Investor Post: Seattle Angel Conference #2 - by Charlie Kindel

On May 30, 2012 we held the first ever Seattle Angel Conference. It was a smashing success. Bolstered by the success of the first event, we’re doing it again on December 13.

The primary mission of those of us helping to drive Seattle Angel Conferences is:

“To grow the angel community in greater Seattle by creating an open environment where any accredited investor can participate in the investment of new startups.”

We know there are a lot of potential angel investors in Seattle who can’t evenspell “Angel Investing”. We want to create an environment where noob angel investors can “dip their toes in the water” and get involved in a relatively low-risk manner.

Here’s how it works:

The Investors

• We shoot for recruiting around 40 investors from the Seattle area to participate. Ideally these are “new, never done angel investing” investors, but we welcome anyone as long as they are an accredited investor.
• Each investor commits $5000 + a service fee.
• Over 8-10 weeks leading up to the conference date, the investors meet regularly to learn about angel investing, due-diligence, term-sheets, deal flow, and so-forth. This is done via events as well as actually digging into due-diligence in the startups that are participating.
• The money (($5000 + fee) * number of investors) gets put into a newly formed LLC and an LLC manager is selected. That LLC manages the investment moving forward.  40 investors means a $200k investment in a startup.
• For the first conference in May we had 20 investors (and thus invested $100k).

The Startups

• We recruit 100 or so early stage (seed stage) startups to participate.
• The startups can be in any industry. Illumagear, the winner of the first Seattle Angel Conference had a construction gear product.
• The startups go through a screening process (where the investors do due-diligence) over the same 8-10 week period.  The startups will meet with the group of investors several times.  Through this they get valuable feedback and practice in doing their pitches.
• The top 5 or 6 startups are selected to participate in the Conference.
• We believe in investing in the Seattle area so we have a rule that participating startups must be headquartered within a day’s drive from the city of Seattle.

The Event

• At the event (December 13, 2012) the top 5 or 6 startups will get up on stage and give one final pitch for their company in front of an audience of several hundred people (we had ~150 or so in May).
• Food & drinks are served and attendees will hear keynote speaker.
• Anyone can attend the event: investors, entrepreneurs, media, etc… Everyone is welcome.
• We charge for attendance; we run the program to break even. The more attendees we get, the more money goes into ensuring the event is high quality.
• We are actively seeking event sponsors as well. If you are interested in having your company get great visibility please contact John Sechrest.
• After the startups do their final pitches, the investors get into a back-room and decided which one of the finalists wins the big check. It’s kinda like American Idol. And a lot of fun.

Join in the fun.  If you have ever considered investing in early stage startups but didn’t know how to get started, or were scared because it seemed too risky, the Seattle Angel Conference is for you. One way of thinking of it is you get real hand’s on training on how to be an angel investor for just $5K.

We are providing early bird registration now through Sept 15th.  Get signed up early and save. Entrepreneurs register Here. Angel investors register here.

The entrepreneur registration deadline is October 15.

Angel Investing with Andy Sack

Andy has been extremely active in the Seattle startup scene, providing the foundation for Lighter Capital, Founders Coop and the Seattle Techstars program. His activities in the community has transformed how the startup scene in Seattle is working. As an entrepreneur, Andy was the founder of Judy's Book. As an Angel Investor, Andy has explored new models of connecting with startups, including revenue based investment with Lighter Capital and aggressive development of new startup entrepreneurs with the Seattle Techstars program.  Andy recently won the "Ironman of Startups Award" for all of his work.

You can find out more about Andy's activities on his blog at - http://asack.typepad.com/ .  You can follow him on twitter at @andysack

If you have had questions about how and why Andy Sack does his Angel Investing, join us on  October 10th at 6:00pm, when we will host "Angel Investing with Andy Sack". 

You can join us for a conversation about how Andy Sack approaches Angel Investing  by registering at: 

http://sac-ii-andysack.eventbrite.com

Participant Deadline for SAC - Oct 15th

The Second Seattle Angel Conference is gathering steam. We are currently accepting applications from prospective companies and finalizing membership in the Investors LLC. The deadline for company applications and initial investor commitments is October 15th, 2012. 

