Before the gala awards dinner at the Casino last night I had the pleasure of moderating the final panel discussion of the first day of the Congress. Permjot Valia, Dan Mothersill and Connie Boersch joined me for a discussion of "Angel Success and War Stories". This group has great stories and we did our best to shake up the audience; it didn't take long. Connie Boersch surprised everyone as he described his due diligence approach: he doesn't do much, if any. "What am I going to do, ask a 24 year old [entrepreneur]?" He has a good sense for what will work; he's invested in 200 early stage startups!


>

It wouldn't be official without the official greeting from EBAN President Anthony Clarke; the 9th Annual Congress kicks off.



Long time no see; France Angels Philippe Gluntz and I catch up since meeting in Atlanta last week.

Just as the bus is ready to leave for the dinner reception, I bump into Angel Capital Association Chairman John Huston. I tell him of my new found interest in 1-page term sheets since Brad Feld mentioned his at the ACA Summit in Atlanta 10 days ago. Would he be interested in joining me on the show to discuss the merits of the 'standard' paragraphs of an early stage term sheet? You quessed it, yes! So on the bus ride he tells me of the "10 Worst Things That Can Happen to Your Deal", I'll give you a hint, losing all your money is "only number 5 or 6" according to John. It's an interview I can't wait to record, maybe tomorrow after the conference...

In Madrid for the 9th Annual EBAN Congress with Angel Capital Association Executive Director Marianne Hudson and Chairman Emeritus John May.

I had the smoothest flight ever recorded from Atlanta over Portugal into Madrid; getting in at 9:30am. Checked right in, no waiting, but had to return to the front desk to get an internet password for wireless connection. Then had to leave the hotel for a US electrical connector, so I walked right out of the hotel in shirt sleeves and down a few blocks before I realized it was chilly, not like Corona del Mar at all, 57 degrees.

After a 6 hour nap, ah!, I check the guide book and the map to see a vegetarian restaurant about 12 blocks away, should be a nice walk. As I head out, in the lobby I meet the executive director for the US Angel Capital Association, she's waiting for the Chairman Emeritus, they're off for dinner. Sure, I'll come, too, and I'm happy I won't be alone for the weekend.

Marianne has been here since Wed and knows the subways, so we're off for the Opera house and a cafe opposite the Palace. John's flown from the conference last week in Atlanta to Dubai, then London and now here. He's full of stories.

As we walk the busy streets we bump into friends from NYC and Montreal. What an exciting city on a Saturday night. The streets look like a rock concert just let out, people everywhere, great vitality. Mark & David would love it.

We walk by a cafe and I have to snap a photo; it's a ham bar! Hundreds of hams hanging from the ceiling, a vegetarian's nightmare!

Then we settle into a cafe in a busy ally for another bottle of Rioja (red wine) then off to a late night dinner including paellla (a rice dish). Many restaurants don't open for dinner until 9pm, so the city stays up late, so unlike home.

Tomorrow it's off to the flea market in the morning then the Prado Museum in the afternoon. A tour bus takes us around the city at 3:30 then a dinner to get the conference going. Should be fun.

Next year Istanbul...

For early-stage angel-backed deals it's been a measure of success when VCs come along and invest in the next round.

Angel investor Basil Peters suggests we re-think that outcome, "I think that there are things that have changed which angels should think carefully about, in developing the financing strategy for the companies in which they have invested and, even more importantly, to think about before they make their next angel investment".

As VC funds have grown to an average of $300 million, this means the math for each deal "increases the minimum exit valuation... probably into the hundred million dollar range". Angel investors will be waiting for years for these exits.

Basil discusses his new book: Early Exits, Exit Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors (But Maybe Not Venture Capitalists). It'll make you think...

Show #227 (38:12) Listen

Events
Join me April 27-28 at the 9th Annual EBAN Congress in Madrid.

Register for UCLA's upcoming 2009 Entrepreneurs Conference on May 8th.