Terry Cross: Approaching Angel Investors

A very informative interview on investing with an angel. There are a few angel groups in Michigan and unless you know someone in them they are very hard to get in. The process of steps includes finding a group, submitting your business plan to the screening committee, and if you pass the committee the entrepreneur must present to the group. I find it interesting that many times only one angel is interested in any given business idea. I guess this is a good considering an owner will give up a significant stake in their company if they team up with an angel investor. This method of raising capital has been used by companies such as Bell Telephone, Google, Apple Computer and Starbucks. It is very popular when the necessary capital requirements are below $2 million. After $2 million there is not enough ownership rights available to make it worth while to an angel investor.

In my opinion, Angel investors are truly "angels" to individuals that are looking to start up a business, but lack the capital to do so. Angels are defined as, wealthy individuals who invest in business start-ups in exchange for equal stakes in the company. These angels may invest because they have a personal interest in the product or business, or have experiences in the industry. Angels are great to go to for funding once you have borrowed or receive you're maximum amount from friends and family, and are an ideal source for businesses with start-up costs in the $10,000 to $2,000,000 range. Even though the route to receive funding from angels may be a long one, with presentations and playing the waiting game, it can prove to be worth the time. The Angels need to make sure that what they are investing in, is going to be worth it. A few examples of million dollar companies that have relied on angels funding in their start-up times include, Google, Apple, Starbucks, and Kinko's. These are names that everyone has heard of, and have really benefited from Angel's investments. Amy Suich

Angel investor is a well-groomed business innovation. It seems like a modern loan shark that is legal or a charity group that wants their cut of the pie. The interview was very informative and Terry Cross was very accommodating with the Angel investor information. It also seems that it might be hard to find an Angel investor not a less you know someone. I personally never heard of Angel investors. They do not seem to have any marketing departments. The reason I mention this is because Terry says that the only way you can get a hold of an Angel is word of a mouth. Another thing that gets me is that an Angel investor is not that pressed on a full business plan. This might, because they will donate 1 million to 1.5 million but expect 30% to 40% in a state that is in a major recession. I would like to know have Angel investors branched to any other states in America. Also what if there is more then one Angel investor interested in the business venture, what would be the percentage of stock that would be taken out.

Hello my name is NyAngel O’Neal and I’m a student at Eastern Michigan University and this semester I’m enrolled in an entrepreneur class. This semester we are learning about different businesses and entrepreneur. I was able to watch the interview with Terry Cross discusses Angel Investing. He stated that the only ways to find out about his business is from word of mouth or from an Angel Associate. One question I would ask Terry is if you don’t know an Angel Investor how can you get in contact with one. He stated in the interview that that have a group in Ann Arbor and the Great Lake Angel. They are located in some other area in Michigan. The Angel invertors will meet with prospect to go over there financial needs or look at their Business Plan and some how help them invest. This company has being around for some years but I haven’t heard much about them. In the interview he talked about the 20 minutes presentation that they give. The only I didn’t understand is why is the Angel Investors so private. I think it would be nice if other people have an option to invest with Angel Investors. I would like to learn more about the company and how they pick there investors.

To start off, I had never even heard of Angel Investors. The fact that they have five locations in Michigan is pretty interesting. The fact that Mr. Cross comes out and says that they don’t advertise and that most of the people that get to pitch their ideas to Angel Investors are people who either know an investor or have heard via word of mouth, is interesting. I would think that a group like this could greatly help out someone who is just starting up their business. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who are often entrepreneurs themselves. The investors invest in business startups in exchange for equity in the company. This type of investor is a good match for small business who might not have enough money to start up their business, or an entrepreneur who has invested their own money but still need a little bit more. This can help the entrepreneur from looking to family and friends for money, which can often have very bad results, especially if the business struggles. The process seems quite simple, when you get your shot you have to make the most of it. The entrepreneur has anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes to pitch their ideas to the investors, who ask questions and decide whether they will move forward or not with it. The fact that Terry Cross has been an Angel Investor for the past 46 years shows that they are not only committed but very good at what they do. Angel Investors has help start up many successful companies in Michigan, such as; Google, Starbucks, Kinko’s, Bell Telephone, and Apple computers. If I were starting up my own business I would take a hard look at Angel Investors.

Terry Cross's talk about Angel Investing was truly interesting. It is very interesting to me to know that these investors do not advertise, but rather they rely on word of mouth to expand and get new businesses. To further peak interest, I had no idea that companies in Michigan such as Google, Starbucks, Kinko's, and Apple were all helped by Angel Investors upon start-up. They seem to be very good at what they do, and would have to be, considering that they don't advertise to draw in companies. And who new that they were right here in Ann Arbor. Heck, I didn't even know who they were, much less that they were this close to home.

Terry Cross gave an excellent description and summery on what an angel investor is, while describing the general concepts of how processes work inside angel investor groups. The groups mentioned in the interview were Ann Arbor Angels or Great Lakes Angels. Anyone who is looking to seek out an angel investor should check out those two investment groups. The information that caught me by surprise from the interview was how difficult it is to approach angel investors. Terry mentioned that basically you have to be family or very close friends with an angel for them to take any interest in your case. All and all I found this interview very helpful and would consider approaching an angel investor group if I need to raise capital for my business.

I thought this was a great interview on the Angels groups in Michigan. Cross, a veteran angel, discusses the best ways to approach angel investors and how to market yourself to them. Typically, the only way to get investments from these groups is through close ties such as family or immediate friendships, however they do not limit themselves to this and if you take the time to seek them out, they could invest in your business. The presentation process caught me off guard. I was surprised at the way that an angel investor may look at your proposal. Cross mentions examining the executive summary, and later the entire business plan, or sometimes not at all. The real intervention comes from the presentation and the ability to answer the questions posed. If you have a good plan and sound solutions to questions posed there is a high possibility an angel will invest in you. With times the way they are economically it is not unheard of for the angel investor to take up to 30 to 40% share of your business. While this may seem unfair to some, it does provide more security.

