• Thursday, March 16, 2006

Angel investing has been experiencing a rebirth since the dot-com bust. In 2005, over $20 billion was invested by angels in early stage ventures, with more entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals coming together to fund early stage ventures. However, most investors have little education on the process, and many of them have done few deals personally.

In the words of experienced investors, the lure of angel investing is often to "have some fun, do some good, and make some money". And the more investors know, the better able they are to achieve these goals.

Angel Investing 101: The Fundamentals will cover the elements of the angel investing process, introducing new and prospective angels to why and how they can achieve the three goals mentioned earlier. Among the various topics covered, this seminar helps answer questions such as:

* Is angel investing for me?
* What is an 'accredited investor"?
* How does one find "good" deals?
* What are angel networks, and why should I join one?
* What is involved in the deal process?
* What expectations should I have as a new investor?
* How can angel investing help diversify my portfolio?

PANELISTS:

Jim Troxel serves as the Training Director for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds. His responsibility with NASVF includes designing and delivering the Angel seminar series, Seed Investing as a Team Sport and Swing for the Fences: Seed Investing for Entrepreneurs. Jim has trained over 3000 private investors in the fundamentals of early stage business investment. He is also co-managing director for Development Capital Networks, LLC, and the firm which provides management support to NASVF. He is also a founder and partner with Millennia Consulting, LLC, a public interest consulting firm based in Chicago. Jim serves on the Adjunct Faculty for DePaul University's School for New Learning.

Jim is a facilitation and training expert with specialties in the field of citizen and employee participation, strategic planning, change management, organizational learning, and long-term systemic change. His career in community and organizational development and leadership training spans over 35 years and a dozen countries. He has published and lectured widely. Editing credits include two books, Participation Works: Business Cases around the World and Government Works: Profiles of People Making a Difference. Jim has also contributed a chapter titled "Affirmative Facilitation: An Asset-Based Approach to Organization and Community Development" to The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation, which was published February 2005. Jim has lectured on numerous topics, including personal and organizational change, self-managed teams, and the culture of participation. He is a founding member of the International Association of Facilitators and has been awarded its Certified Professional Facilitator status. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, with a master's degree in applied professional studies with a concentration in organizational transformation from DePaul University's School for New Learning.

Raman Chadha is Executive Director of the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at DePaul University, where he launched the Angel Academy program in 2004 and has since moderated all of the seminars held through the program. In addition, he founded the DePaul Blue Angel Network (DBAN) in 2004, aligning interested faculty, alumni, and professionals with diverse backgrounds into an organized network. He has led DePaul's partnership in the Illinois Business & Investor Forum, and is in process of helping create an angel fund that will be a companion to the DBAN.

Raman has been on the faculty in DePaul's College of Commerce since 2002, teaching Entrepreneurship and New Venture Management, Entrepreneurship Strategy, Entrepreneurial Consulting, and Business Plan Development. Prior to joining DePaul, he ran his own strategy and planning consultancy for eight years, through which he helped over 200 entrepreneurs start, grow, and manage their companies.

His entrepreneurial career path began after earning an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Raman also holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.