In our November meeting, the PA Board reviewed 2023 results while determining the initiatives we'd be taking in 2024 to strengthen the organization.  The following represents a summary of the major initiatives planned for 2024.

The overall theme for 2024 is: The Year of the Deal

Last year we focused on stimulating participation in due diligence.  This year we will focus on the deal itself, specifically concentrating on:

• Deal sourcing - everyone needs to be involved in bringing in deals to fill the top of the funnel.   

  • Last year we had 676 companies apply for funding, of which 102 were the more valuable referrals from PA members.  

  • 2024 Target - All (100%) of members to refer one deal 

• Deal negotiation - we are no longer necessarily accepting valuations and terms as presented

  • During initial screening of an interesting new company with a "premium" valuation, we may respond to the application by saying we will screen you if you lower your valuation to $X and be flexible on your terms.  Previously we just would have passed.  

​

Deal Management to Change:
We will be exploring a new process for deal management within the PA starting in January.  The current process of selecting a Deal Lead at the end of the screening meeting is flawed.  The monthly screening meeting, held at 8am the last Wednesday of the month (all members are invited!), is where members listen to pitches and vote on the two companies to present at the all-member breakfast the following Wednesday.  While we have had as many as 25 people attend the screening, there are usually less than 10 people still on the call when we wrap up around 9:30a.  It has been from that small group that we have been sourcing people to lead deals.  This year we hope to make deal management more of a team effort that arises organically from the interested investors at the Wednesday breakfast.

Enter the new process:  Now there will be a Deal Liaison to volunteer at the screening meeting, and they will be the founder's point of contact with the PA prior to breakfast.  The Deal Liaison will be available for the founder to answer questions, explain what to expect at breakfast, how our process works, etc.  However, the Deal Liaison's responsibilities will end at breakfast.  The Deal Liaison may be interested in the deal and may join in the diligence, but no further commitment to the company is expected.  

Going forward we will still have the initial diligence meeting with the founder at the end (no change).  Once the questions have been wrapped up and the founder has been excused, those interested will decide together how they will approach the diligence, assuming the deal moves forward.  Someone from this group will need to be the main point of contact (Deal Lead) and communicate the team's diligence findings to the founder and potentially PA Fund III, should they qualify.

2024 will also have new initiatives in:

Member Education - we will have a fairly short presentation on an educational topic relative to angel investing at each breakfast.  Topics will be wide ranging so long as they are interesting and informative to Angels. Look for Stender Sweeney's Lessons Learned presentation in January.  You won't be disappointed.

Marketing - new PA Board member, Jennifer LeBlanc, has taken over the unoccupied Chair of the Marketing committee.  Jennifer has already identified a qualified newly minted college grad who will help us reignite our social media accounts and help drive more startup applications to the PA in this Year of the DealTM.

PA Fund III - is open and ready for your funding.  Many thanks to Kiem Tjong and Marcus Filipovich for the work they put into making our Fund possible.  Fund partners will vote on the final parameters of the fund (what qualifies for fund investment, amount of investment, etc.) once all the LP's have been determined.

Growing Association with Tech Coast Angel Venture Group
Pasadena Angels’ association with TCA is entering its third year. This association has allowed the PA to draw lessons learned as well as new opportunities from a much bigger pool of start-ups. Our own Dave de Csepel has recently been elected by the TCA Board to serve as vice-Chairman of this umbrella group, which assists and expands the capabilities of our 4 major angel groups.  TCA Venture Group includes not only ourselves, but also TCA-LA, TCA OC, TCA Inland Empire, as well as MEDA Angels. Each angel network will continue to operate independently. MEDA Angels will continue to source, refer and screen medical and life science opportunities nationally, which adds an important area of expertise that PA has been fortunate to leverage.

Expanding our geographic reach will continue to be a focus in 2024. Since COVID, approximately half our PA’s presenting companies have been from outside Southern California. Given that the angel investing process has become so much more virtual, opening up geographically to new members and new regions for sourcing companies is a natural step. It creates a wider funnel through which PA can increase deal flow.  Expanding to new parts of the country, including the Northeast, the Southeast and Texas, will create new sources of opportunities going forward.
 
In addition, more educational and networking opportunities for all of our members will be made available.  Investing in funds set up by our sibling affiliate groups is also a great way to stay diversified. Stay tuned for another all-TCA gathering, hosted by TCA-LA sometime in the next couple of months.  For any questions regarding the Tech Coast Angel Venture Group please don’t hesitate to email Dave de Csepel at dave@pasadenaangels.com.


Welcome to 2024!

Mike Krebs
Chairmain, Pasadena Angels