The Capital Network is a non-profit (501c3) organization that provides practical,hands-on education and personalized mentoring to help early stage entrepreneursmaster the entire funding process and successfully raise seed capital & beyond.

We know fundraising is hard so we provide entrepreneurs with:

Want to know more? Follow us on Twitter @TCNUpdate

www.thecapitalnetwork.org

The Right NetworkWe work with Angel Groups, VC Firms, Accelerators, Community Organizations, Service Providers and Seasoned Entrepreneurs to help you succeed and grow by increasing your chances of getting the right kind of investment and connections.

The Right Programming In collaboration with the investors who fund our area’s startups, we create 40+ events a year - workshops, roundtables, 1 on 1 mentoring and bootcamps - that reflect the latest trends and insights in the fundraising and startup community.

Jodi CollierManaging DirectorLaunchpad Venture

Group

Sheila NarayanManaging Director

Golden Seeds

Ian MashiterAngel Investor

Launchpad Venture GroupDirector of Entrepreneurship

BU Questrom School of Business

Applying for Angel Funding Part 1: An Angel’s Perspective

@TCNupdate www.TheCapitalNetwork.org

David KesslerAngel Investor

Boston Harbor Angels

What are Angel Groups?

• Collections of Investors sharing deal flow and diligence

• Most comprise individual investors, some are funds

• Some have a specific focus

• Domain – tech, life sciences, food, education, etc.

• Location

• Demographic – women, minorities, etc.

• “Double bottom line”

What are we looking for?

• High growth companies in a large market

• Great team

• “Unfair advantage”

• Disruptive business model

• Disruptive technology

• Network effect

• Green-field

• Intellectual property

How do I know I am a fit?

• Determined by• Stage (Seed/Series A)• Technology (usually only tech companies)• Growth potential (need revenue plan)• Amount to be raised (to next milestone)• Valuation

How do we invest?

We prefer equity, but still use

convertible debt

● Structured as debt, but really meant to be equity

● Mechanisms to fix issues may complicate (caps, discount, governance)

● Others vehicles being developed: SAFE, KISS not yet common here in Boston

Investments typically are equity

• We get a percentage of the company at a particular share price

• We hope to “exit” at a share price which is a (large) multiple of our original price

How do you find us?

Prior InvestorsOther

IntroductionsAccelerators

IncubatorsNetworking

venues

Websites (useful ONLY when determining ‘fit’ & finding networking

leads)

What’s our process?

1. Prescreening & Screening

Referral is the key to entering the process

2. Pitching10-20 min presentations +

Q&A

3. Due DiligenceVaries between

groups & deal leads

4. Term Sheet Negotiation

This is setting a market price NOT a valuation

5. Syndication & Funding

6. Repeat

Angel Groups: Pros & Cons

PROs

● We can bring a lot of money to an early stage deal(“we’re connected”- this works in your favor!)

● We bring a lot of business experience

● We bring a huge referral network

● We often bring deep domain expertise

● We are often more “balanced” than individual investors

CONs

• We’re slow, typically 2 - 6 months

• We’re all connected

Stories From The Vault

Times we said YES

Times we said NO

Source: ACA (Angel Capital Association)

Angel Investor Forum - East Hartford, CT

Boston Harbor Angels - Boston, MA

Boynton Angels - Worcester, MA

Cherrystone Angel Group - Providence, RI

Clean Energy Venture Group - Boston, MA

CommonAngels - Lexington, MA

DAWA - National/Boston

eCoast Angels - Portsmouth, NH

ECS Angels - Bar Harbor, ME

Edible Ventures Group - Boston, MA

Golden Seeds LLC - Boston, MA, New York,

NY and San Francisco, CA

HubAngels - Cambridge, MA

Landmark Angels - Greenwich, CT

Launchpad Venture Group - Wellesley, MA

Maine Angels - Portland, ME

Mass Medical Angels - Brookline, MA

North Country Angels - Burlington, VT

Ocean State Angels - Providence, RI

Pipeline Angels - Boston, MA

River Valley Investors - Springfield, MA

SideCar Angels - Wellesley, MA

TiE Angels - Boston - Boston, MA

Topstone Angels - Darien, CT

UMASS Lowell New Venture Fund - Lowell,

MA

Some Angel Groups In NE

Alternatives to Angel Funding

● Bootstrapping

● Friends & Family

● Business Plan / Pitch Competitions

● SALES!

● Crowdfunding

● Debt Financing

● Grants SBIR, SBA (local, federal, industry specific, etc.)

● Equity Crowdfunding

● Strategic Partners

● VC Funding