Starting on October 16th, the applying companies will begin getting a review by the Investors LLC. 

If you are a company interested in participating as an presenting company - Please Register Here before Oct 15th. 

This is a great opportunity for companies to get a deep review by investors and to get feedback on their progress. We are looking at companies that are near revenue and have demonstrated traction. 

If you are interested in exploring Angel Investing and participating in the Investors LLC, please fill out the form on this page

This provides an opportunity for you to connect with entrepreneurs who are active at an early stage of development and to connect with Angel Investors who are working to expand the startup ecosystem in the region. 

Seattle Angel Conference - Take two - Early Bird deadline 9/15

The second Seattle Angel Conference is coming up this fall. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their companies and get detailed feedback from new investors. This is also an opportunity for Qualified Investors to explore Angel Investing.  While the event runs on Dec 13th, there will be workshops and due diligence reviews of the applying companies throughout October and November. 

If you are part of a startup near or at first revenue, consider applying to the conference. If you are interested in learning about the basics of Angel Investing, please consider joining the LLC that supports the conference process. 

Early bird Deadline is Sept 15th - $99 

Deadline to be considered as an applying company - October 15th. 

If you know anyone who would benefit from this, please share it with them.

Register here: http://seattleangelconferencedecember2012.eventbrite.com/

Convertible Note Fishbowl Discussion on 7/17/2012

Very early Angel Investments tend to use convertible notes as the basis of the deal terms.  Each of the Oregon Angel Conferences and the Seattle Angel Conference use a convertible note.  There are many different terms in the convertible note, some of which can have a dramatic impact on the investment process.  We would like to explore the details of the convertible note instruments, learn what they do well, find what they need adjustment on, and gain a deeper understanding of how and when to use convertible notes as a part of the Angel Investment conferences. 

With a very early investment, it is essential to keep the overhead of establishing and managing the investment to a minimum. As the same time, it is important to create a win-win opportunity for both the investor and the enterpreneur, so that the chances of success increase. 

We will hold a Convertible Note Fishbowl on Tuesday July 17th, 2012 to explore the terms of Convertible Notes. We have several lawyers who are interested in the conversation.

The format of the conversation will be a fishbowl conversation, where the speakers will be at the center. If you wish to speak, you will need to move to the center ring. If you wish not to speak, you will need to move out of the center ring.

If you have questions about convertible notes and Angel Investments, please register for this event. 

Space will be limited. 

REGISTER for the Convertible Note Fishbowl HERE

Exploring Seattle Angel Conference for December 2012

After the first Seattle Angel Conference, we had a significant number of people ask for the date of the next event. After doing a little resting and a little polling, we have critical mass to start the planning for the next Seattle Angel Conference.  Given the large number of Incubators and accelerators that are graduating interesting companies between now and the end of the fall, it makes sense to aim for December 13th as a target date for our second conference. 

We will start gathering entrepreneurs and investors for this conference date.

We are offering some VERY early bird prices on tickets for people who are interested in attending the second event.  Please signup below if you want to attend or if you want to present:

http://seattleangelconferencedecember2012.eventbrite.com

First Seattle Angel Conference Awards $100K investment to Illumagear

The Seattle Angel Conference event on May 31st, 2012 was a culmination of many months of due diligence, review and evaluation. An Investor group of nineteen investors actively interviewed and reviewed the presenting companies.  Of the twenty six companies that applied, six finalist companies presented at the event. Each of these companies had champions inside the investor LLC.  In the many meetings leading up to the event, the investor group reviewed and discussed the merits of each company.

With a great pitch and a lot of passion, Max Baker from Illumagear was selected as the winning company.  The Investment fund of $100K will be invested in Illumagear using the convertible note listed on this website. 

The goal of the Seattle Angel Conference is to provide place for new Angel investors to bring new Angel Investors and New entrepreneurs together to explore the process of Angel Investing. With active due diligence and engagement in the startup process, Angel Investors can have significantly better investment outcomes. At the same time, active Angel engagement can build stronger startup companies.  At the conference, Dr Rob Wiltbank made a fabulous review of the outcomes of many years of investments using this mechanism in Oregon.