Archive for July, 2010

ListenDownloadSubscribe via iTunesPrashant Choksey

Growing pains in a young angel group?

Many of us have been there…

It’s a small world when it comes to early-stage investing. That’s what you’ll think after meeting Mumbai Angels‘ Prashant Choksey. Educated in San Diego he returned home to eventually organize one of only two angel groups in India.

In any group you’ll see the 80-20 rule: most of the work done by a subset of the membership. Listen to Prashant’s plans to incentivize these big contributors and keep them active.

Show #300 (29:37) Listen

JumpStart Inc.’s Ray Leach, a frequent guest on the Show, joins AOL’s Steve Case, Yahoo’s Jerry Yang and others on the new National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Read the press release
.

“You guys have been hurt,” the entrepreneur was telling me. “I get the
sense most angels have a $2-3 million dollar net worth and this downturn
in the market has hurt you.”

These were astute insights from a
frustrated entrepreneur who invested a lot of time pursuing angel
investors. He was smart, articulate, funny and dedicated; he just had
lousy timing.

Continue reading in the London-based Business Angel Blog.

VCs Feel 7 Year Itch

By Frank | Filed in in the News

2010 Q2 fund raising for VCs was the lowest level in 7 years, according to the NVCA.

Ten days ago I was nervous, only 5 people had signed up and that included me and Dave Berkus. I needn’t have worried because now we’re oversold for the first presentation of Angel Investing 101: A Training Class for Angel Investors.

Stu Roberts, Orange County president of Tech Coast Angels, had the idea after listening to Bruce MacCormack talking about the benefits of the training he does for members of the Bellingham Angels. Why don’t we do the same here at home where we’ve seen a surge in new members? I took the liberty of volunteering Dave; I’d “carry his bags” and cover the basics if he’d cover leveraging our
angel strengths into growing companies, including board service and
coaching, of which he is expert.

Maybe because the price is right (free), or maybe there genuinely is serious interest; whatever the case, we’re over capacity for the conference room. We’re over sold!

Play

John May at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

Angel investing from a world-wide perspective, that’s what you get from the 2010 Hans Severiens Award recipient and Angel Capital Association Chairman Emeritus, John May.

Show #299 (33:06) Stream

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