Archive for April 2014

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

We have good news. Several ACA members have asked about the "1202" exemption that expired December 31, 2013. The Senate Finance Committee approved the 100% exemption of gains in investments in qualified small businesses earlier this month as part of its "tax extenders" bill. We have even better news - the extension is for two years and would be retroactive to January 1, 2014.

We’re looking out for you. The Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act still needs to be approved by the Senate and House, but it appears to have bi-partisan support. More details on the bill are in the Senate Finance Committee website.

For those of you who are not awar of this tax exemption, its formal name is Qualified Small Business Stock, and full IRS information is here.  If you don't know about it, at least make sure that your accountant does!  It can be a great tool to catalyze investment in job-creating startups and help our economy.

By: Jean Peters, ACA Board Member and Managing Director of Golden Seeds

Paul Singh, the ubiquitous startup investor, generously participated on two panels at the Angel Capital Association’s 2014 Summit in Washington, DC a couple of weeks ago – and came with a message: angels must pursue his (tech-enabled and focused) way -- or hit the highway.

At least that was the takeaway he reported in his recent blog post: Angels and Angel Groups: Adapt (or Get Out).

By: William Carleton, Counselor @ Law, and member of ACA Public Policy Advisory Council

Keith Higgins, the relatively new Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, delivered a speech at the closing session of the 2014 Angel Capital Association Summit – and was it a doozy!

A huge issue for angel investors is the "reasonable steps to verify" accredited status that is part of new Rule 506(c), which permits issuers to engage in "general solicitation." The issue was a focus of at least two breakout sessions at the Summit, including one Thursday moderated by ACA policy chair Mike Eckert that I participated in with the gifted lawyers Peter Rosenblum and Rob Rosenblum (not related), and an excellent breakfast briefing Friday from K&L Gates lawyers Gary Kocher and Kevin Gruben.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

We had a great gathering of angel investors last week at the ACA Summit. The event in Washington, DC attracted more than 600 people, from 30 countries and 44 American states. Thank you to the Summit planning committee for putting together a terrific agenda and speakers, and also to our partners and sponsors, which added value and expertise to the event.  Everyone will have different highlights for the Summit, but here are mine:

  • Great networking events. Thursday evening’s ACA reception was at 1776 DC accelerator, with great food (from an entrepreneurial food incubator!) and opportunities to meet some of 1776’s entrepreneurs. I loved the reception for women investors at Foley Hoag law firm, as we saw a huge increase in the proportion of women at the Summit! The Canadian Embassy also hosted a great dinner for international guests, which also included a tour of Washington monuments.
  • Keynote presentation by Michael Chasen, co-founder of Blackboard, Inc and now CEO of SocialRadar. How many people can talk about leading a company from two people in a brownstone to 3,000 employees in a publicly traded company? His “5 Pieces of Unconventional Wisdom I Learned Building a $2B Company” had great insights and was hilarious.  

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ACA On the Road by Angel Capital Association  on  March 11
ACA Announces Keynote Speaker for Summit: Kwame Anku by Angel Capital Association  on  March 08