The U.Va. Patent Foundation recently launched The Jefferson Corner Group, and angel investment fund focusing on commercializing new technologies emerging from the university.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.17.2006 :: Angel Investor, Tech Transfer, University :: Comments

Ottawa tech startup Choicebot Inc. launched its web-based software products aiming to make it easier for consumers to make shopping decisions.

The 10-month-old company actively seeking angel investors is confident it will be turning a profit by the end of the next year’s first quarter.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.17.2006 :: Uncategorized :: Comments

Brad Feld, managing director of Mobius Venture Capital, gives us a list of board meeting rules that he was given by a new CEO at a recently funded startup company

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.17.2006 :: Angel Investor, Tips, VC :: Comments

Sevin Rosen, a very respected 25-year old Venture Capital firm, chooses not to raise another fund.

“The traditional venture model seems to us to be broken,” Steve Dow, a general partner at Sevin Rosen Funds, said in an interview.

The article suggests that the market isn’t producing enough big exits for everyone to succeed, so VC may need to raise smaller funds, potentially giving them the flexibility to look at smaller deals.

The New York Times article is here.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.12.2006 :: Uncategorized :: Comments

The Denver Business journal reports that Angels have invested 12.7 billion in funding through the first half of 2006.

Other interesting facts include:

• Healthcare services/medical equipment was the most popular sector.
• 40% of the investments where for seed/startup companies.
• The size of the average deal jumped up by 22%.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.10.2006 :: Angel Investor, Industry Stats :: Comments

Businesses don’t always get it right the first time out of the gates. Entrepreneur starts with an idea which immediately starts evolving at an unbelievable pace in order to adapt to the realities of the market.

David H. Beisel at Genuine VC has a great post about how startup’s are really an experiment which result in innovation or great frustration!

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.06.2006 :: Angel Investor, Entrepreneur, Tips :: Comments

Heres some advice on term sheets from a panel held at the 2006 NAO conference in toronto:

• This document is not legally binding. It provides a roadmap or terms of reference for the deal.
• Don’t fill out a term sheet template, all deals are different and the term sheet should reflect that.
• Some parts of the term sheet can be binding.
• Writing a term sheet is a good exercise to go through with the entrepreneur, and will allow you to get to know them.
• It is much more difficult for the Angel to make changes to the term sheet down the road, know what you want and make sure its in the first term sheet.
• Spending time on the term sheet now can save you thousands of dollars in legal fees down the road.
• The term sheet starts setting the stage for the shareholders agreement. You can typically start covering your top 10 points from the shareholders agreement, right here in the term sheet.
• Be clear with “use of funds”. Entrepreneur may want to pay back his debt or take money out, but this Angel money is “go forward” money for the growth of the company
• Set a reasonable deadline, so you dont keep spinning your wheels and never complete your term sheet.
• Find cousel used to working w/ angels, someone who doest just give you a templated letter.
• Talk to the NT companies clients
• Check the paper trail on the IP, make sure you own it

The panelists included:

• W. Daniel Mothersill, NAO President
• Craig Brown, Fasken Martineau

Some other articles on this topic:

• Pains felt by VC when putting a deal together
• Annoying Term Sheet Things

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.06.2006 :: Angel Investor, Entrepreneur, HowTo, Tips :: Comments

As part of the panel on “Pivate Market Liquidity Events” Marnie Walker, founder of Student Express, covers a few tips on preparing your company for a successful exit:

• Get to know your buyers and what they’ll pay for your company, ahead of time.
• Sell when you don’t need to and when you don’t want to.
• Make sure your financial are solid. If you inflate your finances to make yourself look attractive to a buyer, you may get stuck running the company with these numbers on your books.
• Branding is extremely valuable, you can’t fake this or build a brand in a hurry. Start building this from day one. Its an intangible that can heavily influence the buyers offer.
• Show that the company has value without the founder. Her yearly 1 month vacations showed that the company could run with out her, and that she was confident in this while she was still responsible for its performance.
• Don’t have all your eggs in one basket. Make sure to have a diverse customer base.
• Lots of value is lost in the deal itself, so know what is a dealbreaker, and know what is negotiable.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.06.2006 :: Angel Investor, Entrepreneur :: Comments

David Pecaut, Senior Vice President at the Boston Consulting Group, give tips for Angels in his speech “Why Angels Matter”

1) Invest in what you know
2) Bet the entrepreneur: you’re backing the person, not just the technology or an idea.
3) Timing is everything
4) Local is best, invest close to home.

His bio is available at the bottom of this page.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.06.2006 :: Angel Investor :: Comments

Here are some stats concerning Angel Investing from UNH Media Relations on Infectious Greed.

Evan Bartlett :: Oct.05.2006 :: Events, Industry Stats :: Comments