Startup Booktrope is Winner of Fourth Seattle Angel Conference Investment Competition

Winner receives $205,000 Investment, 37 new Angel Investors gain hands on
investment training.

SEATTLE, WA. – November 20, 2013 — The Seattle Angel Conference announced today

that Booktrope (www.booktrope.com) was selected as the winner of its fourth investment competition, held in Seattle, WA, at the Impact HUB Seattle. Booktrope is a Seattle based company that has been building their web based book publishing model and technology
for two years. Their mission is to reinvent book publishing, using web-­‐‑based tools for
book development, production and marketing. Booktrope will receive a $205,000 angel
award investment from the Seattle Angel Conference IV LLC .

This event’s finalist companies were selected from over 40 companies based throughout
Washington that applied to compete at the fourth Seattle Angel Conference. A rigorous
selection process (known as due diligence) was undertaken by the 37 active angel
investors to select the winning company. Thirty to Fifty hours of investigation was
performed on each finalist, amounting to over 240 hours of due diligence. Each investor
staked $5,500 to $10,000 to create the $205,000 investment award for this year’s event.
This rounds investment brings the total investment from the Seattle Angel Conference to a
remarkable $625,000 invested in the local economy and over 110 investors educated about
angel investing in just 2 years of the Seattle Angel Conference. LaserMotive, a Seattle
startup who delivers electricity via light to critical assets won a secondary deal of $55,000
from the angel investors, as “their business plan was just too good to pass up”.

“The Seattle Angel Conference is all about educating new angel investors into effectively
evaluating and supporting Washington and pacific northwest start-­‐‑ups , giving new angel
investors mentoring, training and experience.,” said John Sechrest, founder of the Seattle
Angel Conference. “At the same time, we are helping promising startups improve their
business models”.

The other four finalists who pitched were DiscussIO, offering simple market research,
connecting companies to panelists; Suncrest using advanced hydroponics to grow and
market local lettuce year round; graZie Mobile, providing bar and restaurant apps that
entice and incentive customer engagement and Homeschool Technical Apparel, creating
the most durable highly breathable outerwear to keep you warm and dry.

Participating companies received awards of 3 months of HR resource service from sponsor
ADP, and the winner, Booktrope received a full year, giving these startup business the
tools they need to grow from recruitment through retirement. In addition, Impact Hub
Seattle, Makerspace and SURF Incubator offered each finalist support and space for
working, meetings, or events over the next year. AterWynne, Palo Alto Software and
Edoceo also provided sponsorship.

The next Seattle Angel Conference will be held in May 2014. All Washington startups and
interested investors should inquire in January about participating in the next round of
educational events, trainings, and competition. Deadline for applications will be March 1,
2014.

About the Seattle Angel Conference
Each Seattle Angel Conference culminates a 5 month program to educate and train
accredited investors as exemplary angel investors through workshops, hands-­‐‑on practice
and mentoring. The Seattle Angel Conference is an investor driven conference, connecting
new angel investors with early stage and seed businesses in the Greater Seattle Area. The
Seattle Angel Conference introduces qualified investors to the potential, process and
rewards of angel investing, and equally importantly, works to encourage, accelerate and
coach startup companies in the Seattle areas and across the Northwest. For more
information see http://www.seattleangelconference.com.
###
Contact:
John Sechrest
Founder
Seattle Angel Conference
c: 541 250 0844
sechrest@seattleangelconference.com
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Wade Brooks on Angel Investing

Come learn returns of Angel Investors overall and more about the Willamette MBA Angel Fund.  Wade  will be the Capstone Speaker at the Seattle Angel Conference on December 13, 2012

Wade is the Executive Director of the Willamette University Angel Investment Fund, the first and only graduate school angel fund program of its kind. Wade co-founded this program with Rob Wiltbank, PhD and it provides experiential learning for MBA students in effectuation, due diligence and seed-level investing. It was ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Best Entrepreneurship Courses of 2011," alongside classes at Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

In addition to the Angel Fund, Wade teaches courses in entrepreneurship, new venture launch and venture investing at the Willamette University Atkinson Graduate School of Management. He also serves on the board of private companies. While he has taught corporate finance and capstone courses, entrepreneurship remains his passion.

When I founded the Willamette Angel Conference, we were lucky to have interest from the Willamette MBA Angel Fund. We had two students representing the Angel Fund work along side each of the investors in the Conference Investor LLC. They had made an actual investment into Conference and participated fully in the process. The investment discussions were definately better off having the MBA students engaging in the process.