Protect Angel FundingMonday, October 07, 2019 By Marianne Hudson, Executive Director Emeritus The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a concept paper seeking comments on “harmonizing” securities offering exemptions a few months ago. These exemptions, like Regulation D, which investors rely on for more than half of all private offerings, set the rules for how securities can be bought and sold without extensive registrations. This SEC paper provided a truly unprecedented opportunity for organizations like ACA to suggest improvements to regulations that impact angels and the startup companies we support. Monday, March 05, 2018 By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director One of the most important and effective things ACA does for our members is to represent you in Washington, DC. We do this to ensure you have the best possible environment to invest in and support interesting entrepreneurs. This gives you the best possible chance to enjoy your angel experience and to help wonderful companies exit, leading to good returns for you. Sometimes our work is aimed at creating new tax benefits or legislation allowing more investors in a fund, but other times our work is truly “do no harm.” In fact, over the last eight years, our main public policy work has focused on ensuring the definition of accredited investor is not changed in a way that cuts the number of angels in half. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is lobbied all the time to raise the thresholds for net worth and income by inflation beginning in the 1980s, more than doubling the $1 million and $200,000 requirements. Our past research with ACA members showed more than 30 percent of us would no longer be angel investors if that happened. That’s what I call “existential!” Monday, July 21, 2014 By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director
In recognition of the importance of innovative startups, several Congressmen and Senators have established Startup Day Across America, as a way to celebrate and meet with startup companies while they are in their home states and districts. This is a great time for ACA members to contact their Congressmen and suggest they visit a portfolio company or attend an angel roundtable. The official day is August 5th, but any day in August
will work.
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Thursday, June 26, 2014 By: Alan S. Knitowski, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder at Phunware, Inc.
Alan S. Knitowski is well versed in the world of entrepreneurship. Beyond experience as an angel investor and fund manager, Alan is a successful serial entrepreneur with multiple exits to companies such as Cisco Systems, Level 3 Communications and Internet Security Systems (now IBM). Currently Chairman and CEO of Phunware, which helps brands to engage,
manage and monetize their customers across any connected device using its pioneering multiscreen as a service (MaaS) platform, Alan shared his perspective regarding the importance of accredited angel investors to his entrepreneurial success.
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Wednesday, June 25, 2014 By: Ken Kousky, angel investor, Executive Director of BlueWater Angels (Midland, MI), and member of ACA’s public policy committee. We invite you to get to know Ken and other ACA members via this periodic feature. If you have a great idea for a member profile, please contact Sarah Dickey.
How and when did you get involved in angel investing?
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Monday, June 23, 2014 By: Elizabeth Hess, CFO at TRX Systems, an ACA member portfolio company that provides algorithms and products that deliver location indoors and underground, in areas where GPS is unreliable or unavailable. Elizabeth shares her thoughts about the potential change to the accredited angel definition based on her experience with angel funding at TRX and other entrepreneurial companies. The potential re-definition of Accredited Investors would drastically reduce the number of angel investors, barring many from participating in backing new ventures. This is of great concern to those early stage investors, and an even greater concern to the entrepreneurs who rely on them. Early stage financing is the most difficult to obtain but it is the basis for everything. Entrepreneurs may do technical research, talk to customers, validate the market, and flesh out key elements of a business plan- but to progress beyond the “slideware” phase, they must hire employees and start the actual development work. Employees reasonably look for some indication of viability before signing on, both from a financial standpoint and a technical standpoint. Angels are willing to invest at this stage, before there are any real proof points, because of their background and experience, their ability to dive deep during due diligence, and to make an informed decision to invest. The angel investor provides both the funds to bring people on and the assurance that there has been some validation of the business concept. Tags: Protect Angel Funding Friday, June 20, 2014 By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director Last week, Scott Shane wrote a column in Entrepreneur.com, Would a Higher Accredited Investor Threshold Clip Angels’ Wings? While the answer to that question to me is obviously “yes”, Scott concluded “data on the angel capital market’s response to the 2010 increase in the (accredited investor) threshold doesn’t support that view.” I’ve read his column and traded an email or two with him since, and I have to say, Pardon Me? Tags: Protect Angel Funding Wednesday, June 11, 2014 An Interview with: Michael Bolick, Selah Genomics CEO
It is fair to say Selah Genomics CEO, Michael Bolick, knows a thing or two about angel investment. As a serial entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in the life science and healthcare industries, Bolick
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Friday, June 06, 2014 By: Matt Dunbar, ACA Board and Upstate Carolina Angel Network
In recent weeks in the Upstate Business Journal, several exciting local startups have made the news for their significant national and international successes: The Iron Yard expanding its code school to cities across the Southeast; KIYATEC winning a rare grant from the National Cancer Institute and being featured at the upcoming BIO International Convention; and Selah Genomics realizing a highly lucrative acquisition by a European
diagnostics company.
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Friday, May 30, 2014
By David Verrill, ACA Chairman and Managing Director, Hub Investment Group
Tags: Protect Angel Funding |