Tap dries up as local investors wait out slump

By Tammy Joyner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, April 19, 2009

First the good news —- there are plenty of deep-pocket investors out there willing to privately finance grand business ideas.

Now the bad —- just not in Atlanta.

For some reason, Atlanta’s angel investors believe this isn’t a good time to invest in fledgling companies and their innovations, investor guru Karen Rand said. But, she said, they’re wrong because they can get more return for their investments because business valuations are artificially low right now.

Rand wears a lot of hats in the investment arena. She’s managing coordinator for the Southeast Private Equity Conference, which met here last week, and president of Launch Funding Network. And she’s managing director of the Network of Business Angels and Investors.

“There’s plenty of money in Atlanta,” Rand said. “There’s a kind of funk going on where people [in Atlanta] are being influenced to fear the opportunities rather than embrace them.” Read more

Angel Investors Take Control of the Economic Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs

Investors from New York to Miami are making plans to attend the second annual Southeast Private Equity Conference (SPEC) April 14th and 15th in Atlanta, Georgia. Over 120 private angel investors, venture capital firms and fund managers will attend SPEC 2009 to meet the hottest emerging growth companies to see their presentations and make strategic investments that will lead to new innovations in the market and job creation. Investors see early stage private equity investment as the best way to rebuild their portfolios, create jobs and have the greatest economic impact.

Atlanta, GA. (PRWEB) February 22, 2009 -- The Southeast Private Equity Conference (SPEC) is seeking dynamic high growth companies in search of angel investors and venture capital to present their business opportunity at the acclaimed SPEC 2009 scheduled for April 14 and April 15 in Atlanta, GA. Read more

 

Call Goes Out for Presenting Companies at Southeast Private Equity Conference
Atlanta, GA. March 12, 2008 – The Southeast Private Equity Conference (SPEC) is seeking dynamic high growth companies in search of venture capital to present their business concepts  and plans at the inaugural SPEC 2008 scheduled for April 28 and April 29 in Atlanta, GA.  Read more

Speakers and Sponsors Sought For Southeast Private Equity Conference

Atlanta,

GA. March 12, 2008 – The Southeast Private Equity Conference (SPEC) scheduled for April 28 and April 29 in Atlanta, GA is seeking speakers and sponsors for its inaugural event.  Sponsors and industry experts will have an opportunity to deliver their insights to both the entrepreneurial and venture communities during special break-out sessions.  Headline, Premier and Platinum sponsors will have unprecedented exposure to both the entrepreneurial community and capital community through promotion of their sponsorships. Read more

 

Southeast Private Equity General Announcement
There are many venture conferences that serve the companies that already have millions in revenue and are seeking large amounts of venture capital, but for many years there has been little support or focus on the early stage company that is attractive to angel investors and early stage venture funds.  The Northeast serves the early stage entrepreneur community with many events to connect with capital almost on a monthly basis with events offered by Starlight Capital and Segal Partners and Joe Benjamin’s Young Start Up.  Read more

Southeast Private Equity Conference Gains Momentum for its Inaugural Event

Atlanta, GA. March 12, 2008 – The Southeast Private Equity Conference (SPEC) will showcase the most promising emerging growth companies in the southeast, providing these companies with unmatched exposure and education with the top national and regional venture capitalists, fund managers and private equity investors.  Read more

 

Angel Investing on the Upswing in the Southeast and Atlanta Leads the Way
Atlanta has led the Southeast in many socio-economic areas for generations. The Network of Business Angels & Investors (NBAI) has been named the Most Active Angel Investor Group in the Southeast. Since NBAI is headquartered in Atlanta, that makes Atlanta the most active angel community in the Southeast. 
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Entrepreneurs Workshop Radio:

Listen to the podcast Show Me The Money! Guest: Karen Rands

Search for Angels:  By developing a new minority-focused angel fund, the Atlanta Urban League's Lucy Holifield hopes to boost entrepreneurs to the next level of growth.  

Lucy Holifield knows that hard work and sweat equity can fuel a company's growth only to a certain point. To go farther and faster, you may need outside money. Joanna Soto Carabello, Contributing Writer.  Read More

 

 

Launch Funding Network Goes Live! 

ATLANTA, Georgia - August 1, 2004 - Launch Funding Network, Inc., a private management consulting firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, today announced that it is launching a new business launch process that will make raising capital much easier for thousands of entrepreneurs across America - start-ups and established businesses alike.

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LAUNCHfn Sets the Stage for Another NBA&I Angel Investor Event March 15th; Minority

Business Enterprise Center Join In
Continuing the momentum set in 2005, LAUNCHfn, in conjunction with the Network of Business Angels and Investors (NBA&I), will host another Investor event on March 15th. The "Do the Deal" segment will be preceded by an Investor Luncheon Briefing, covering "The 5 Ways Angel Investors generate ROI". This event is co-hosted by GA Tech's Minority Business Enterprise Center.
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New Wealth Creation Strategy for Investors
With the Stock Market and Real Estate Market in flux, Investors join the Network of Business Angels & Investors as Private Equity Investment Rises as the New Wealth Creation Strategy.
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Broadcasted “In-Store or Stadium Advertising” is experiencing explosive growth.  InfoTrends, a market research firm, reports that the digital signage industry revenues exceeded $1 billion in 2005 and are projected to reach $3.4 billion by 2009.  CBS just announced that they're buying SignStorey for $71.5 million, a broadcasting in-store advertising company, and they renamed the company “CBS Outernet”.  As the largest digital signage deal in recent history (and may be second only to PRN's sale to Thomson if we consider a longer time horizon), this acquisition shows that CBS is pretty serious about the digital signage market, and believes that it can profitably run a network of screens in grocery stores. 
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With the Stock Market and Real Estate Market in flux, Investors join the Network of Business Angels & Investors as Private Equity Investment Rises as the New Wealth Creation Strategy.   With the real estate market softening and the stock market in turmoil, high net worth men and women are re-discovering the value of diversifying their portfolio with investments in private companies before they go public or get acquired. One organization, NBAI, is leading the way in this trend toward private equity investing by offering education for those new to angel investing and by providing a forum for wealth creators to consider qualified private equity investment opportunities. Two companies recently received funding.
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