Photo: Wendy Strgar, CEO of Good Clean Love (a Eugene manufacturer of natural/organic intimacy and sexual health products) – winner of the Willamette Angel Conference 2010 in Eugene, OR on May 13th. [photo credit: Craig Gray | CEO of Eugene Online]
For those of you who aren’t familiar with “angel conferences” – they are events where start-up companies get to pitch their million dollar idea to a group of angel investors in hopes they are selected to win the big seed investment prize to grow their start-up. Sort of like the ABC show Shark Tank, but not quite as sensationalized.
“angel” = individual accredited investor
“accredited investor” = click here to read the SEC’s definition
This particular angel conference was called the Willamette Angel Conference – and it took place in Eugene, Oregon on May 13, 2010 at the historic McDonald Theatre (after all, a historic event is worthy of being held in a historic location).
First let me tell you a bit more about how this event came to be. This conference was inaugurated last year (2009) in Corvallis, Oregon by the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition (most of the credit goes to a man named John Sechrest – who has been a pioneer of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in our region – not to mention a friend and colleague of mine). The conference is now a regional partnership between the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition and the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. It’s the first-time for many things actually — first time start-ups can participate in an angel conference in either Corvallis or Eugene and walk away with a 6 figure seed investment prize — the first time high net-worth individuals in both communities are able to partner and invest in local start-ups as a highly organized investment group, led by a highly skilled fund manager (Dana Siebert) — and the first-time I feel comfortable saying “sex sells,” and not mean it in a sleazy way!
The Model:
- 32 early-stage Oregon-based companies applied for a chance to pitch at the Willamette Angel Conference this year.
- Only 6 were selected to deliver a full 10 minute pitch at the conference, and four were selected to deliver AngelIgnite pitches – where they are given 3 minutes to deliver their entire business plan using 13 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. This is my favorite part of the competition. The audience voted for the best overall AngelIgnite winner and that company got to move-on to deliver a full 10 minute pitch. Click here to read more about the finalist companies.
- 33 accredited investors each invested $5000 each into the Willamette Angel Conference LLC, raising a total investment of $165,000
- The “angels” are mainly made-up of individuals who are learning about investing in start-ups for the first-time (this is part of the reason why this event was created, to help support local companies, raise local investment capital and educate both the entrepreneurs and the investors about how to work together to grow start-up companies in our region). As a result, the investors are provided three workshops well before they need to decide which company wins the investment prize. The workshops include: ANGEL INVESTING 101, DEAL STRUCTURE, and CONDUCTING DUE DILIGENCE. The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network , headquartered in Portland, helps provide instructors for these workshops by tapping into their vast network of seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and service providers.
- The investors utilize AngelSoft as a tool for reviewing company submissions and communicating about the companies.
- The investors meet 5-6 times as a group to conduct the due diligence on the companies they think offer the best investment opportunity. During a few of those due diligence meetings, the top 10-15 companies are invited in to pitch their business plan to the investor group, respond to questions, and get partnered with an investor (Deal Lead) who continues-on with the due diligence process. The companies are narrowed down to 6 main pitches (10 minutes) and 4 AngelIgnites (3 minutes).
- The investors conduct an anonymous vote the day of the conference to select the one company who will walk away with the $165,000 seed investment prize. This year the prize went to Good Clean Love – a Eugene-based start-up company.
Click here to read Wendy’s blog entries about her WAC experience. Congrats Wendy! I look forward to following the success of her company – as well as the success of the other 9 companies who presented at the WAC!
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Hashtag: #wac10
Willamette Angel Conference official Web site
Videos from the WAC will be posted to Eugene Online
