Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is partnering with angel investors and other NC-based entrepreneurial support organizations to host an ‘Angel Investor Retreat’ on April 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pinehurst Resort.
The Angel Investor Retreat will offer networking and educational opportunities for active, accredited angel investors in North Carolina and across the Southeast. Accredited angels are high net worth individuals (such as successful entrepreneurs, retired doctors and executives, or other wealthy professionals) who provide start-up capital to young companies to help them get off the ground.
“We’re seeing so much enthusiasm in the entrepreneurial sector today, but many young companies in the area struggle to find seed-stage capital,” said CED President Monica Doss.
“Unlike other states, North Carolina lacks meaningful public funds devoted specifically to early company stages. Angel investors are critical to North Carolina’s future because they can help meet this need by fueling the growth of many entrepreneurial companies.”
Peter Linder, a nationally recognized angel investor from the Philadelphia area, will keynote the Angel Investor Retreat. Linder is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the MAG Fund, a new member managed fund that bridges the gap between angel funding and institutional venture capital funding. Linder is also Chairman of Loosely Organized Retired Executives (LORE), one of the oldest angel investment groups in the country. He is a member of the Investment Committee of Ben Franklin Investment Partners Guarantee Fund, providing guarantees to qualified angel investors, and a member of the Advisory Committee of Edison Venture Fund V.
In addition to Linder’s comments, the Angel Investor Retreat will also feature a panel discussion on due diligence trends. The panel will explore best practices when evaluating the investment risk and return of potential angel deals. Panelists include three experienced, out-of-area investors:
o Kevin Brandon, partner, Seaport Capital (New York, NY)
o Laura Lukaczyk, founder and managing general partner, Avansis Ventures (Reston, VA)
o Catherine Mott, managing partner, BlueTree Allied Angels (Pittsburgh, PA)
Beyond these expert speakers, the angel-only event will also include presentations from several North Carolina-based companies (note: presenting company line-up will be announced soon). These company presentations will showcase promising investments from a range of industries, growth strategies and regions in the state.
After the program wraps up at 1 p.m., angel attendees will then have the opportunity to attend CED’s 22nd annual Venture 2005 conference (www.cednc.org/venture) — held the afternoon of April 26 and the following day (April 27) at Pinehurst Resort.
CED is presenting the Angel Investor Retreat in partnership other like organizations across the state – Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network (BRAIN) of Asheville, Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) of Asheville, Business Innovation & Growth Council (BIG) of Charlotte, Coastal Entrepreneurial Council (CEC) of Wilmington, Eastern North Carolina Investor Network (ENC-IN) of Greenville, MicroVentures of Charlotte, Piedmont Angel Network (PAN) of the Triad, Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network (PTEN) of the Triad, Research Triangle Ventures (RTV) of Raleigh, Tri-State Investment Group IV (TIG IV) of Chapel Hill, Wilmington Investor Network (WIN) and others.
Accredited angel investors who are interested in attending the Angel Investor Retreat should contact CED’s Robert Albright via phone (919.549.7500 x123) or email (ralbright@cednc.org) for registration details. Due to space constraints, registration is available on a limited basis for active investors only.
