Angel Impact

In the twenty-seventh episode of Angel Impact we conclude a discussion about all of the ways people can become involved in angel investing, even if they are not an actual angel investor.

There is room and demand for many types of professionals in this network and they include:

5. A network that you can personally leverage

6. You are an entrepreneur with an idea for an innovative and scalable business

7. Share expertise with entrepreneurs in an advisory role

8. Serve as an interim and/or part-time C-level employee for a startup

In the twenty-sixth episode of Angel Impact we begin a discussion about all of the ways people can become involved in angel investing, even if they are not an actual angel investor.

There is room and demand for many types of professionals in this network and they include:

1. Become an angel investor if you meet the SEC’s definition of accredited investor

2. Sharing industry-specific related expertise with entrepreneurs

3. Participating in the education and development of beginning entrepreneurs

4. Financial institutions who work with startups or equity investing

In the twenty-fourth episode of Angel Impact we conclude a conversation with Jeff about 5 common misconceptions about angel investing and what the truth actually is.

Angel Impact is the official investment podcast of the Wisconsin River Business Angels (WRBA)

In the twenty-third episode of Angel Impact we begin a conversation with Jeff about 5 common misconceptions about angel investing and what the truth actually is.

In the twentieth episode of Angel Impact we begin a conversation comparing angel investing to mutual funds and why it is important for serious investors to understand and use both to preserve and build wealth.  We cover:

1. Why a very small percentage of companies have a positive return, even within mutual and index funds

2. Why investing in stocks is susceptible to mob mentality

3. How you have control over your portfolio’s valuation as an angel investor

4. How startups are able to have more dramatic growth than many stocks and mutual funds

5. How the benefits of angel investing mitigate the potential risks in different ways that mutual and stock index funds

6. The significance of being able to influence the valuation of portfolio companies as an angel investor but not a mutual fund or stock investor

7. Why it is important to balance your portfolio with a variety of investment strategies and why we encourage investors to diversify their portfolios in a very specific way that includes passive and active investing

8. The fact that angel investing allows you to more actively build your community than other kinds of investing

The sixteenthn episode of Angel Impact is about what Leon learned in Japan.  In this solo episode you will learn:

1. The number of different countries Leon has worked in

2. How acquiring a global perspective has helped Leon to become a more effective angel investor

3. A fascinating story from Japan that taught Leon important lessons about cultural differences and how they effect the valuation of a product and company

4. The number of times the marketplace needs to hear a message in order for people to understand it

5. The linguistic differences Leon noticed in attempting to communicate to the marketplaces in European and Asian countries and how that affected marketing plans

6. Why cultural differences must be translated into value calculations and how this is important for angel investors to understand

7. Why marketing is entirely about focusing on the customer and their emotions

8. How Leon’s global perspective and experience allows him to be a valued expert to scalable companies in the WRBA portfolio and guide them to better decisions

9. The piece that is most often missing in companies’ product offerings and how Leon helps entrepreneurs to include it, both in terms of preventing unexpected loss and seizing on unexpected gains

10. Why companies need to consider both problem solving and customer emotions for their offerings to be successful in the marketplace

11. Why the Planned Innovation protocol used by the WRBA helps to quantify the value of the emotive component more quickly and accurately than any other due diligence tool we have found

12. Why the emotive component is chronically misunderstood by entrepreneurs leading to both marketplace failures and unrealized financial returns  

13. A concrete example of considering the valuable emotive components in a well-known global brand

14. How understanding emotive components set you apart in the marketplace

15. Why emotive components often seem vague and amorphous, but are actually possible to precisely quantify and value

In the seventeenth episode of Angel Impact we introduce you to one of our member investors and talk with him about why he values the Wisconsin River Business Angels, its leadership, the other members, and some of the important contributions he makes to the success of the group.  You will learn:

-Meet Jay, hear about his career experience, his investment history, how he currently spends his time.

-How investing with the WRBA is different from other investing Jay has done.

-What Jay tends to see in the portfolio companies in which the WRBA considers for investment and what he helps them think about.

