ANN ARBOR A third Michigan angel investing group went live last week when the Ann Arbor Angels hosted its first private meeting. The group has been quietly organized by Michael Cole with the Bank of Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor Angels joins Great Lakes Angels of Birmingham and Grand Angels of Grand Rapids in providing a forum for qualified investors seeking to underwrite fledgling Michigan technology and life sciences start ups.
“For Venture Capital and later stage investors, having a strong group of angel investors and multiple angle organizations in the state is a great thing for Michigan,” said Mitch Mondry, President of the Michigan Venture Capital Association. “Its a necessary requirement for being able to get the kind of businesses we want to invest in because companies at that early stage find it difficult to find capital. When theyre too early for a VC firm, the angle money is one of the only sources of funds available outside of state or local grants. Having another angel investing group in the state is a win-win.”
Mondry said the more angel investors there are, the better for everyone in the state. The more these angel investors can be organized, the better for Venture Captialists like him and other later stage investors.
Ann Arbor Angels boards consists of organizer Cole, plus Bill Broucek, Bank of Ann Arbor, Dwight Carlson, Onset Management, Dick Eidswick, Arbor Partners and Tom Kinnear, University of Michigan Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Its Advisory Council consists of: David Brophy, UM, Mary Campbell, EDF Ventures, Tim Damschroder, Bodman Longley,
Tim Faley, UM, Barbara Kaye, Dykema Gossett, Raj Kothari, Seneca Partners,
Ken Nisbet, UM TechTransfer, Alfred Mansour, Xmark Funds,
Yan Ness, OnLine Technology, David Parsigian, Miller Canfield, Tim Peterson, Arboretum Ventures, Tom Porter, Trillium Ventures, Mahendra Ramsinghani, MEDC, Kurt Riegger, North Coast Ventures, Karen Studer-Rabeler, UM TechTransfer, Chuck Salley, Ann Arbor IT Zone, Mina Sooch, Apjohn Ventures, Kent Talcott, Dykema Gossett, Ray Waters, Detroit DevelopmentFund and Michael Witt, MichBio.
Cole could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts. A spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. declined to comment, saying the group does not seek any publicity.
Ann Arbor Angels first meeting was last Wednesday in Ann Arbor. The group heard a pitch from Xenaga, an early stage company that has developed an Internet-based mutli-media cash card aimed at a $70 billion market.
Xenaga recently raised $300,000 in an initial round of angel financing and is currently looking for $750,000 in a second round to ramp operations for product launch in the second quarter of 2004.
Anyone interested in learning more about Ann Arbor Angels can reach Cole at (734) 327-4432.
