By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: If a company is out of Washington state, could they still reach out to you? Chris: It’s possible. We’ve worked with some companies from British Columbia and from Oregon, for example. Typically, these companies are either looking to establish a Washington base or have already established
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Chris: Another major difference of the WINGS network is all of our angels come from a medical tech, devices, or biotech background. So, they’re not afraid of and they understand the regulatory challenges. One of the challenges we had with some local angels is that a lot
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Brian: We’ve shared a lot of our interesting deals with the super angel or micro cap funds up in Silicon Valley and New York. We’ve been able to get them to co-invest with us on Southern California opportunities because I think they trust us and know that
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold This is the forty-second interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Chris Rivera, co-founder of WINGS, the Washington Medical Technology Angel Network. Based in Seattle, the group invests in medical devices, diagnostics and healthcare IT, primarily in the state of Washington and
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold This is the forty-first interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Brian Garrett, who co-founded with a partner Crosscut Ventures, a Los Angeles–based seed stage venture capital firm in 2008. They invest purely in digital media, such as social, mobile, gaming, infrastructure,
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: What do you think entrepreneurs could do to increase their chances of success? Michael: One is be incredibly honest and open about everything, both good and bad. You need to establish rapport. After the investment, that’s not the end. That’s the beginning. Typically, a company’s going
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: Can angels invest alongside the LLC? Can they invest additional money on top of what the LLC is offering? Anu: Only members can invest in the LLC. We syndicate with a lot of angel groups, individual angels, and VCs. So, a round may be $1 million,
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: Do you co-invest with other angel groups? Michael: Yes. We’re very open to sharing deal flow with others as well as co-investing with other angel groups, with other individuals, even along with venture firms. Irina: With the syndication, what size rounds do you usually participate in?