Business Angel Blog in North America!
Sep 18
I have been invited to speak at the National Angel Organization conference next month in Canada. www.angelinvestor.ca/
There are many angel networks in each country and most of the ones that I have come across, do a great deal of work for the benefit of investors and entrepreneurs. Many networks, such as the BBAA (British Business Angels Association) promote best practice for both parties.
The biggest fear for a lot of entrepreneurs is that they will get a raw deal from investors. The same fear exists with many investors. Angel Networks which are often not for profit organizations and are sponsored by governments exist to promote angel investing as it is quite rightly seen as a massive engine for growth.
Of increasing interest to investors is cross border investments. For example a project called EASY is an EC backed program to encourage pan-European investment. www.earlystageinvestors.org They are arranging an event in Prague, for example, this October, so that UK based investors can meet Czech based entrepreneurs.
Cross border investment is something that I would like to get involved with, but it is very hard to know who to meet and who to trust. This type of facilitation works wonders. If you are an entrepreneur looking to tap into a particular foreign market, you may find you kill two birds with one stone, if you are able to get investment from that market as well. Contacting the angel network in that country may well make a lot of commercial sense.
If there are any entrepreneurs out there, who would be interested in talking to Canadian based investors, I would love to hear from you as I may be able to facilitate some introductions. Equally, if there are New York based angels or entrepreneurs, I would welcome an opportunity to meet you whilst I am in the Big Apple!
Happy travels!
Hi and welcome to my blog. 
