State of the Art: An Executive Briefing on Cutting-Edge Practices in American Angel Investing

If you want to get a front row seat into the internal workings of more than a dozen top angel organizations, this is the book for you. It provides insight, history and perspective to the U.S. angel industry. Each chapter in the book is authored by a member of a leading angel organization in the U.S. These groups were selected for their unique contribution to angel investing. Interested in niche investing? Norm Sokoloff tells about the formation of the Tenex Medical Investors. William Payne, of the San Diego Tech Coast Angels, writes about the formation of alliances of angel networks, so the potential grows from 75 investors to a pool of more than 250. The late Hans Severiens shares on the oldest of angel organizations, the Band of Angels, and how his group pioneered many of today's standards. Sue Preston provides insights on the formation of a women's angel organization, the Seraph Capital Forum. George Lipper discusses the nuances of forming a public-private partnership in angel investing. Woody Tasch, of the Investors' Circle, talks about focusing an organization on "socially responsible" investing. Each chapter provides details on how meetings are conducted, how deal screenings are handled, what ideas have worked with the group, and what attempts did not succeed. For instance, Carol Sands of the Angels' Forum, released her group's "Ten Commandments of Investing," which has provided a solid guideline for their practices. James Geshwiler, of the CommonAngels, lists his group's best practices, and discusses the strategies of other groups in the New England area. Several writers tell how their organizations have formed key partnerships with venture capital funds, or started their own co-investing fund, in order to boost their capabilities. The book combines current data and research with refreshing openness about group cultures, structures, successes/failures, and practices. Any angel organization could benefit from this work.