Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Baylor Angel Network – a New Angel Group

The Baylor Angel Network – a New Angel Group

The Baylor Angel Network just launched this week with a fresh set of investors and capital to go to work. Led by the Business School faculty member, Bill Petty, the Baylor Angel Network seeks to fund deals related to the “family and friends” of Baylor University. Built mostly on alumni the group seeks to make investments into deals with a portion of the proceeds going to the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor. There’s no connection with Baylor Medical Center at this time.

The Baylor Angel Group consists of twenty members and is actively seeking more members to join. Two Baylor alumni, Bob Brewton and Pat Horner spearheaded the organization of the group and championed it into its current position. While most alumni organizations seek donations for the university, an angel network gives another avenue to connect the alumnus back to the university.

While the majority of members are in Texas, those outside the state are invited to join as well. Presentation meetings will be held in Waco, Dallas, Austin, and Houston.

The group is open to accepting deals. If you have a deal that fits the requirements which are

– Baylor friends and family
– At least prototype product/service offering
– In discussion with customers and have roadmap to customer signings
– Seeking $250K to $2M (if over $500K, then you need to have a lead investor and a terms sheet signed)

then please submit an application.

Best regards,
Hall T.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Austin Entrepreneur Network will soon offer Startup Business Classes

Austin Entrepreneur Network will soon offer Startup Business Classes

In working with entrepreneurs I often hear the question, “where do I go to get help in starting my business?” Universities offer educational programs that take far too much time and often don’t focus on the practical issues of starting a new venture. Having worked with angel groups, I found that most want to focus on the few deals that investors are actively interested in funding and not the majority of the deals which are not ready for funding. The problem is particularly challenging for those who are early on in the seed stage.

To help solve this problem, we’ve created the Austin Entrepreneur Network, which will roll out its first class on February 24, 2009. The course runs eight weeks 2 hour sessions each week, featuring classroom-style instruction, assignments, expert speakers, and a course book. The course also offers two hours of one-on-one time with the instructor focusing on your startup.

Based on my experience in funding startups, the class will focus on validating the market, identifying the business model, and building the management team. These topics tended to be the key elements that kept most from getting very far towards funding.

Speakers will include Mike Maples, Thom Singer, and other experts talking about topics such as product development, networking, crisis management, financials, intellectual property, and more. A little bit of guidance and instruction in the early days can go along ways to achieving success for a startup.

If you are interested in learning more about the course, please email me at

Director (@) austinentrepreneurnetwork (DOT) org.

Best regards,
Hall T.