Press

January 23, 2020

Austin Community Growth Ventures Announces Austin Area Angels - Rochester Rising

January 22, 2020

Austin Area Angels Launches to Help Entrepreneurs Find Funding - KAAL

January 22, 2020

Austin Community Growth Ventures Announces Austin Area Angels

The charitable non-profit organization launches angel investor network to fund food, ag, bio-science, and local startups.

AUSTIN, MN (January 22, 2020) - Austin Community Growth Ventures (ACGV), a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, announced the formation of Austin Area Angels, its latest program to encourage the growth of Austin’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Austin Area Angels (AAA) is a collaborative group of angel investors from Southeast Minnesota dedicated to assisting and facilitating introductions between innovative, early-stage companies in need of funding and its accredited angel investors. It accomplishes its objectives by providing a platform for its members to view and exchange information about investment opportunities, with its members collaborating on vetting deals and due diligence, but making individual investment decisions.

“In running the Launch Coworking Space and our Startup Factory cohorts, we saw firsthand the need for a formal network of investors in town, and knew it was a problem that we as an organization could solve,” Sean Williams, Ecosystem Builder at ACGV, said. “One of the most important components of an entrepreneurial ecosystem is access to funding, and this angel network can fill that need.”

ACGV consulted with Ag Ventures Alliance, a nationally recognized angel investor organization based in Mason City, to organize and formalize its model and strategies. Tapping into the strengths of the Austin community, AAA will focus its investments on food science, agricultural innovation, biosciences, and local startups in other fields.

“An angel investor network was one of the original goals of the Development Corporation of Austin when it was founded in the ‘80s,” said John Garry, President and CEO of the Development Corporation of Austin, ACGV’s parent organization. “It’s exciting to see it finally coming to fruition.”

The first informational meeting for potential investors and interested professionals will be held on Wednesday, March 11th from 5:30 - 7 PM at The Hormel Institute UMN. It will include a sample presentation by a local startup, so that members can get a feeling for what to expect from meetings. Details are available at AustinAreaAngels.org. The first set of presentations will be made on Wednesday, April 1st, and will continue on the first Wednesday of every other month thereafter.

The group aims to initially have at least twenty members, accredited investors as defined under SEC Rule 501 Regulation D. Investments in startups will be in the $100k - $250k range; if interested in a company, members are expected to invest a minimum of $10k each. Associate members, who aren’t required to be accredited investors, will learn about investing in the future, and potentially help with due diligence associated with their personal expertise.

Interested parties can visit AustinAreaAngels.org for more information, or email info@austinareaangels.org.

ABOUT ACGV:

Austin Community Growth Ventures (ACGV) was established in 2015 by the Development Corporation of Austin’s Austin Community Charitable Fund (ACCF) to promote, encourage, and aid in the creation of an innovative ecosystem that supports education, creates quality jobs, and increases the new application of biotechnology, agricultural technology, and food science. Austin Community Growth Ventures is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization.