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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Regional Focus: March 2008
Starting Up
Entrepreneurs hear an answer to their prayers
Story by Stephanie Flores
They didn’t come from heaven, but thank God they’re here. Heavy hitters in San Joaquin are stepping forward to form the area’s first angel investment group. The much-needed group is modeled after similar ones in the Capital Region, such as Sacramento Angels and Sierra Angels.
The San Joaquin Angels are just one part of a multifaceted approach to foster entrepreneurs locally. Other goals identified by the San Joaquin Partnership, a local economic development engine, include creating incubators. The University of the Pacific is reviewing a proposal for a university-based incubator. If approved, it could be operational by fall.
The San Joaquin Angels have teamed up with the Golden Capital Network, a nonprofit consulting group that provides support services to angel investors in Northern California. The group needs 30 to 40 angel investors to make the program work, says Mark Plovnick, UOP economic development director and the group’s organizer.
The idea behind the entrepreneurial push is that San Joaquin has done a great job attracting outside companies, but has been lacking in nurturing homegrown talent.
“One of the principle obstacles to stimulating entrepreneurialism in rural areas is finding investors,” Plovnick says.
The San Joaquin group will start out with a similar model to the Sacramento Angels. Sacramento Angels meet once a month over dinner and hear pitches from candidate companies. Members act on their own behalf, researching the company and making individual investment decisions. The San Joaquin group will get together six times a year and hear pitches from two to three businesses. The first dinner is planned for spring with minimum investments of $25,000.
The formation of the angel group follows last year’s inaugural San Joaquin Venture Funding and Entrepreneurship Conference, which 200 people attended at UOP. Four companies pitched their business plans, and two received offers for funding: Cropwire LLC, which makes wireless communications connecting growers and their crops, and Origami Foods LLC, which makes organic food substitutes.
“We need to get some early successes,” Plovnick says. “We are off to a great start with Cropwire and Origami Foods.”
