Angel Insights Blog

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

Yes, there's Title III under the JOBS Act, promising equity crowdfunding (think Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, just not restricted to awards or products, but instead offering ownership in the company); yes, there's Reg A+, also bequeathed by the JOBS Act; and there are a plethora, now, of state crowdfunding laws that lower the bar to who may invest in private companies.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

Know someone who would add great value to ACA leadership?  Could be you, could be someone else!  Each year ACA looks to add talent to its Board of Directors to keep the organization strong, growing, and evolving.  The board is now seeking nominations from the ACA membership at large of people whom you believe have great value to add to the ACA’s mission.  We seek members of the angel investor community who have demonstrated unusual ability to organize and lead others in angel investing activities.  We particularly seek nominations of people with experience in marketing, deal collaboration and syndication, building membership in angel groups, and in wielding political influence in high places.  We seek persons of high activity level, energy, and willingness to serve in order to advance the ACA’s mission.  Email your nominations to Dick Reeves, Chairman of the ACA Governance Committee, by February 22, and include your own comments about your nominee, along with the names and contact info of two others who know the person well and can attest to their value. You may nominate yourself, but please adhere to the two-person recommender formula if you do.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com

Entrepreneurial finance has changed more in the last five years than the previous 100. The evolution is coming so quickly these days that it almost feels like the opening credits of the Big Bang Theory television show.  It may be, though, that 2016 speeds up the changes an innovations.  I can’t think of a more exciting era for angel investors.

So what does this all mean and what should we be on the lookout for? As the New Year begins, here are my top themes and questions for how the rapidly evolving world of entrepreneurial finance may impact angel investing:

By: Villette Nolon and Heather Krejci, Angel Capital Association

Yesterday’s (January 13, 2106) ACA webinar on Investor and Entrepreneur Experiences with Accredited Investing Platforms was a great kickoff to the year. When you watch the recording, you will see why a record number of investors attended.  The accredited platform space is growing exponentially and the rules are changing rapidly.  Highlights of this timely webinar include:

Over the holidays, I took a look at the “Member News” section of our website, where we catalog the media coverage of ACA member investors and organizations and found more than 250 stories in 2015 about exits, new investments, milestones, economic impact, investor features and much more.  ACA members are getting it done, and done well!

By: Christopher Mirabile, ACA Chair and Launchpad Venture Group

This post originally appeared on Inc.com

There are many options – and traps, when it comes to financings. We’ve talked about the virtues of priced rounds relative to convertible debt, as well as the key concerns of founders in approaching financings.  However, one of the most fundamental considerations is the question of valuation.

When it comes to pre-money valuations, higher is always better, right? This is certainly a common misconception held by many entrepreneurs. Here’s why it’s wrong.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

December 18 was a very big day for angel investors.  Not only did the SEC put out a staff report that recommends tweaks to the accredited investor definition, but Congress passed a big tax act that makes permanent the 100% exemption of capital gains.  Here’s what you need to know in connected blog posts:

Tax Benefits - The holiday party starts early with a gift from Congress

The House and Senate passed the PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes) which included the Angel Capital Association’s top tax priority, extension of Section 1202 of the US Tax Code which allows a 100% exclusion of gains on Qualified Small Business Stock has been made permanent. ACA will continue to support reform of this tax exemption, such as reducing the current minimum five year holding period, in future tax reform. ACA commends our champions who have promoted a tax code that rewards innovation and job creation: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI).  Thanks also to our government affairs leaders, Chris McCannell and Joel Riethmiller.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

December 18 was a very big day for angel investors.  Not only did the SEC put out a staff report that recommends tweaks to the accredited investor definition, but Congress passed a big tax act that makes permanent the 100% exemption of capital gains.  Here’s what you need to know in connected blog posts:

Accredited Investor Definition – A mix of gifts and lumps of coal in our stockings

Not far from the US Capitol Building, the SEC quietly released a report from its staff on the Accredited Investor definition on the same day.  As many angels will remember, the SEC is required to study the definition by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act.  Time will tell if this staff report fully addresses the requirement or if it informs future rulemaking by SEC Commissioners.

To ACA’s delight, some of the recommendations in the report actually match what our leadership has suggested in multiple meetings and letters, such as allowing people who are sophisticated but don’t meet financial thresholds to be accredited.  As in many things, however, there are also some recommendations in the report that are different than most angels would like.  All in all, the SEC staff’s report could have been much worse – for instance it does not include increasing financial thresholds for income to $450,000 and wealth to $2.5 million as some organizations advocated.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

Angel group valuations and deal sizes are on a huge growth trajectory according to the HALO Report through the third quarter of 2015.  The report, released today by the Angel Resource Institute at Willamette University, shows the median seed stage valuation at an all-time high of $4 million, a 33 percent increase over 2014.  Some of this is reflected in median round sizes, which more than doubled in one year - $350,000 in Q3 2014 to $725,000 in Q3 2015.

These increases are a really big deal for the angel group community, and I hope that these trends reverse themselves soon.  As ARI’s Vice Chairman of Research Rob Wiltbank said, “This report reinforces the trends that we have been reporting on for the past several quarters, particularly the rise in all round sizes and pre-money valuations. These trends have a significant impact on the way that angels and entrepreneurs plan for the future when raising capital.”

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."

If you’ve attended or presented at a startup pitch event, you’re familiar with the entrepreneur’s pressure to provide a comprehensive, entertaining and compelling view of the company in just a few minutes. At many events, a moderator or attendee asks the presenters, “How can I/we help your company?”

Several months ago, I began to notice a sameness across different pitch events in presenters’ answers to this question. It didn’t seem to matter whether the question was asked in front of a large audience, in small group or during a one-on-one conversation.