-The special and unique challenges Jay sees with angel investing that are different from other kinds of investing.

-Why Jay values the other members of the WRBA and how their diverse backgrounds and collaboration work for the success of the angel group and their portfolio companies.

-How the members of the WRBA are motivated not only by financial return, but also economic growth, job creation, and the success of small businesses in their communities.  

The fifteenth episode of Angel Impact explores one of Jeff's favorite expressions and refers to a common problem experienced by entrepreneurs who are scaling their businesses and how angel investors can help to solve it.

The fourteenth episode of Angel Impact is the second in a two part series about the impact of angel investing.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. The profile of a typical angel investor

2. What Jeff loves about angel investing

3. Why angel investing is a quadruple win that serves investors, entrepreneurs, economies, and customers

4. A few of the organizations and pitch events Jeff and Leon work with to find good investments

5. Some of the companies that started with angel investment capital and are now household names 

6. Some of the fantastic innovative companies that are growing in the marketplace with angel capital right now

The thirteenth episode of Angel Impact is the first in a two part series about the impact of angel investing.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. Why angel investing is “full contact” investing

2. How angel investors bring not only capital, but lessons from their own experience at the school of hard knocks

3. What the show Shark Tank has done well and what we wish it would do even better

4. Private market vs. public market investing and equity

5. Angel investing vs. venture capital

6. Why angel investing absorbs risk from venture capital and therefore yields higher returns

7. Why angel investing is often considered risky, but is actually “de-risked”

8. Why angel investing in a group is considerably less risky than doing so individually

9. Why coachability is the first thing we look for in our due diligence

The twelfth episode of Angel Impact is about the most important quality we look for in entrepreneurs we are considering for investment: coachability.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. Why the entrepreneur’s level of coachability is the very first component of the WRBA’s due diligence process

2. The three character traits Jeff and Leon look for in an entrepreneur they are considering for angel investment

3. Why the entrepreneur’s level of coachability must be determined  BEFORE performing the opportunity analysis (OA)

4. Some of the ways we feel out coachability in entrepreneurs we are considering for investment

5. Why it’s important to be the dumbest person in the room

6. The 2 areas Leon looks for to determine the coachability of an entrepreneur

7. A story from Jeff and Leon’s past that illustrates the practical fruits of coachability

8. Why angel investment money is “smart” money

9. Why the angel investing process is ALL about spotting and quantifying opportunities in investment companies

10. Why it’s harmful for entrepreneurs to “eat the whole elephant”

11. The one thing that coachability comes down to for entrepreneurs

12. Why it’s actually easier for entrepreneurs to approach angel investors acknowledging that they don’t know everything instead of acting like they do

13. One thing Jeff hasn’t yet seen in all his years working with entrepreneurs

14. Other strategic relationships it is important for entrepreneurs to develop in order to achieve success with their companies  

The eleventh episode of Angel Impact is about Value and Use, summed up entirely by the question “How Much Should I Charge?”   This episode includes a special Angel Outtake - enjoy a brief, playful glimpse behind the scenes of the Angel Impact Podcast

In this episode you will learn about:

1. The one question that focuses almost all of our due diligence process

2. Why most answers to that question don’t actually have any real bearing on the actual value of the product or service

3. How angel investors like the WRBA answer that question

4. The 4 simple questions we ask to industry consultants to help us value opportunities

5. Some of the ways we avoid wasting time and money through trial and error during our evaluation process

6. Why the Japanese don’t like vinegar - Two fascinating stories from Leon’s international business career that illustrate the power of considering often overlooked cultural and emotive factors in calculating the value of product lines

7. Jeff’s thoughts on why entrepreneurs need to be able to take their bunch of balloons into a room full of porcupines

8. Why our questions focus 100% on the CUSTOMER and not the entrepreneur’s product or service

9. How we account for both ECONOMIC and EMOTIVE value for every product and service in our due diligence process

10. The first 2 questions Jeff asks his students in entrepreneurship classes and how that relates to building fast-growth, scalable, angel-eligible businesses

The tenth episode of Angel Impact is the second part of a series about the Opportunity Analysis (OA) that features prominently in the WRBA's extensive and industry-leading due diligence process.  This episode, perhaps more than any other before now, captures the essence of the WRBA.  

