Archive for February 2015

Sometimes new regulations create the need for market leaders to adjust, so that efficiencies for all can continue.  One such example is a set of rules set by the Securities and Exchange Commission for “generally solicited” offerings.  The rules – or really the market interpretation of the rules – have created so much confusion that the Angel Capital Association decided to develop a certification program for part of the angel market, angels who invest through angel groups, so that angels and entrepreneurs can actually do generally solicited deals.

When Congress passed the JOBS Act in 2012 they allowed for the very first time the ability for entrepreneurs to raise equity capital by advertising rather than through existing relationships in private.  Fearing fraud, Congress also required that companies take “reasonable steps to verify” that investors in these deals are accredited investors and asked the SEC to set the detailed rules.  The SEC’s rules said that copies of income or wealth documents or certifications by accountants and lawyers would work, as would a complicated set of methods that look at the facts and circumstances of the deal.

By: Elizabeth Usovicz, General Manager of Transaction Commons, as part of a series she writes for ACA aimed at entrepreneurs, "Your Pitch is Just the Beginning."

Carmine Gallo, author of “Talk Like TED”, calls ideas “the currency of the 21st century.” It’s true that consistently refining and taking action on relevant ideas leads to business innovations and scientific breakthroughs.

For entrepreneurs with an innovative business concept, the process of refining a big idea and taking relevant action includes the ability to synthesize input from a wide range of sources. Input from too many sources can leave you feeling as though there are a hundred voices whispering in your head, muddying your refinement process and making it harder, not easier, to make decisions and take action. Making sense of this varied input requires having a framework for filtering and evaluating those voices.  Here are three framework components to consider.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

The reality show “Shark Tank” has become one of the most popular programs on television and has helped the wider public hear the term “angel investor” and grasp what they do.  And likely the Sharks have invested in and coached many entrepreneurs, helping those companies become successful.

But I really liked a news article last week - “Dallas Health Startup Investors Are Angels, Not Sharks” - because it distinguished many angel investors from the maneuvering and other drama that happens on the TV show.  In my opinion, the article nailed it:

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com. 

Two industry powerhouses - America Online Co-Founder Steve Case and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina - made a splash recently when they led a report, “Can Startups Save the American Dream?

I very much like this report from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and the ideas in it. However, they missed a significant piece of the answer. While the report focuses on how entrepreneurs can kick-start the economy, it overlooks what we need to do to support the angel investors who fuel the entrepreneurs creating our country’s jobs and innovations.

The contribution of angel investors is huge. Angels have backed some of the most important companies in America including Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter and Starbucks. Angels supply nearly 90 percent of outside equity to startup companies, after friends and family.  In 2013 angels invested nearly $25 billion in about 71,000 companies in every state. Without angel investors, many of these companies would not be around.

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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