The 2013 ACA Summit - Why Does Team Matter?


If Team is the one of the most critical elements in a successful startup, does this principal also apply to the investor base - that the investor team should also be extraordinary?

We think Yes, the investor team is part of the critical presence in a startup and finding the right investor to team with you can be challenging. How do you find the right investors to be part of an investment and how does your group become part of the early stage investor ecosystem? The best place to start is the Angel Capital Association Summit, scheduled for April 17-19, 2013 in San Francisco. The theme is “Navigating Change for Angel Success” and the full agenda is here.

We believe this year’s Summit offers unique opportunities to gain insights into evolutionary and disruptive processes taking place in the angel investor community. The program will include sessions on angel investment best practices, structures, board member responsibilities, and will include specific sessions on crowdfunding and incubators accelerators. There are sector specific sessions on mobile, life science, education, cloud technology, clean tech and healthcare.

There’s a sequence of sessions dedicated to liquidity and exits starting with “Exits - the New Paradigm”, followed by “The 25-100M Transaction (Having Only 1 Buyer)” and followed by “Show Me the Money” which addresses how to manage an exit with multiple buyers.

If you have never attended an ACA Summit, you will meet many angel investors who may become a part of your investor network. If you have attended a previous ACA Summit, you will meet old friends, make new friends and will have an opportunity to participate in the discussion of trends and directions important to our outcomes in angel investing. Many attendees team up with investors from their groups to make sure they cover all of the different sessions – the only way to walk out with all of the good information is to team up with your colleagues, sharing what you learned with them.

We’re expecting more than 600 attendees at the Summit, with most being ACA member investors and angels from more than 30 countries. This is the largest such event for angels in the world and a great place to network – and build your team of fellow investors!

Please take note of a unique series of sessions on April 17, this first day of first day of the Summit, as these are in-depth sessions lasting all day or half of the day:

  • Showcase event in which entrepreneurs from various parts of the world pitch their investments, universities show technologies available for licensing, and ACA sponsors demonstrate their tools for angels and portfolio companies to use.
  • The angel investor seminars and workshops hosted by the Angel Resource Institute, with programs on “Angel Investing Overview”, “Valuation of Early-Stage Companies”, and “Navigating the Boardroom”.
  • The International Exchange Workshop for angels from all over the world to compare notes on everything from how to work together to supportive public policies for investors and startups.


Registration is available on the ACA Summit Web site. The event is open to ACA members, investors, and invited guests.

(Note from Angel Insights: Jim Connor is the Chair of the 2013 ACA Summit, a large undertaking!)

Subscribe