In this episode you will learn about:

1. The fact that opportunity analysis is one component the Planned Innovation framework used to evaluate a business in its entirety

2. How opportunity analysis helps to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic objectives so that leadership teams know whether to stay their course or pivot

3. How the opportunity analysis shaped by Planned Innovation helped Leon’s team at Dow-Corning to raise the success rate of new opportunities added to the company from 15% to 95% and how Jeff and Leon apply that same formula for success to the companies in which they invest and maximize strategic decisions

4. Some detailed nuts and bolts about segmenting product markets by level of value

5. How the WRBA consults with the best industry experts for distilled advice to help them evaluate opportunities in any given field as opposed to relying on a  less efficient statistical analysis approach

6. Why opportunity analysis IS the scientific method in action, and applied with extreme objectivity to business development

7. How the WRBA uses Planned Innovation to increase the average success of angel investment ventures and avoid gratuitous expenditure of resources on unnecessary R&D

8. How an opportunity analysis is often the best thing angels can invest in, and why it is the closest we can come to running a simulation in the marketplace before actually building a venture

9. Why opportunity analysis is still a well-kept secret in the world of business and why more entrepreneurs need to know about it

10. What most entrepreneurs don’t understand about the businesses they conceive and how they would benefit from applying the scientific method to their thinking

11. Why entrepreneurs need to be coachable and receptive to advice in order to benefit from the objectivity offered by an opportunity analysis

12. Why the WRBA prefers to use independent, third party consultants to perform their opportunity analysis

13. The very precise way Planned Innovation Opportunity Analysis helps the WRBA to quantify opportunities in order to determine their worthiness for angel investment

14. How truly understanding and applying the results of an Opportunity Analysis helps the WRBA to guide and shape their investment companies in real time to make them even more successful in the marketplace and profitable for investors

15. Why all of this is the very essence of the WRBA’s distinction in the world of angel investment

The ninth episode of Angel Impact is the first part of a series about the Opportunity Analysis (OA) that features prominently in the WRBA's extensive and industry-leading due diligence process.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. How the nature of the WRBA’s due diligence process sets it apart within the realm of angel investing

2. A summary of the 4 major components of the WRBA’s due diligence process and why they are performed in a very specific order

3. Why the leadership and opportunity components are actually more important than the product or service

4. Why Jeff’s experience with entrepreneurs is important for the perspective of the WRBA and what entrepreneurs often get wrong in the way they view their companies

5. What angel investors mean when they talk about “strategic marketing” and how it differs from the way that many business owners think about marketing

6. The 3 main stages of the opportunity analysis that seek to discover every possible factor that could cause a company to fail

7. How the components of the opportunity analysis allow angel investors to guide leadership teams in identifying high priority problems in their companies that need to be addressed before others in order to ensure success

8. Why entrepreneurs often approach the high-volume/low-value opportunities first, and how help them identify low-volume/high value opportunities to create generate cash during early stages of business development

9. How the opportunity analysis identifies companies that can potentially scale far beyond their local markets

The eighth episode of Angel Impact is part 2 of an overview of angel investing strategy and its appeal.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. How the WRBA guides investors to be involved, productive, and successful

2. What percentage of net worth Jeff and Leon recommend using for angel investing

3. What Leon’s previous angel investing group taught him about a diversified portfolio

4. How investors can actively evaluate the amount of time leaving money in investments to maximize their returns

5. Common interests that angel investors all tend to share  

6. What surprised and delighted Jeff when he got to know the angel investing industry  

7. What investors LOVE about the entrepreneurs they work with

8. How WRBA members work together as a group to collectively support entrepreneurs and maximize their returns

9. How having different perspectives and experiences in an angel investing group helps the due diligence process to be more effective

10. The special quality of being part of an angel group that WRBA members enjoy the most

11. What to do next if you are interested in joining the Wisconsin River Business Angels

The seventh episode of Angel Impact is part 1 of an overview of angel investing strategy and its appeal.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. The difference between financing businesses through debt and equity

