THE FUNDING PROCESS
Our funding process is described below. Please keep in mind that less than 5% of those who apply to the fund receive funding. However, we hope that the process will provide value to you, regardless of whether or not we ultimately invest in your business. We intend that our process be transparent and helpful.
Self assessment. Before submitting your business plan for our consideration, you must determine if angel capital - and specifically capital from our group - is right for your company. Please review our Investment Criteria and Typical Deal Terms before submitting an application. Betti Newburn of the Idaho Small Business Development Center is available to help you with this determination at no charge. You can make an appointment to see her by calling her office at 208-426-3875. You can also to email Administrator, Kevin Learned (kelearned@msn.com) and/or Screening Committee Chair Garrett Goldberg (ggoldberg@gmail.com) prior to submitting your application. They will be happy to discuss your business with you, give you an informal opinion of the likelihood of your business plan being considered by us and offer suggestions as to how you might improve your plan before submission.
Online application. Our online application is designed to extract the most important details about your business, so our internal review committee can decide if you should be invited for an initial discussion or be turned down as unlikely to receive funding from our members. You can complete our online application by clicking on the “Submit Business Plan” button. You must answer the basic questions we ask and can submit any supplemental information you believe would be helpful to our consideration.
Initial discussion. If, after initial review, we believe your business merits an initial investigation, we will invite you to meet with informally with some of the members of the Alliance to discuss next steps. The group will review with you your business proposition and assess your readiness to meet formally with our angels. They may suggest changes to your business plan, your investment pitch and your deal terms which they believe will enhance the chances of your receiving funding.
Screening Committee. If the Screening Committee Chair believes your business may be fundable by our angels you will be invited to meet with and present to the Screening Committee. The Screening Committee is made up of a subset of our angels. You will be asked to deliver a 15-minute formal investor presentation (your “pitch”) and answer questions posed by this group for an additional 45 minutes.
We recommend that your pitch follow the format outlined in Chapter 3, “The Art of Pitching” in the book The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki (2004, published by Portfolio Books, isbn 1-59184-056-2). Additional information on our expectations of your pitch are presented in the “Investor Presentation” page. SBDC Director Betti Newburn is available to work will with you on your pitch.
The Screening Committee will decide whether or not to recommend the Alliance conduct due diligence. Occasionally, the Screening Committee may have concerns that it will ask you to address before making a decision.
Deal Lead. If the Screening Committee believes your deal has merit, the Administrator will work with Alliance leadership and you to try to identify an angel who will be willing to act as the "Deal Lead." The Deal Lead is an individual angel with a particular interest in your business or industry who can act as your mentor and advocate and who will chair the due diligence team, if one is formed. You must have a Deal Lead before your deal will be advanced to the members for a vote on due diligence.
Member Pitch. If the Screening Committee recommends the entrepreneur to present to the Alliance, you will be invited to present your pitch to the entire membership in attendence that night. The membership will vote on whether or not to conduct due diligence.
Due Diligence. If advanced to due diligence, we will appoint a team of members, led by the Deal Lead to verify the statements made in your business plan, presentation, and financial projections. The team will research your team’s background and track record. You will be expected to play an active role in facilitating this process. The due diligence team may decline the investment at any time in the process.
Term sheet negotiation. After successful completion of the due diligence process, a member of the team will negotiate the terms of a possible investment in your firm. Successful negotiations will be documented in a memorandum (a “term sheet”). We will ask you to sign the term sheet signifying your willingness to move ahead under the agreed upon terms. While every deal is different, see our page on typical terms for information on likely terms.
Final Member Approval. Once you have signed the term sheet, the due diligence team and the Deal Lead will prepare an investment recommendation. You will be invited to present your investment pitch to the members at their next regularly scheduled meeting. The members will then vote on making an investment under the terms presented in the term sheet. If they approve the deal, it will move to the closing process.
Closing process. Typically a Boise Angel Alliance deal will specify the amount to be invested by one or more of our Funds, the total amount to be raised in the offering, and a minimum amount which must be raised before the first closing. Individual Alliance members may chose to invest at the time of the first closing. If the amount committed by the Funds and the individual members is less than the amount needed for the first closing, the closing will be postponed until the entrepreneur has located other sources of investment.
The Alliance may assist in this activity by soliciting other angel groups in the Northwest, but the responsibility for raising the necessary minimum is with the entrepreneur. When the minimum has been committed, legal documents will be drawn and the deal will be closed. The expense of drawing the legal documents will be charged to the entrepreneur regardless of whether or not the deal actually closes.
Beyond Closing. Closing the deal is only the beginning of the angel process. In addition to a Lead Contact who will be primarily responsible for working with you, you also have access to a network of value-added contacts and experienced professionals who can provide essential guidance for the growth and success of your venture. We will expect to be kept informed with quarterly and annual financial statements and business plans.
