Start-up companies seek "angels" for early investment – Bridger Private Capital Network of Montana

It turns out business executives believe in angels.

These angels don’t pluck harps or fly with feathered wings. They’re investors, and sometimes they are a blessing for small start-up companies and the communities they call home.

One company is Printingforless.com http://www.printingforless.com of Livingston, which offers color printing services over the Internet. Three years ago it received more than $250,000 from an angel investor network headquartered at Bozeman’s TechRanch http://www.techranch.org . The capital helped the company transform into one of the largest employers in the city.

Angel investors are very important in rural areas where there are not many sources of capital for growth, according to Printingforless.com CEO Andrew Field.

Few Montana start-ups have the high-growth characteristics that venture capital firms seek to allow them to cash out their returns in a few years.

Bridger Private Capital Network http://www.localfund.net/bpcn

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/10/30/news/investors.txt

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Angels raise profile, gain clout with surge of startup investments

Mark Calvey

The growing recognition of the role angel investors play in backing startups was apparent at an early-stage venture capital conference in San Francisco this month — they were invited to speak.

And there was much to talk about.

The proliferation of angel investors across the country and their decision to gather in organized groups is raising their profile and effectiveness. Angels’ typical location in the financial food chain is between an entrepreneur’s friends and family and venture capitalists.

Angels invested an estimated $22 billion in 48,000 entrepreneurial ventures last year, according to research from the University of New Hampshire.

But this new class of investors is clearly still feeling its way on what business models and practices work best.

"The variety of models out there reminds me of venture capital 40 years ago," said John May, managing director of New Vantage Group.

Full Story: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2005/10/31/newscolumn3.html?from_rss=1