Thoughts after the Puerto Rico Venture Forum #PRVF

It's fun to observe the start of an angel group. The challenges almost overwhelm; are there enough Investors, enough good deals, acquirers and are there basic cultural issues (e.g. "business is private in Puerto Rico") that will make you question: is my time better spent on other projects?

I can relate. As Tech Coast Angels considered expanding east I helped lay some of the first bricks that would eventually build a network in Riverside/San Bernadino, called the Inland Empire. The first big break was finding a local champion, Riverside is a little more than an hour from my home plus it has serious rush hour traffic issues; getting to a dinner meeting meant leaving Orange County at 2pm! So the champion came in the form of Los Angeles member Mike Napoli, not an IE resident, but he had a 2nd home in Palm Springs, so he was driving through the IE frequently. Plus he had the perspective, besides TCA, he'd recently joined the new Coachella Valley (Palm Springs) Angel Network, so he could see just what had to be done to get the IE angel network going. Fast forward a few years and, in retrospect, it all looks easy.

I hope my new friends in San Juan take heart.

Fellow panelist Mic Williams, founder of the Boston Harbor Angels, and I kept echoing this mantra: it only takes one! Find the one person you need to get an angel group started in Puerto Rico. Build some support around your champion. In Southern California local university students are eager to intern for TCA. Interns might grow with you and eventually become an executive director. Angelsoft will take care of most of your deal flow, applications, due diligence coordination and membership roster. Get a few corporate sponsors, my favorites are law firms with a long-term perspective. Set the membership dues (many angel groups charge $2,000/yr or more) and hang out a shingle! Set a quarterly meeting schedule for the first year; the time between will give you the time you'll need to groom and polish the most promising deals. Quality is more important than quantity. Showcase your best deals, your members will spread the word that the meetings are worth attending and entrepreneurs will value the time you've invested in preparing them even if they don't get funded. They'll walk away feeling positive and your reputation in the entrepreneur community will be off to a good start.

Continue your own education. We met at the ACA Annual Summit in 2008; save these dates now: EBAN in Istanbul, April 15-16 and the ACA in San Francisco, May 5-6-7. You'll learn more about best practices and continue the process of building trust with stateside angel groups who you may syndicate with someday.

Fast forward a few years and it will all seem easy.