If you are an active investor or an early stage company seeking funding, then you will know that there is a lot of chatter and activity around angel investment at the moment.
Not surprisingly in these tough economic times there is a lot more activity around the start-up scene, as many people find themselves looking to generate employment and as always, investors look for new business opportunities.
Yet for all the successes and supports available at the moment to the start-up, Angel investment as an investment type, on the island of Ireland, it is still pretty fair to say that we are in the early stages when you compare us to the US, but also to many of our European neighbours, not least Scotland or even France. It’s clear that we need to keep educating, sharing knowledge and building our own expertise in Ireland.
And Angels don’t come in one shape or form. Forget the TV stereotypes or the Silicon Valley expectation when you think of the Angel. There is no Golden Pages listing, and for once Googling doesn’t seem to work either. But the appetite for Angel investment is out there, and I’d say greater than ever before. We just need to tap into it and bring together the start-ups with the angels, creating dialogue and deals.
One unique form of angel investment is that of the syndicated group, a category that entails bringing together a group of individual investors to act as one. One such group in Ireland are Bloom Equity who have recently closed a number of investments with Irish start-ups. Like most angel investors, this group is made up of people who not only bring cash to the table, but also critically experience and insight into growing companies ready for international expansion.
Xcell Partners will be hosting Angel Meetup2012 in Dublin, an event, targeting both Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs. We have gathered a group of speakers from north and south of the island, plus a truly unique international line-up. The event is headlined by internationally renowned angel investor Bill Payne. Alongside Bill on the panel of speakers are Gavin Duffy, Entrepreneur & Irish Dragon’s Den Presenter; Bill Liao, Entrepreneur & Micro Angel; Danny Moore of Loughshore Investments based in Belfast; Nelson Gray an experienced Scottish investor; and accomplished business leader Leslie Buckley.
The event is calling all entrepreneurs with a pitching competition where 4 budding start-ups will get the chance to receive some one-to-one mentoring from Bill Payne. In addition, we will be hosting a master class workshop for budding angel investors in the afternoon.
The event will be taking place at Startupbootcamp located in Barrow Street, Dublin, a recent initiative which is taking 10 early stage companies through an intensive development programme. To find out more about the event head to http://www.angelmeetup2012.com
EI are delighted to say that we have two complimentary tickets to attend Angel Meetup 2012 for readers of BestComnected. To be in with a chance to win these tickets, just leave a comment below – don’t forget to include a valid email address so we can contact you if you win! We’ll pick two names randomly and announce the winners here on the blog on Friday the 16th of March.
Update: Winners chosen (randomly selected using the draw sequencer at random.org), congratulations to Gerard O’Brien of recipebook.ie and Kevin Lowe of payByMobile - enjoy the conference gents!