2. The differences between angel investing, venture capital, and private equity “family offices” and where in the continuum of a financing each of these tend to work

3. About the “dead zone” and why angel investors are able to work there in their unique role along the financing continuum

4. How angel investors can collaborate with other equity investors to help companies succeed

5. How angel investors are empowered to select the projects that most interest them, even when they work in a group

The sixth episode of Angel Impact covers how our pipeline works to bring opportunities to our investors.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. What we mean when we talk about the conservative culture of Central Wisconsin and how that affects the investments considered by the WRBA  

2. How our approach and sensibility differs from the approach of angel investors on the coasts 

3. The two different levels of due diligence we perform and the different kinds of companies suitable for each

4. Why we look for early stage startups in addition to better-established ones and the potential benefits of each

5. The special challenges of evaluating early-stage startups and the tools we use to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative markers

6. Some important ways we’re NOT like Shark Tank!

7. Why we maintain relationships and stay involved with entrepreneurs who may not be ready for investment.

8. Why we’re so focused on educating our community about the benefits of angel investing for companies, investors, economies, and more!

The fifth episode of Angel Impact covers what investors and entrepreneurs need to understand about executive summaries.

In this episode you will learn about:

1. The organizations that helped Jeff along his journey of entrepreneurial prosperity and successfully exiting

2. Centergy and the three specific unmet needs that the WRBA was created to fill

3. Collaborating organizations throughout Central Wisconsin that work with the WRBA to guide businesses in the region

4. What the WRBA specifically looks for as it evaluates potential companies for investment

5. The difference between lifestyle businesses and fast-growth businesses and which are most interesting to angel investors like members of the WRBA

6. How larger regions served as models and inspiration for designing and cultivating an entrepreneurial culture in Central Wisconsin

7. Why we often rely on our partners to provide support to the businesses in which we choose not to invest

8. The FREE rescues we recommend for Central Wisconsin entrepreneurs just starting out

9. How to enter the business ecosystem network and get the support you need to make your business successful

The fourth episode of Angel Impact covers what investors and entrepreneurs need to understand about executive summaries.

In this BONUS clip you will learn:

Why banks look at business plans but investors look at executive summaries

The fourth episode of Angel Impact covers what investors and entrepreneurs need to understand about executive summaries.

In this BONUS clip you will learn:

1. The 4 levels of business summary

2. Why it's always harder to say less than more

The fourth episode of Angel Impact covers what investors and entrepreneurs need to understand about executive summaries.

In this episode you will learn:

1. The difference between a biz plan and an ES

2. The 4 parts that are persuasive to angel investors when they look at an executive summary

3. The #1 biggest struggle for entrepreneurs and business people of every kind

4. Why anyone starting a business should perform an Opportunity Analysis (OA) to get their pricing right

The third episode of Angel Impact is all about the specific qualities we look for in leadership teams before investing in companies.

In this episode you will learn:

1. The 3 things we look for in an entrepreneur we are considering for investment

2. How to evaluate a company that doesn't yet have a track record

3. The passion we tend to see in the most successful angel investors and how that helps them achieve higher returns on their investments

4. The biggest factor we find that makes or breaks marketplace success in new companies

The second episode of Angel Impact is all about why we founded the Wisconsin River Business Angels.

In this episode you will learn:

1. About our prior angel investing group

2. How the previous group successfully gave our investors high returns

3. The lessons we learned from the previous group to make the WRBA even better for investors, entrepreneurs, and our local economies

4. The three specific needs the WRBA was created to fill

Welcome to the Angel Impact Podcast from the Wisconsin River Business Angels!

The first episode of Angel Impact is all about our recent investment in Blue Line Battery of Beloit.

In this episode you will learn:  

1. How Blue Line fits into lithium ion battery technology

2. Why we invested in Blue Line now

3. How we are mentoring and guiding the leadership of Blue Line

4. What we think is next for Blue Line and lithium ion battery technology