Entries from March 2008
links for 2008-03-21
March 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment
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Investor Eric Janszen Says Clean Tech Is Only Hope for the Collapsing Economy
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Sometimes angel investors organize themselves in networks. There are at least two angel networks in Northeast Ohio and seven throughout the state. Earlier this year all seven of the networks decided to share with each other potential investment opportunit
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Montreal Startup is a new $3 million dollar angel-backed seed fund, that is run by John Stokes & Daniel Drouet. Both John and Daniel are very active in the local startup community and did an incredible job in securing the support & involvement of many of
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Stefan, former Zero-Knowledge employee, went on to found Crendentica to continue the work of commercialization of his invention. Today he announced that Microsoft has acquired his company and he and his team are joining Microsoft.
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Ron Conway interview regarding Kyte
Categories: General NACO
Congratulations NLAN – Another Win for the Canadian Angel Community!
March 21, 2008 · 1 Comment
It is my great pleasure to congratulate Cathy Favre and the Angels of the Newfoundland and Labrador Angel Network on the completion of their first TWO deals with local high-growth companies adfinitum and dataSentinel.
You can find out more about these two investments at the NLAN website, but, I must take this opportunity to say that I am very pleased to see these investments take place.
This simply serves to prove that the Canadian Angel community is converging on a winning equation:
Coordinated Angel Groups + Angel Best Practices training + Investee Training
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Investment in High-Growth Companies!
As we work to develop Angel groups and the Angel community across Canada we look forward to seeing many more such successes, as such investments not only help the investee companies, but act as economic stimulant.
I’d like to wish both adfinitum and dataSentinel, as well as their investors, good luck in the expansion of their businesses!
Categories: NACO News
Tagged: angel, Best Practices, NLAN
links for 2008-03-11
March 11, 2008 · Leave a Comment
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Interview with Professor Mohanbir Sawhney of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University about his new book, The Global Brain: Your Roadmap for Innovating Faster and Smarter in a Networked World. Professor Sawhney co-authored the book with
Categories: General NACO
links for 2008-03-09
March 9, 2008 · 1 Comment
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A new blog focused on answering the burning questions of entrepreneurs regarding Angels. “With the launch of Ask the Angels, our goal is to create a great resource and collection of ‘real world’ information for entrepreneurs and start-up companies.”
Categories: General NACO
Great Angel Podcast at STVP’s Educators Corner
March 6, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The Stanford Technology Ventures Program has a great podcast featuring Ron Conway (Angel Investors LP) and Mike Maples Jr. (Maples Investments).
The content is valuable to both beginner and vetern Angels as well as entrepreneurs looking for Angel finance.
Click below to access this session:
Categories: General NACO
Tagged: Educators Corner, Mike Maples, podcast, Ron Conway, Stanford
MaRS Experience! TECH 2008 Conference
March 6, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Interested in technology and innovation? If so, our good friends at MaRS will be hosting an event on March 19th that will focus on these two exciting topics. Early registration is $95, but we have several free passes for friends of the NAO. Please contact us at info@angelinvestor.ca if you are interested in attending.
For more information this event, please see the details below:
MaRS Experience! TECH 2008 Conference
Wednesday, March 19th 8AM – 5:30PM MaRS Auditorium, 101 College St. Toronto
Early registration: $95
Register at www.marsdd.com/exptech08
Experience Tech 2008 brings you the plenary sessions and keynote via live broadcast from IDC’s annual Directions Conference in Boston combined with MaRS Master Classes in Toronto. Together this event highlights the important technology advances, emerging business models and technology leaders who are shaping today’s competitive markets. This exciting event will focus on the market trends and players who are disrupting customer behaviour and driving market demand in key sectors such as mobile, search, infrastructure, communications, social media and location-based services.
Experience Tech 2008 features leading IDC technology analysts – providers of global IT research and advice – and innovation leaders that help you get a better view of what lies ahead. The event will also bring out some of the tech community’s brightest and most successful players. Our MaRS Master Class sessions feature interactive, moderated discussions that speak to what matters most today in building successful tech ventures. The Experience Tech 2008 Company Showcase will also host an exhibit area featuring over a dozen promising companies chosen from some of the hottest tech sectors. Experience Tech 2008 is not just about technology. It’s about the people that power successful companies.
Categories: General NACO
Tagged: innovation, MaRS, tech
links for 2008-03-06
March 6, 2008 · Leave a Comment
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Angel Groups Give a Tentative Thumbs Up to 2008 Outlook
Categories: General NACO
links for 2008-03-05
March 5, 2008 · Leave a Comment
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One of the questions we get often is whether or not there is a central clearinghouse or hub (social network?) where VCs and entrepreneurs can connect. The idea is that VCs would find good deals and entrepreneurs would find funding. The answer is “no.”
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Probably the most consistently overlooked “best practice” in venture backed companies is the CEO review. In my experience most companies provide little, if any, structured feedback at the CEO level.
Categories: General NACO
London, ON Welcomes New Angel Group!
March 4, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The London Economic Development Corporation introduces the newly formed Southwestern Ontario Angel Group (SWOAG) in its latest quarterly newsletter – The London Numbers.
As an affiliate member of the NAO and a participant in the NAO – Ontario Angel Network Program, both the NAO, and NAO-O are thrilled to welcome SWOAG into the Angel community!
For the full LEDC article and an introduction to SWOAG, please follow the link below:
Angel group takes flight in London
For more information on the National Angel Organization – Ontario’s Angel Network Program, please click here.
Categories: NACO News
Tagged: Angel Network Program, London, Southwestern Ontario Angel Group, SWOAG
Overcoming Adverse Selection: Avoiding Lemons and Ensuring the Best Risk-Adjusted Return
March 2, 2008 · 2 Comments
Following on from my post the other day about Angels actively engaging in their community, I thought it important to outline exactly why information asymmetry, as discussed, can be such a problem for Angel investors.
Information asymmetry, the condition in which at least some relevant information is known to some but not all parties involved, leads to market inefficiencies. In this case, the most important inefficiency it causes is adverse selection.
In economic terms, adverse selection happens in a situation where sellers have relevant information that buyers lack. In the context of Angel investors and potential investee companies, this is where a company has some information (or there is information generally available in the community about a company/technology) that the investor lacks.
Post-engagement due diligence can reveal problems with a specific company, but by being plugged into the community, writ large, an Angel can gather enough context to help ensure that he or his group is seeing the best risk-adjusted opportunity with the highest potential for return that is our there in the market.
Having this information, you might find out that, even through the company you are conducting due diligence on is perfectly fine and a good investment opportunity, ceterus paribus, there are better opportunities, risk-adjusted, out there with higher potential returns. He might also find out that the opportunity has been shopped around for many years, never gaining any traction for a variety of reasons, and is generally considered to be a lemon!
Just one more benefit of being plugged in to the community: reduced averse selection!
Categories: NACO News
Tagged: adverse selection, angel, community, information asymmetry
links for 2008-03-02
March 2, 2008 · Leave a Comment
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Because with Angel investors you get a different mentality than institutional investors. With this type of investor the importance of integrity of the leaders, creating a sense of community (of belonging to “club” of your peers) and the true desire to
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Monster Venture Partners is taking a different approach than the big venture firms of Silicon Valley, investing personal funds and doing so in small increments of $300,000 to $1 million. That concept appealed to Schrock, an angel investor who believes the
Categories: General NACO
