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.  

The 2012 Seattle Angel Conference FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Seattle Angel Conference (SAC) announced its finalists for the first Seattle Angel Conference to be held on Thursday, May 31th at the MakersSpace in Downtown Seattle. The SAC if following the pattern set by the Oregon Angel Conferences which are run in five Oregon communities. This is the first year for the Seattle Angel Conference.

The six finalists are vying for an investment of about $100K . A wide range of companies applied the conference. These finalists were chosen after weeks of due diligence performed by the SAC investors.

Seattle Angel Conference 2012 Finalists:

Apptentive - Seattle - http://www.apptentive.com

GetSatisfaction + Salesforce.com for app developers. In < 15 minutes, developers can get better ratings & direct customer relationships.

Buddy - Seattle - http://www.buddy.com

Buddy provides a cloud services backend for app developers on any OS platform, and incredibly high fidelity analytics for app publishers.

Empower.me - Seattle - http://www.empower.me

We are a B2C startup in the TechEd space for parents and their students in high school and middle school. The Empower.me teen rewards system accelerates and augments your efforts to ensure your teen enters the real- world as a high ‐performing, engaged, prepared adult capable of meeting his/her full potential.

Homeschool Snowboarding - Portland - http://www.homeschoolsnowboarding.com

Homeschool creates the most durable highly breathable snowboard outerwear available. Keeping you warm and dry from the inside out.

Illumagear - Seattle - http://www.illumagear.com

We are a safety company working to impact the construction market by illuminating those who work and recreate in low light environments.

Stockbox Grocers - Seattle - http://www.stockboxgrocers.com

Stockbox Grocers improves access to fresh produce and grocery staples in urban food deserts to promote healthy and thriving communities.

One of the six finalists will be selected to receive the 2012 SAC investment on May 31th. The Seattle Angel Conference is open to anyone interested in the process of Angel Investing and Capital Entrepreneurship.

Crowd Funding? Paths to investment for startups

As a part of our ongoing workshops to help entrepreneurs and investors connect, we are doing the following workshop:

CrowdFunding

Talk about the JOBS Act

May 21st, 2012

Register here:  http://crowdfundmay2012.eventbrite.com/

With the recent passage of the JOBS CrowdFunding act, the rules for getting funding for your startup are changing. There is a great deal of hope about the possible new sources of funding for startups. There is also a great deal of fear that there will be rampant fraud. What are the possible outcomes of this legislation? Perhaps the changes in the 506 regulations will have a larger impact than the crowdfunding provistions. 

John Myer has started a conversation about this on his blog at :

              http://myercorplaw.com/complying-with-the-crowdfund-act-wont-be-trivial

John Myer and William Carleton will facilitate a conversation about the crowdfunding possiblities and consequences. Come join us to learn more about crowd funding. 

John A. Myer of Myer Law PLLC represents start-up companies from formation, though angel financing to merger or acquisition. Mr. Myer also negotiates bank or venture capital financing for established businesses and drafts contracts with companies' employees, customers or vendors. In addition, Mr. Myer represents investment advisers who operate hedge funds and others who manage public mutual funds. Prior to moving to Seattle in 2004, he was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell (New York and Frankfurt), Paul Weiss (London) and White & Case (Miami). Before his career in law, Mr. Myer received an MS in finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked as a financial analyst and management consultant with Arthur D. Little, Inc. He earned his JD, magna cum laudefrom the University of Miami and an AB in mathematics and economics, summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College. He is a member of the Securities Committee of the Washington State Bar Association.

 

William Carleton, McNaul Ebel Nawrot & Helgren PLLC, serves on the Angel Capital Association's Public Policy Committee Advisory Council. In his work on the Council, he has closely followed the drafting and the passage of the JOBS Act. Bill writes regularly about startups, angel investing, the new crowdfunding exemption, and related topics in various publications, including his daily blog, http://wac6.com.

Register here:  http://crowdfundmay2012.eventbrite.com/

Application date extended to April 9th

We have had 24 companies apply to the Seattle Angel Conference. This looks like an interesting mix of companies. We have had a couple of request for people to join into the due diligence. If you are a company that wants to apply , the tickets have been reopened and will close on Monday 4/9.  Please go to 

http://seatttleangelconference2012.eventbrite.com/

and register as an applying company. 

If you are investor and want to get in on the due diligence, please look at the investor page and fill out the interest form:

http://www.seattleangelconference.com/p/investor.html

Our due diligence will happen every Tuesday night until the end of May, where we will review companies and explore the process of investing. Our goal is to engage more people in the startup funding process. 

The First Due Diligence deep dive will happen on Tuesday April 10th. The reading of the documents for companies has already begun.  Please let us know if you would like to join this process. 

Termsheets for Entrepreneurs Workshop

Termsheets for Entrepreneurs

with Anik Guha from Orrick

April 16th, 2012  - 6:00pm

Register Here

As an entrepreneur and an investor come to decison that they want to work together, they need to come to an agreement of the terms under which the deal will be struck. Will it be a Loan? A Convertable Note? An stake for equity or a piece of revenue? The terms and conditions of the deal will make a significant difference to the end result. 

Even with the new crowdfunding law in place, there will need to be terms and conditions on the deals that are made. Due diligence is one of the best tools when you are making a deal. Come talk with Anik Guha from Orrick about how to structure a deal. 

Learn about early stage term sheets (debt and equity), with a focus on long-term consequences for founders. Specific topics include:

            --How should you structure your early financings?

            --Dilution impact of convertible debt and early stage equity

            --Setting a template for future rounds

            --Board structure

            --What is "market"?

Anik Guha is the head of Orrick's emerging companies group in Seattle. His practice includes the formation, financing and general corporate counseling of emerging growth private companies. Most of Anik's clients are in fast growth fields related to information technology, media, entertainment and clean technology.

Register Here

PS, Orrick is one of the firms that has an online Startup Kit