Terry Cross interview was very interesting and informative. Angel Investors are wealthy individuals that invest in businesses that are up and coming. It is hard trying to get in contact with an angel investor because they are somewhat of a secret group that exist. In order to get in touch with them you basically have to know someone that knows an angel investor or know one yourself. Cross gave informative steps on how to attract an angel investor, as well as negotiate with them. I think it is great that these types of groups exist. It gives more people hope and a chance to start a great business. I think more of the wealthy people in today's society should also do what they can to help those who are less fortunate than they are.

This is a great interview with Terry. Being a business student, I always hear stories of angel investors and entrepreneurs getting together and making successes happen. However, I never really understood how the whole thing happens. This interview answers how entrepreneurs approach angels and what happens after that. I must say that there seems to be a lot of steps to receive angel funding. This of course is usually because there is a considerable amount of money being asked for, so one would expect much due diligence from the angel. The entrepreneur also needs to do a lot of research as well because the money does not come free. Usually, an entrepreneur will give up about 30-40% to the angel investor.

Angel Investing is a great way to help people who have great ideas, but lack the resources to make those ideas a reality. Terry Cross, who has been an Angel Investor for 46 years, must feel like he made a difference in so many people’s lives which makes me want to help others. I enjoyed this interview on Angel Investors because I knew what an Angel Investor was but I was unsure of the process on how you successfully get an Angel Investor. Terry did a great job explaining the process and the steps involved in the process. I also enjoyed being able to look at the websites of investors in Ann Arbor, Rochester, Travers City, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids. Their websites give a detailed description of the process, what to expect, how much money they donate and what type of businesses they donate to. I guess I expected the process to be a little more rigorous than it is. If the investors like your idea you just have about a forty-five minute presentation then a question and answer session. I would have thought that the process would have been a lot longer than that considering it takes weeks, maybe months, to come up with a solid business plan. The whole decision process can be up to about eight months, so you could have a long time to wait to hear back an answer from them. I really learned a lot from this interview and I hope to be an Angel Investor some day.

The angle investor’s interview was very informational. It gave a lot of background on how the organization works, what their main business and focus is and how they make profit off entrepreneurs and vis versa. I feel that angle investors would be a great place to go if a business was struggling to get financial funding or investing and were ok with giving up almost all of its ownership. However if the business was good and they know there was a niche in the market for such product or services then the amount of ownership given up to the angel investors would be hard and more than like the business would not follow through. Furthermore, this topic fits very well in the current section that I am working on in my class at EMU, which is financial and investments. If I were a business owner with an ok business plan, however needed assistance in getting my business off the ground and lacked the contacts which would make the business successful. I would definitely look into seeking out the angels’ investors group. This group has the know-how and the contacts that could take a business that would normally make less than a million to a multi-million dollar company just by their expertise in the field of business, the contacts they have and the keen eye sight on what is up and coming and what is not. However, it would be hard giving up that much ownership and control of a business or concept that I founded. Losing control or having to answer to others on concepts and ideas maybe even be harder for me than the money aspect as I am a type A personality and sometimes struggle with conflicting personalities or work methods. That said, the angel investors are a good organization that is out there to help struggling business owners and entrepreneurs.

Hello, My name is DeWayne Burns, and I am studying business at Eastern Michigan University. I was excited to find out about angel investing, because I only believed that businesspeople gained success from luck or wealthy friends. However, equity financing can come from angel investors who are willing to give risk (or equity) capital in order for entrepreneurs to start, develop or maintain a business venture. Before my entrepreneurship class, I knew that entrepreneurs started their businesses with various forms of equity capital. Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, started his record label with a collection of loans from friends and family members. My uncle started a construction company with money from his savings accounts. I even learned from Food Network that partnership investing helped form Baskin Robbins and Burger King. Yet I never heard of other sources of equity financing, such as angel financing or venture capital--high-risk investing for potentially larger returns. So thanks to my class and Terry’s blog, I know how beneficial angel investing can be to an entrepreneur. I also hope that ABC’s Shark Tank will shed some light on angel investing. The show is a play on angel investing. Entrepreneurs with established companies pitch their company and business plans to a panel of wealthy “sharks”, actually angels, who are looking to accept their proposal in exchange for the shark(s)’s proposed stake in their company, much like most angels. While rules alter the premise, such as an obligation to accept a proposed offer and sharks not being allowed to offer a lower investment than the entrepreneur’s proposal, Shark Tank gives you an in-depth look at angel investing. Terry’s interview was taken just before the dramatic downturn of Michigan’s economy. However I still believe there are angels in Michigan who are willing to invest in small companies. The opportunity for a good investment towards an entrepreneur, and a good return for the angel, is still present, but the entrepreneur may have to give a higher company stake to an angel than desired. Since consumer purchasing is down, angels see a higher investment risk regardless of the industry type. Yet the angels want to be a big part of the next best thing financially, so they are likely willing to invest for high stake in a company. Yet in still, entrepreneurs should not allow the current economy or an angel with a high stake request deter their dreams. Depending on their business, only having 60% of a company that is in a stronger market is better than having 95% of a company in a weaker market. Regardless of anyone’s outlook on how much an entrepreneur should give to an angel, entrepreneurs should know that angel investing is a sound way to receive equity capital. Thank you for your time, DeWayne Danyele-Geeter Burns