their rates of return by making wise decisions about due diligence, avoiding ventures in unfamiliar industries, follow-on investments, and productively participating in the ventures post-investment"

Dr. Wiltbank's research focuses on strategy making under uncertainty, particularly as it relates to growing new organizations. He is a leading researcher in the field of angel investing, and has published research in top tier academic journals covering topics from change in top management teams, to non-predictive strategies; from entrepreneurial expertise in marketing, to formal venture capital investment practices. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Business Venturing.

Biography

Robert Wiltbank is Associate Professor of Strategic Management for the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University. His research focuses on strategy development under uncertainty, particularly as it relates to new venture development. His study of angel investing practices and performance is the first empirical examination of the outcomes achieved by angel investors in the U.S. His publications include a study of top management team change in new ventures in Organization Science, and a study on the effectiveness of formal venture capital practices among angel investors in Venture Capital. At Willamette University he teaches courses on New Venture Creation, Strategic Management, and Industry Analysis.

He is also a Partner at Montlake Capital, a growth stage venture investment firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. He currently serves on the board of Max-Viz Inc, and the board of the Angel Resource Institute.  In addition, he teaches governance and strategy to nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. as part of National Arts Strategies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing managerial expertise in non-profits.



Rob is co-author of the book The Catalyst from Crown Publishing, based on his research as a Batten Institute Research Fellow with the Darden School at the University of Virginia, selected by Business Week as one of the top 10 books on innovation and leadership in 2009. He is also co-author of Effectual Entrepreneurship, from Routledge Publishing in 2011, a text on entrepreneurial expertise based on 15 years of academic research on the topic. He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Washington, and a degree in finance & accounting from Oregon State University.

Seattle Angel Conference III Announces Finalists for May 16

SAC III- May 2013

Finalists Companies Announced for the 3rd Seattle Angel Conference Start-up Competition

Winner to Receive a Projected $165,000 Angel Investment

SEATTLE, WA. – April 23, 2013 — 

 

The Seattle Angel Conference has announced the finalist companies for its third investment competition. The companies will compete May 16th at the HUB Seattle and the winner will receive an estimated $165,000 angel investment. Tickets are on sale at the early bird discounted rate through May 1st.
www.seattleangelconferencemay2013.eventbrite.com
 

This year’s finalist companies were selected from over 40 companies based throughout Washington that applied to compete at the Seattle Angel Conference 2013. A rigorous selection process was undertaken by a group of angel investors to select the finalist companies. An angel investor is qualified individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. In the Seattle Angel Conference case, the investment vehicle is convertible debt. The Seattle Angel Conference introduces new Angels to the process of Angel investing through education and participation.

Each investor staked $5,500 to create the anticipated $165,000 award for this year’s event.
The following companies were selected by the investment team to deliver ten-minute business
plan pitches

Finalists

The following companies were selected by the investment team to deliver ten-minute business plan pitches:

• Phytelligence – Biotech; Pullman WA  (http://www.phytelligence.com)
A high-tech provider of genetic services and hard-to-get plants with superior vigor, uniformity and value for commercial growers & nurseries



• Nimia - Software; Seattle WA (http://www.nimia.com) A platform where Premium Media Producers Store, Manage and Directly License Motion Picture Assets.




• Guide Analytics - Services; Bellevue WA http://www.guideanalytics.com

Simple, affordable service that helps people with congestive heart failure stay in their homes - and out of the hospital.


• Daily Dollar  Web Services; Seattle WA  http://www.dailydollar.com



Partnering with merchants to get your receipts sent straight to the cloud. Available when you want it, gone when you don't. It is time to lose the shoebox and stop the wallet receipt bulge. DailyDollar’s enterprise platform connects receipt data across existing merchant POS silos for use by both marketers and consumers.


• Staging and Design Network -
Web Services;www.StagingandDesignNetwork.com Online member based home furnishings network with some of the newest features available in the market for it's targeted members.



• Shift Labs -
  Medical Devices; Seattle WA http://www.shiftlabs.com
Works with Makers and Hackers to build simple, inexpensive, human-centered devices that improve health and wellness in global markets.

Seattle Angel Conference Announces SemiFinalists for May 2013

Congratulations to the Seattle Angel Conference Semi-Finalists for May 16, 2013 Competition:


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Phytelligence – Biotech; Pullman WA  (www.phytelligence.com)

A high-tech provider of genetic services and hard-to-get plants with superior vigor, uniformity and value for commercial growers & nurseries

Accelerated Pictures - Software; Redmond, WA (www.acceleratedpictures.com)

Fast, easy film planning/storyboarding for rapid story iteration within a real time, collaborative filmmaking ecosystem

Saltbox Tech –Web Services; Seattle WA (www.saltbox.com)

Helps organizations use data analysis to improve training and employee effectiveness

Giving Trax - Software; Seattle WA (www.givingtrax.com)

Provides businesses a shared-marketplace for giving, engaging employees & customers through matched, collaborative giving.

Ombitron -Software; Seattle, WA (www.ombitron.com)

Provides M2M PaaS.  Providing hardware, software, and cloud services for companies to create products for the Internet of Things

Nimia - Software; Seattle WA (www.nimia.com)

A platform where Premium Media Producers Store, Manage and Directly License Motion Picture Assets

Guide Analytics - Services; Bellevue WA (www.guideanalytics.com)

 Simple, affordable service that helps people with congestive heart failure stay in their homes - and out of the hospital.

okcopay - Web, Seattle WA (www.okcopay.com)

Medical search engine that helps people who pay out-of-pocket for health care find the right doctor at a competitive price.

