Global Angel Update
It began last year. The European Business Angel Network (EBAN) was coming to San Diego for the ACA Annual Summit; could they meet with the Tech Coast Angels the day prior to exchange ideas and best practices? It was a great way to make new friends around the world. The session was so popular, it's repeated here today.

Many angels have great government support: Chile has a 3:1 matching fund, Scotland and New Zealand 1:1. Many of these funded entrepreneurs are looking to Europe or the US, with their large markets, to grow. Some of these countries with their govt support seem to be doing more deals than I hear of in southern California. For example, Australia, with 25 million people and Canada with 38 million, needs to move successful startups to the US so they can penetrate the larger market to achieve their investors' objectives. Canada reports that venture capital is suffering and the removal of tax incentives have hurt funds. The Toronto Maple Leafs expect to fund 25 deals out of the 400 applicants they'll see this year, and now the Ontario province will contribute from a new sidecar fund. It didn’t take long for the Quebec province to announce a 1.25 B fund. The devastation of the auto industry is part of the motivation for govt to promote early stage. Co-investing with US VCs and high net worth investors is key.

US Angel Group Trends
Some states encourage entrepreneurship; the fly-over states are engaging more entrepreneurship and government support, although fragmented and disorganized, Wisconsin's an exception. On the federal level, VCs are seen as a disaster from the bubble era. The gap between SBIR grants is where angels fit in, but there's no federal matching funding or a tax credit yet. The administration seems open to the idea. ACA has formed a public policy committee only last year. EBAN's Brigitte Baumann suggests three steps: 1) awareness, we're a constituent, 2) inform members when opptys occur, and 3)suggest structures to the govt. Europe is ahead of the US when it comes to public policy.

Syndication
David Verrill reports that talent availability is up, while VC funding is down creating an oppty for regional co-investing across New England. Closing the deal in a timely manner and sharing due diligence is critical to syndication success. He's developed a treaty to hold harmless and agree to share due diligence. Trust is the single issue when it comes to syndication. Timing and process, sharing DD: even though he sees great variations in quality of DD across his region. Lastly terms, valuations are down affecting terms and buy-in on evaluating deals.