The Angel Capital Association (ACA) is the largest angel professional development organization in the world with over 12,000 members, 220 angel groups, and 10,000 early-stage companies in its members’ investment portfolios. Angel investing approximately equals that of venture capital investing, and has an enormous impact on the entrepreneurial eco-system in the United States and beyond.
For the second year, Greenberg Traurig has been a major sponsor of the ACA Summit, attended this year by over 600 angel investors from around the world who are leaders of their angel groups and represent thousands of investors. The firm sponsored the Innovation Showcase, which featured 28 innovative companies chosen by the NIH, NSF, and others. Greenberg Traurig’s team of David Gitlin, Craig Lilly, Jeff Joyner and Beth Cohen presented a workshop for the companies focused on the capital raising process, including valuation and term sheet issues, intellectual property protection, and alternative financing. The firm also hosted “office hours” with the companies, which enabled them to meet with the Greenberg Traurig team one on one to get legal input.
Gitlin helped lead a standing-room only session titled “Structuring Exits for Returns,” which explored creative structured exit approaches to provide liquidity for investors, beyond the typical acquisition and IPO exits. Many companies are not appropriate candidates for the usual exits, but have a strong likelihood of growth and revenue generation. For these companies, an investment approach that includes a combination of cash flow-based dividends, mandatory equity redemption, and/or specially structured debt, may better align the goals of the angel investors and the entrepreneur.
The Greenberg Traurig team is looking forward to our ongoing relationship with ACA, the angels, and the entrepreneurs that we met at the Summit.