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Brief summary:
Business Angel Networks and their role in financing start ups
First Session
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The SENSI workshop "Business Angel Networks and their role in financing
start ups" was organized by the SENSI Secretariat in cooperation with
BSC Kosovo. The workshop took place in Pristina (Kosovo) on 10 July
2009 and it was open to all existing and potential SENSI members. It started with the presentation of the new SENSI member "Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers of Zepce". |
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After that Mrs. Alberica Marzotto presented "Facts and figures
about Business Angels in Europe". Mrs. Marzotto works as a Project
Manager, EBAN - European Business Angel Network since June 2007. She is
responsible for relationships with members, organization of events, and
manages the involvement of EBAN in European projects (Leonardo and
PRO-Inno programmes). The second presentation "Managing Angel Investor Groups: A Global
Perspective" was held by Mr. Sam Sezak, who works as an Advisor for New
Vantage Group. His presentation started with the problems companies
confront while raising finances, such as:
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- Not always a proven market for the product/service
- Weak Management team
- Poor business plans
- Reluctance to cede part of ownership and control
- Aiming for a ‘lifestyle’ business, not fast growth
- Limited market and investment knowledge
- No exit strategy
After that he gave practical tips and suggestions for entrepreneurs on how to approach potential investors. |
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| The third presentation "Business Angel Investing" was held by Mr.Blaz
Kos, who works as a general manager for the first formal business angel
network in Slovenia which was established in June 2007. His
presentation contained very useful and practical information about
business angels networks, and their most common revenue sources. In
addition, his presentation focused on what investors look for. |
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Second Session
Two parallel workshops were organized to enable SENSI members to discuss concrete cooperation in smaller groups. The members were asked
beforehand what subjects they would like to discuss in workshops. The
titles of the workshops were:
Workshop 1: Incubator involvement with Business Angel Networks (session leader: Mr. Blaz Kos);
Workshop 2:
Drafting an action plan for SENSI to build capacity in SEE around
business angel networks and investment readiness (session leader: Mrs.
Alberica Marzotto).
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The first group identified following challenges:
- nobody wants to be publicly known as rich
- there is no real past experience
- there is no knowledge at all about angel investing
Bearing that in mind, there are two long-term approaches:
- to attract main sponsor or champion business angel to help with establishment of the angel network,
- incubator
or business development centers could identify start-ups that have
potential for explosive growth and help to become investment ready.
Then, entrepreneurs and incubator managers should identify high net
worth individuals in the same sector as specific start-up is and
approach them.
The second group identified similar challenges as the first group. However, they have come to the following conclusion:
1. investment readiness survey is required to explore investment opportunities in the Balkan countries,
2. based on those result further steps could be taken in order to apply for EU funds (CIP, FP7),
3. education about business angels and their network is required for both sides, investors and entrepreneurs.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 26 August 2009 )
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