Tech Investment Angels Soar
"Luis Villalobos, a tech entrepreneur with a penchant for grooming companies for success, launched a small Southern California investment group called the Tech Coast Angels (TCA) in 1997.
He'd been told that starting an angel group in Orange County was a waste of time, as there were few entrepreneurs and even fewer angel investors in the region. The prevailing thought was that Orange County was all about real estate, not technology.
He followed his gut anyway, which turned out to be right. In 2001, when the market and tech industry took a dive, TCA members actually made some money, a testament to the group's experience, knowledge, passion, and investment vigor.
The TCA now has 270 members – mostly former entrepreneurs with CEO experience, and some business leaders and venture capitalists – who have invested more than $60 million of their personal capital, coupled with another $607 million from venture capital firms and other co-investors, in more than 95 Southern California high-tech and life science companies.
TCA ranked number 7 (tied with four other firms) in the top 100 U.S. venture capital firms based on number of early-stage deals made in 2004, according to a MoneyTreeTM Survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics, and the National Venture Capital Association.
Supporting and fueling innovations and the entrepreneurs behind them suits Mr. Villalobos and his angel group well. "The last couple of years have probably been the best time for the Tech Coast Angels," says Mr. Villalobos, who has invested in 56 early-stage tech ventures, with 12 exits and 25 companies remaining active. "We have learned a lot, we're attracting terrific people, and we're starting to see [that] a lot of our deals have successful follow-on funding rounds. I'm sure within a year or so we'll start seeing some very nice exits.""
He'd been told that starting an angel group in Orange County was a waste of time, as there were few entrepreneurs and even fewer angel investors in the region. The prevailing thought was that Orange County was all about real estate, not technology.
He followed his gut anyway, which turned out to be right. In 2001, when the market and tech industry took a dive, TCA members actually made some money, a testament to the group's experience, knowledge, passion, and investment vigor.
The TCA now has 270 members – mostly former entrepreneurs with CEO experience, and some business leaders and venture capitalists – who have invested more than $60 million of their personal capital, coupled with another $607 million from venture capital firms and other co-investors, in more than 95 Southern California high-tech and life science companies.
TCA ranked number 7 (tied with four other firms) in the top 100 U.S. venture capital firms based on number of early-stage deals made in 2004, according to a MoneyTreeTM Survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics, and the National Venture Capital Association.
Supporting and fueling innovations and the entrepreneurs behind them suits Mr. Villalobos and his angel group well. "The last couple of years have probably been the best time for the Tech Coast Angels," says Mr. Villalobos, who has invested in 56 early-stage tech ventures, with 12 exits and 25 companies remaining active. "We have learned a lot, we're attracting terrific people, and we're starting to see [that] a lot of our deals have successful follow-on funding rounds. I'm sure within a year or so we'll start seeing some very nice exits.""
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For more information, visit www.EvanCarmichael.com. |
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