Angel Investors: Some Examples

A recent Inc. Magazine article describes several examples of angel investment groups across the country. Here is one that I thought was interesting.

Investors' Circle
Brookline, Mass., San Francisco

The oldest organization on our list has a funky combination of loose structure and social activism. The website defines the group as a "national network of early-stage private investors who seek financial, social, and environmental returns on their investments." Though members are scattered across the country, "ethos holds us together," says chairman and CEO Woody Tasch. Applicants submit business summaries to the website; the up to 60 that are approved by the staff each month can get circulated, for a fee of $350, to the members nationwide. From there, any number of things can happen. Often the member who has the best combination of proximity to the company and experience in dealmaking will lead a group of members to invest.

An affiliated professionally managed fund, Commons Capital, serves members who don't have the time or deal experience to invest individually. Alternative energy is an important category for this group. Investors' Circle also supports localizing the food supply chain; hence its support of the Farmers Diner, a Vermont restaurant that gets most of its food from nearby farms and is planning to expand to a national chain of diners that do the same thing for their local agricultural communities.

founded 1992 members: 130 total invested: $100 million companies funded: 163 www.investorscircle.net