Send me an angel group

Entrepreneur, June, 2004 by Jennifer Pellet

An established source of funding for startups and young companies, angel investors have along tradition of flying solo, meeting with entrepreneurs and making investments on an individual basis. But increasingly, these wealthy investors are handing together to form angel capital groups. In fact, according to the University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research, some 170 angel investment groups have formed in the past several years.

Thanks to the recent formation of the Angel Capital Association, these groups now have their own organization, Sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the association will focus on increasing awareness and the availability of angel funding, and establishing standards for investment practices.

"It wall give angel investors a forum to share best practices," says Marianne Hudson, director of Adult Entrepreneurship Programs at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. "As these groups get to know one another and network, they may do more co-investing. The long-term plan is that, as they share data, they will become better investors and more accessible to entrepreneurs."

JENNIFER PELLET (jpellets@aol.com) is a freelance writer in New York City specializing in business and finance.