Month: March 2012

“As an angel investor, revenue trumps no revenue,” says Jonathan Mellinger, successful entrepreneur and member at Robin Hood Ventures

Jonathan Melllinger has experience on both sides of the investment ecosystem, first as a successful entrepreneur and now as a member at Robin Hood Ventures.

Mellinger told an audience of entrepreneurs and angel investors at the Science Center’s Angel Education event that he uses instinct and experience to choose companies to invest in, but he also laid out his model for making early stage investments Tuesday.

The programming is part of an ongoing effort from the University City life sciences research park to broaden its mission and the awareness of regional investors to smaller, more consumer-facing ventures. read more

Infographic: 35 Startup Buzzwords Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Angel, freemium, MVP, value proposition — there are a lot of buzzwords that get thrown around in the startup world. As an entrepreneur, it’s your job to know, understand and sparingly use them.

Entitled “The Founder’s Dictionary,” and jammed packed with a ton of buzzwords I have heard in boardrooms and coffee shops, the infographic was created to uncover “the true meanings” of these terms.

Take this one with a grain — no, a tub — of salt, folks. This infographic isn’t what it seems to be at first sight. While it would be awesome to have a dictionary for these terms, this resource actually pokes fun at the mysterious origins and definitions of these oft-used buzzwords. read more

Infographic: Highlights of angel investment activity and trends in North America

The Angel Resource Institute (ARI), Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and CB Insights today announced findings from the first Halo Report, a collaborative effort to raise awareness of early stage investment activities by angel investment groups.  The research series highlights angel investment activity and trends in North America and provides much sought after data that has not been previously available to entrepreneurs or early stage investors.

Halo Report Highlights:

  • Angel groups are active throughout the U.S. in 2011
    • California leads in deals and dollars among individual states
    • 79% of angel group investments were in companies outside of California
    • 70% of total funding was invested outside of California
    • Median angel group rounds size grew to $700,000, an increase of 40% over 2010
    • 58% of angel group investments were in healthcare and internet companies
      • 60% of healthcare investments were in medical device and equipment companies
      • The most active angel groups were Tech Coast Angels, Band of Angels, Golden Seeds, Central Texas Angel Network and Launchpad Venture Group

      Angel investors, those who invest their own funds and expertise directly into startup companies, appear to be taking on an increasingly important role in driving entrepreneurship throughout the United States.  Their investments are in startups and young companies, which have been cited by the Kauffman Foundation as the key source of net new jobs in the country.  Nationwide, these angel group investments have opened up new opportunities for centers of innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Halo Report found that many deals are syndicated among investors.  As a result, companies needing larger investments have access to the additional capital they need to grow their businesses. read more