Wednesday, May 5

Several full and half-day programs will be offered on May 5th, each with registration in addition to the ACA Summit. Registration for these programs is available via the Summit Registration page, but additional fees apply. The programs include:

WBAA International Exchange (all-day program)
Angel Investing Overview - Power of Angel Investing (all-day program)
Designing and Executing Early Exits (morning workshop) - SORRY SOLD OUT!
Building GREAT Boards (morning workshop)
Trends in Raising Capital (afternoon workshop)
Term Sheets - Power of Angel Investing (afternoon workshop)

WBAA International Exchange

8:00 am to 4:15 pm
$100 Registration

By popular demand from our international guests, ACA will host the 3rd annual International Exchange Workshop, this time in cooperation with the World Business Angels Association. The agenda for the program will be available later, but will include opportunities for dialog between countries on angel group operations, benchmarks and statistics, research in the field, and other important topics. All attendees are also invited to an international dinner on Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm, following the ACA opening reception. The dinner fee is in addition to the $100 registration for the workshop.

The workshop is aimed at angel investors and other guests from outside the United States and Canada. If ACA members are interested in attending this event, please contact ACA to be added to a waiting list.

WBAA members are also invited to attend the main ACA Summit, beginning the evening of May 5th. A special discount applies so that you receive a $200 discount to the larger conference compared to the rate provided to non-members of the Angel Capital Association.

For information on the WBAA code, please email WBAA or ACA. Both organizations will separately provide the codes to potential attendees via promotional email messages.

Angel Investing Overview

8:00 am - 4:15 pm
$250 Registration

Are you new to angel investing or looking to "tune-up" your investment skills? This program is for you. Or are you interested in finding an education program that will help recruit business angels to your angel organization or economic development initiative? This program is also for you.

This full-day seminar provides an overview of the angel investing process, including the details of finding, evaluating, and structuring deals and developing angel-entrepreneur relationships that lead to success. The highly interactive program provides attendees with practical information on best practices in angel investing through a balance of expert presentations, panel discussions, and small group case studies. A faculty of experienced angel investors, serial entrepreneurs, and expert service providers delivers the seminar.

Originally developed by angels and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, this seminar receives the highest marks of satisfaction by attendees. More than a few sophisticated angels have said that they wished they had taken it earlier so that they would have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Designing and Executing Early Exits

8:30 am - 12:00 pm
$125 Registration - SORRY, BUT THE PROGRAM IS SOLD OUT!

Basil Peters brings with him experience, wisdom, and analysis as an angel in successful exits. Back by popular demand but with new information and updated data Basil provides practical steps on what you can do as an angel to have more successful M&A exits in your portfolio (even during the tough economy).

The program covers important steps in the exit process, including:

  • How to select companies that can exit as part of your investment evaluation process (hint: current trends show the ideal size for big companies to acquire is $10 to $30 million and there are some trends to purchase companies just two years after start-up)
  • How to developing the optimum exit strategy with the company early in your relationship, including what angels, directors and coaches can do to support the company.
  • Tips and experience in working with investment bankers to get to a successful sale.
  • Recommendations for syndication among angel groups to get to the successful and quick exits.
  • Current trends in angel exits and the acquisition market.

Basil promises to make the session interactive, with lots of time for questions and answers.

Building GREAT Boards

8:30 am - 12:00 pm
$125 Registration

Dave Berkus, past Chairman of Tech Coast Angels, and one of the nations most prolific angel investors, offers his special recipe for making great exits in this his newest half day workshop that he presents for angel, entrepreneur and VC groups worldwide.

Dave will teach how to build a great board after the investment, form a plan for guidance and wisdom from the board, teach the five critical resources great board members can supply, teach the tender stages of managing a founder / CEO, and guide the planning for the liquidity event.

Dave will tell great stories from his personal angel and board experience, chronicling his journey to an amazing 97% IRR. Workshop attendees should expect to leave this education session with the tools for effectively guiding the entrepreneur through the three stages from investment to liquidity, a template for board compensation and expectations, and specific insights that will help attendees to Extend the Runway of their companies all the way to liquidity.

The purpose of this workshop is to address the following questions (and more) about portfolio strategy in the current angel environment. Consideration will be given to investments already made and how to help build effective boards to protect your investment as well as subsequent exit strategies:

  • In what roles and responsibilities do angels and entrepreneurs serve during the course of the post-investment process including Board of Directors positions, observers of company operations, and advisors to company managers?
  • What strategies exist for angel investors in offering mentoring, value-added services, and transitioning to leadership?
  • Which are the best approaches for seeking and accepting follow-on funding and managing the relationships that arise from co-investments?
  • What methods should be explored for selecting deal exit options, preparing to exit, and executing strategies?
  • What are the resources and points of leverage that board members and angel investors can add to their portfolio companies?
  • What are the legal, moral and practical limits upon board and angel involvement in operations?
  • Stories of early stage portfolio company CEOs gone good and CEOs gone bad
  • Workshop revolving upon issues of communication and alignment between CEOs and their boards

Trends in Raising Capital -

12:30 pm - 4:15 pm
$125 Registration

This workshop, led by Bob Okabe, is new to the Angel Capital Education Foundation and includes fresh data. The program is designed for entrepreneurs - but has interesting information for angels (and could work very well for angel groups looking for ways to communicate with entrepreneurs.) Understanding the current thinking in raising capital will help your clients win support from angels and venture capitalists. This workshop will explore how market trends affect the needs and behaviors of investors and what angel investors believe are the best - and worst - practices by companies looking for funding. The presenter will discuss new developments in pre-money valuation and deal terms. The program includes 5 main topics:

  • Current Capital Raising Environment uses data from PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree, Dow Jones VentureSource, Center for Venture Research, and ACA to give the audience a sense of current market activity.

  • Analytic Methods and Tools walks through the basics of investment returns (home runs make up for strikeouts), the dynamics of VC general partner economics, and examples of how fund size dictates investment size to help figure out how to target the right VCs.

  • Meeting Investor Expectations uses data from a recent ACA member survey and the study "Returns of Angels in Groups" (published by the Kauffman Foundation and led by Robert Wiltbank) to set up discussions of the best practices for company documents - executive summary, business plan, slide deck, financial model - as well as due diligence, governance, and deal referrals.

  • Company Valuation is a condensed review of current valuation data as well as the primary methods taught in the longer "Valuation and Portfolio Strategies" workshop from the Power of Angel Investing Series.

  • Term Sheet Mechanics uses Fenwick & West survey data as a platform to discuss and use key deal terms such as liquidation preferences and anti-dilution clauses.

Term Sheets (and a Model Angel Term Sheet)

12:30 pm - 4:15 pm
$125 Registration

This workshop facilitates in-depth discussions of the terms and conditions commonly used by angel investors in funding early-stage ventures. Participants will take a detailed look at a standard term sheet and review when terms are investor-friendly, company-friendly, or neutral. Discussions flesh out the nuances of selected terms.

What is new to the program is the addition of the "Model Term Sheet for Angels" developed by Dan Rosen and the Alliance of Angels. This document is taking angels by storm, and may become a new standard in our field.