Profiles of Angel Investors and Groups

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Silicon Alley Venture Partners
www.savp.com
(Read the full profile in the July 2005 issue of Inc. magazine)

Mid-Atlantic

Robin Hood Ventures
Wayne, Pennsylvania
www.robinhoodventures.com
Founded 1999
Members: 27
Total amount invested: Over $8 million
Number of companies funded: 14
Who got money: Intellifit

Rob Weber and George Marks co-founded this group. It was George's idea to name it after Rob, real name Robin, who hated the name at first. Any type of business in the Philadelphia area is fair game. Applicants are asked to review all of the members' biographies on the Web site, and identify which member's experience best matches their business. Those that make the executive director's initial cut will try to get that member to sponsor their company. If the member is interested, he'll conduct the initial due diligence, and pitch the company to the entire group. Should a deal get done, the sponsoring member typically will get a seat on the board. The group has put about a million dollars in several rounds into Intellifit, which has developed a 3-D means of taking accurate measurements of people while fully clothed; the system can then suggest specific brands, styles, and sizes that will best compliment the clothes shopper.

Walker Ventures
Glenwood, Maryland
www.stevewalker.com
Founded 1998
Two managing partners, one other principal, three more on staff
Total amount invested: $60 million
Number of companies funded: 30-35
Who got money: Bluefire Security Technologies

Most angels and early-stage VCs will tell you that they invest in management and in businesses, not in technologies, but this venture capital firm is an exception. Managing partners Steve Walker and Gina Dubbe are happy to take the hand of entrepreneurs with promising technology and not much business experience and help them build a company. That's what they've done with portfolio firm Bluefire Security Technologies, which develops security for mobile wireless devices. And for two years, without yet making an investment, they've been nurturing a University of Maryland professor who hopes to keep Moore's Law on track by putting thousands of processors on a single chip. He's almost ready for funding. Walker typically makes investments of $250,000 to $1 million. Investments are usually matched two-to-one with the federal government's Small Business Investment Corporation (SBIC) program.

Washington Dinner Club/Dinner Club IV
Vienna, Virginia
www.washingtondinnerclub.com
(Read the full profile in the July 2005 of Inc. magazine)

Southeast

Piedmont Angel Network
Greensboro, North Carolina
www.piedmontangelnetwork.com
Founded 2001
Members: 80
Total amount invested: $3 million
Number of companies funded: 9
Who got money: Optivia Medical

Piedmont Fund Executive Lou Anne Flanders-Stec has emerged as a leader in fostering best practices for angel groups, says Angel Capital Association chairman James Geshwiler. Her group raised a $4.5 million fund, which is almost fully invested; a second fund is being considered. Located in the Triad region in central North Carolina, the group is willing to consider any business with a tech component within a 200-mile radius. Last year members invested $265,000 in Optivia Medical, a Winston-Salem firm that is developing uterus-scanning devices. Often the group syndicates deals with members of other groups in the region, including Tri-State Investors Group, Charlotte Angel Partners, and Charleston Angel Partners. About 16-18 companies out of the 200 or so that apply each year make it through Flanders-Stec and the screening committee to present before the monthly members' meetings, resulting in two or three investments per year.

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