Ariel Angels Views and Issues
SUMMER 2014 --- Riding the Wave of Success
by Lesley Francis on 06/19/14
Ariel Southeast Angel Partners (ASAP) is in a very buoyant mood as we report our second exit within twelve months. This time, one of our medical device investments, New Wave Surgical (NWS) which is based in Florida, has been acquired by Massachusetts based, international healthcare company, Covidien.
The 50% of our members who chose to invest in New Wave Surgical in 2010 have made a significant return on their investments (the rest of us are kicking ourselves…). ASAP screens and recommends on every deal but investment decisions are a matter for individual members on each occasion.
ASAP met the young but dynamic Alex Gomez four years ago when
he told us his story and his big idea.
He had worked as a surgical technician at Broward Health Medical Center
and had attended Cornell Medical College but in 2006 he decided to pursue the
development of his simple but ingenious idea.
Alex had seen many laparoscopic surgeries
performed over the years and noticed that camera lenses would
continually fog and make clarity a significant issue for the surgeons.
With a lot of hard work, dedication and investment from believers in him and his technology, NWS developed a simple device, which keeps surgical instruments warm and prevents the camera from fogging up during minimally invasive surgeries.
While the details of the financial terms of the Covidien deal were not disclosed, it is understood that NWS was acquired for a sum in excess of $115 million. This classic entrepreneurial success story is great news and we are very pleased that after the purchase of an impressive sports car Alex intends to invest some of the fruits of his labor into other start-ups in the medical device arena.
And with the economy appearing to be heading into calmer
waters, ASAP is confident of making another exit in the not too distant future
so stay tuned.
Fall BLOG 2013
by Lesley Francis on 11/19/13
The Female Influence
Some members’ clubs of varying types are
still bastions of male influence with the wife being granted access rights only
on the arm of her husband and some clubs even ban the female spouse from
accompanying their husband to important member meetings……..
This is clearly NOT the case with
Ariel South East Angel Partners (ASAP) where female investors (with or without
husbands) are very welcome. It is true
that we have a policy of allowing the spouse of a member full joint membership
rights but this is a gender neutral policy.
It is also true that three of our board of nine managers are female and
that we actively welcome any member willing to take on responsibilities within
the group and participate in deals, regardless of gender.
A report earlier this year by Jeffrey
Sohl from the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire
revealed some interesting insights into the role of female investors in the
angel investment world today:
·
The proportion of active women investors allocating
funds doubled between 2011 and 2012 from 11percent to 22 percent
·
Women-led angel groups like Golden Seeds and Seraph
Capital are contributing to an increased number of women angel investors in the
USA
·
Women, in line with all angel investors in recent
years are investing heavily in software, healthcare (including medical devices
and equipment as well as healthcare services) and biotechnology,
·
More women owned ventures are seeking angel capital
than in previous years – up to 16 percent in 2012
·
There are more women than men in universities right
now which is contributing to these trends
·
The report showed that when more than ten percent of
the investors in an angel group are women, they increase the investment activity
of the group
It will be interesting to see if next year’s report shows a
further development of these trends.
However, whatever your gender, ASAP is an interesting and
potentially rewarding, member based route to investment opportunities. If you would like to attend a meeting as our
guest to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact us.
It's "ALL" About The Exit
by Lesley Francis on 09/26/13
NEWS – SUMMER 2013
We are excited about our recent exit, the sale of our group’s investments in Advanced Liquid Logic (ALL), a North Carolina company specializing in “lab on a chip diagnostics” technology. ASAP supported three investment rounds in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
ALL is now a wholly
owned subsidiary of Illumina Inc., a San Diego based, NASDAQ listed company
with revenues in excess of $1 billion and over 2,500 employees. Way to go Angels!
The beauty of our member-focused investment group is that we
follow a network model. This means we
carefully screen deals and members then each decide individually to invest or
not in each deal. As many of us are NOT
scientists, we relied on other members who first form a screening group and
then a due diligence group that understand both the business and technical
aspects of ALL’s business plan. ALL sold
to Illumina in order to further develop its innovative technology which “electrically segments and manipulates small droplets within a
sealed disposable cartridge to perform complex laboratory test protocols on
fluids such as blood, sewage,
water, chemicals and solutions”. ALL was attractive to
Illumina for the development of their next generation gene sequencing. Not
exactly eighth grade science!
So while every
deal is different, what do the Ariel Southeast Angel Partners look for in their
screening and due diligence processes before recommending to our members for
voting and potential investment? Important
considerations include:
·
We
often invest in early rounds for
startups where the potential return is higher
·
Angels
invest in people - i.e. the
management team, and key players, and not just the concept or business
strategies
·
ASAP
is willing to lend guidance and expertise but is generally not involved in the detailed overseeing of management
teams and activities
·
Our
rigorous due diligence process often
provides great insights to the entrepreneur and allows them to return for
follow on investment at a later time as their business model progresses
·
Angel investment groups can syndicate a deal where a VC group generally
wants to take the whole deal portion; we
can ‘spread the risk’
It is true that there is a possibility for failure as with
any investment – particularly in early stage businesses. However our track record, even with the
economic downtown of recent years, speaks for itself and we are eagerly
awaiting the next exit from one of our other 18 portfolio companies as we
screen the new kids on the block.
ASAP is not only interesting and potentially rewarding, but it’s
a great way to meet movers and shakers in the Coastal Empire. Contact us if you would like to hear more
about membership!
Where Angels Fear to Tread
by Lesley Francis on 09/10/13