Daily Dollar - Web Services; Seattle WA   (www.dailydollar.com)

Partnering with merchants to get your receipts sent straight to the cloud. Available when you want it, gone when you don't. It is time to lose the shoebox and stop the wallet receipt bulge. DailyDollar’s enterprise platform connects receipt data across existing merchant POS silos for use by both marketers and consumers.

Staging and Design Network - Web Services;  Kirkland WA  (www.StagingandDesignNetwork.com )

Online member based home furnishings network with some of the newest features available in the market for it's targeted members.

Shift Labs - Medical Devices; Seattle WA (www.shiftlabs.com)

Works with Makers and Hackers to build simple, inexpensive, human-centered devices that improve health and wellness in global markets.

Basic Athletic Measurement- Sports; Seattle, WA (www.bamtesting.net)

Standardized athletic testing with greater accuracy and objectivity than ever before. It's the SAT score for sports.

The Due Diligence Teams have been hard at work evaluating, coaching and talking with the companies that entered, and are really pleased with the quality of these finalists!

Register for the Event May 16th, and be there when the winner is announced!  Tickets on sale now at EventBrite.

Rise of the Angel Investor!

Guest Post:
There has been a rise in angel investing over the past decade, but Seattle has yet to tap anywhere near its potential.  We should be embarrassed that the Northwest doesn't even get a region on the attached map...really, we're only part of the wimpy "other"?  Even the Southeast does better.

Angel Investing is attractive. Putting money away in more traditional risk adverse areas is not giving investors the returns that they got in the past.

Seattle is teeming with talent, and with Geeks and others who have done very well in the big businesses, but are itching to do something new.  Also, doesn't everyone want to be part of the start-up nation?

So how do we get this un-tapped resevoir of angels started in the game?... our Solution is the Seattle Angel Conference.  Low entry stakes, only $5k to buy into the investor pool, and willing Mentors in experienced Angel investors, and a great quality deal flow, with lots of exciting startups looking for seed funding.

If this Sounds perfect, then read on, and then join in the fun.  Start slowly by attending our next event on May 16th, and observe the process, or  jump right in, and talk to us about joining the Investor group LLC and participating in due diligence, which has just started for this round.

 Or if you're a start-up, get your business plan and pitch up to snuff, and get ready to sign up in September for the next conference to be held in November 2013.

-Katherine Cleland  Founder, Angel, Marketer

Rise of the Angel Investor infographic by spacechimpmedia.

Rules: A Guide to Pitching- Michael Libes

We're Enjoying reading this new book- Best of all are his rules for Pitching. There are a few....

The Next Step: A guide to pitching your idea (Volume 2) [Paperback]

Michael "Luni" Libes (Author)

Rule 1: there is no one form that is guaranteed to make a great pitch
Rule 2: (As much as possible) Know who is in the audience.
Rule 3: Know what you want from the audience.
Rule 4: If you are not excited, the audience won't care either.
Rule 5: Remember to make a good first impression. Start strong.
Rule 6: Provide a hint that you know what you are talking about.
Rule 7: Never let the audience stop to think.
Rule 8 Each slide needs to have a single purpose.
Rule 9 Grab the audience and take them on a journey.
Rule 10: Begin by describing a problem, and specifically, whose problem.
Rule 11: Trends convey the importance of a problem.
Rule 12: Avoid leaps of logic.
Rule 13: Present in “English” rather than jargon.
Rule 14: If you can present a visual “walk through”, do it.
Rule 15: If you have a physical object for “show and tell”, bring it.
Rule 16: If you are pursuing a big opportunity, flaunt it.
Rule 17: All organizations need money to operate. Explain your income!
Rule 18: All companies have competitors.
Rule 19: Do a thorough job in researching the competition.
Rule 20: In a competitive matrix, your company is the leftmost column, your competitors are in the other columns, and the features/benefits are in the rows.
Rule 21: In a competitive matrix, it is important that your company does not appear perfect.
Rule 22: In a competitive matrix, show only 5-7 features/benefits and no more than 7 competitors, aggregating them if needed.
Rule 23: If the competitive matrix required more details, use varying sized marks or Harvey Balls.
Rule 24: In a magic square, pick two measures, and plot the competition such that your company lands in the top-right corner.
Rule 25: Show how your efforts create a barrier to future competition.
Rule 26: Present financials as big, simple models that are easy to understand.
Rule 27: Show off your team, without modesty or boastfulness.
Rule 28: Every presentation includes an “ask”.
Rule 29: The pitch is not over on the last slide, but rather after the Q&A.
Rule 30: Practice your Q&A.
Rule 31: Write down every question asked.
Rule 32: Ensure the presentation answers the obvious questions.
Rule 33: Make sure to address the risks of your plan.
Rule 34: If pressed for time, skip or shrink a section, and provide that information in the allotted Q&A.
Rule 35: Take control of the close; do not let the last question linger.
Rule 36: Never turn turn your back on the audience.
Rule 37: Own the room.
Rule 38: Less is more. Fewer facts. Fewer words. Better presentation.
Rule 39: Do not ask the audience questions.
Rule 40: Don't tell the audience about themselves.
Rule 41: No list should have more than seven items.
Rule 42: Do not read the words off your slides.
Rule 43: Round all numbers to 2-3 digits of detail.
Rule 44: Pick one person on your team to present the whole presentation.
Rule 45: Supporters should speak only upon request.
Rule 46: Avoid adding second answers to the Q&A questions.
Rule 47: Redirect questions to the right member of your team.
Rule 48: Entertain the audience.

I can't find his blog to do an appropriate link: so here is his Facebook Page and his Twitter Account.