Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chris Rivera, Co-Founder, WINGS, The Washington Medical Technology Angel Network (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Chris: Our deal flow seems to be great – as good as or better than we anticipated. As long as we can continue to get good deal flow and increase the number of angels, and there’s good financing [being arranged], the entrepreneurs realize this is an active group, and the angels see that this is a good place to get good deals. That’s what we’re going to continue to work on.

We have a pretty large database of angels, and we host a lunch here in our office once a month. We typically have six to eight angels who are invited by their peers.

We sit down and talk to them about what’s going on with WINGS, give them some examples, and see if they’re interested. It’s been pretty good. Of the six or eight whom we invite, we typically get two or three who sign up and start to become active with the group. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Brian Garrett, Co-Founder And Managing Director, Crosscut Ventures (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: How does Open Angel Forum work?

Brian: Jason Calacanis put together a new platform for entrepreneurs to pitch a group of angels without paying to get in front of the them. He was upset by some of the pay-to-present angel networks that had popped up.

So, he started Open Angel Forum. They’ve now launched in several cities across the U.S. and internationally. The one that I most recently attended had five companies pitching to more than 40 local angels and seed investors here in Los Angeles.

It’s a very efficient way to get your story in front of a good group of active angel investors looking for new opportunities to put money to work. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Brian Garrett, Co-Founder And Managing Director, Crosscut Ventures (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Brian: If we could, we’d try to connect the dots and put people in touch with the right partnerships and resources to help them with their businesses. There’s just a finite amount of time. We’ve got a lot on our plate. It’s tough to do.

But there’s a lot happening down here, and I don’t think the rest of the world understands just how much opportunity is being generated down in the Southern California market.

And I don’t think it’s just Southern California. I think it’s everywhere. Innovation doesn’t stop based upon macro climate circumstances. I think [with] entrepreneurs, it’s in their blood. They’re passionate about their ideas. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chris Rivera, Co-Founder, WINGS, The Washington Medical Technology Angel Network (Part 3)

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 a Washington base, so we’re happy to do that with them.

If they’re going to be out of state and remain out of state, we may be able to help them, but it won’t be to the same extent. We’re basically a Washington state life sciences trade association, and our goal is to help the companies that are either going to be setting up here in Washington or growing here in Washington. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chris Rivera, Co-Founder, WINGS, The Washington Medical Technology Angel Network (Part 2)

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 of them made their money in software; some came out of Microsoft or Starbucks or Amazon. So, any time they would hear the initials FDA [Food and Drug Administration], they didn’t know what to do and walked away. Companies were having a tough time getting local angel money, and that’s why there was a need for WINGS. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Brian Garrett, Co-Founder And Managing Director, Crosscut Ventures (Part 2)

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 we’ll do the heavy lifting needed in the early stages of company formation for deals that are right in our backyard.

Now, fortunately, they are starting to return the favor, nd so we are, in certain situations, being invited in to New York or Silicon Valley opportunities where they look at Crosscut as a slightly different beast from the other potential investors they have in Silicon Valley to choose from.

What I mean by that is, we have a different DNA; we have different successes that make Southern California unique; we have a different Rolodex of individuals who can help these young companies, so we look and smell a little bit different from the rest of the Silicon Valley funds, which makes for an interesting addition to their syndicates. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chris Rivera, Co-Founder, WINGS, The Washington Medical Technology Angel Network (Part 1)

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 the Pacific Northwest, but they will review a high-potential deal from anywhere worldwide.

Chris also serves as president of the WBBA, the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association.  Both organizations, WINGS and the WBBA, focus on accelerating the translation of medical technology innovation from the lab bench to patients. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Brian Garrett, Co-Founder And Managing Director, Crosscut Ventures (Part 1)

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, and analytics, focusing primarily on companies in Southern California. >>>