Updated November 6, 2012
Our funding process is described below. Please keep in mind that less than 5% of those who apply to the fund receive funding. However, we hope that the process will provide value to you, regardless of whether or not we ultimately invest in your business. We intend that our process be transparent and helpful.
Self assessment. Before submitting your business plan for our consideration, you must determine if angel capital - and specifically capital from our group - is right for your company. Please review our Investment Criteria and Typical Deal Terms before submitting an application. Betti Newburn of the Idaho Small Business Development Center is available to help you with this determination at no charge. You can make an appointment to see her by calling her office at 208-426-3875. You can also to email Administrator, Kevin Learned (kelearned@msn.com) and/or Screening Committee Chair Garrett Goldberg (ggoldberg@gmail.com) prior to submitting your application. They will be happy to discuss your business with you, give you an informal opinion of the likelihood of your business plan being considered by us and offer suggestions as to how you might improve your plan before submission.
Online application. Our online application is designed to extract the most important details about your business, so our internal review committee can decide if you should be invited for an initial discussion or be turned down as unlikely to receive funding from our members. You can complete our online application by clicking on the “Submit Business Plan” button. You must answer the basic questions we ask and can submit any supplemental information you believe would be helpful to our consideration.
Initial discussion. If, after initial review, we believe your business merits an initial investigation, we will invite you to meet with informally with some of the members of the Alliance to discuss next steps. The group will review with you your business proposition and assess your readiness to meet formally with our angels. They may suggest changes to your business plan, your investment pitch and your deal terms which they believe will enhance the chances of your receiving funding.
Screening Committee. If the Screening Committee Chair believes your business may be fundable by our angels you will be invited to meet with and present to the Screening Committee. The Screening Committee is made up of a subset of our angels. You will be asked to deliver a 15-minute formal investor presentation (your “pitch”) and answer questions posed by this group for an additional 45 minutes.
We recommend that your pitch follow the format outlined in Chapter 3, “The Art of Pitching” in the book The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki (2004, published by Portfolio Books, isbn 1-59184-056-2). Additional information on our expectations of your pitch are presented in the “Investor Presentation” page. SBDC Director Betti Newburn is available to work will with you on your pitch.
The Screening Committee will decide whether or not to recommend the Alliance conduct due diligence. Occasionally, the Screening Committee may have concerns that it will ask you to address before making a decision.
Deal Lead. If the Screening Committee believes your deal has merit, the Administrator will work with Alliance leadership and you to try to identify an angel who will be willing to act as the "Deal Lead." The Deal Lead is an individual angel with a particular interest in your business or industry who can act as your mentor and advocate and who will chair the due diligence team, if one is formed. You must have a Deal Lead before your deal will be advanced to the members for a vote on due diligence.
Member Pitch. If the Screening Committee recommends the entrepreneur to present to the Alliance, you will be invited to present your pitch to the entire membership in attendence that night. The membership will vote on whether or not to conduct due diligence.
Due Diligence. If advanced to due diligence, we will appoint a team of members, led by the Deal Lead to verify the statements made in your business plan, presentation, and financial projections. The team will research your team’s background and track record. You will be expected to play an active role in facilitating this process. The due diligence team may decline the investment at any time in the process.
Term sheet negotiation. After successful completion of the due diligence process, a member of the team will negotiate the terms of a possible investment in your firm. Successful negotiations will be documented in a memorandum (a “term sheet”). We will ask you to sign the term sheet signifying your willingness to move ahead under the agreed upon terms. While every deal is different, see our page on typical terms for information on likely terms.
Final Member Approval. Once you have signed the term sheet, the due diligence team and the Deal Lead will prepare an investment recommendation. You will be invited to present your investment pitch to the members at their next regularly scheduled meeting. The members will then vote on making an investment under the terms presented in the term sheet. If they approve the deal, it will move to the closing process.
Closing process. Typically a Boise Angel Alliance deal will specify the amount to be invested by one or more of our Funds, the total amount to be raised in the offering, and a minimum amount which must be raised before the first closing. Individual Alliance members may chose to invest at the time of the first closing. If the amount committed by the Funds and the individual members is less than the amount needed for the first closing, the closing will be postponed until the entrepreneur has located other sources of investment.
The Alliance may assist in this activity by soliciting other angel groups in the Northwest, but the responsibility for raising the necessary minimum is with the entrepreneur. When the minimum has been committed, legal documents will be drawn and the deal will be closed. The expense of drawing the legal documents will be charged to the entrepreneur regardless of whether or not the deal actually closes.
Beyond Closing. Closing the deal is only the beginning of the angel process. In addition to a Lead Contact who will be primarily responsible for working with you, you also have access to a network of value-added contacts and experienced professionals who can provide essential guidance for the growth and success of your venture. We will expect to be kept informed with quarterly and annual financial statements and business plans.
Updated November 6, 2012
