Startup America Partnership Adds Angel Partners Including Angel Capital Association

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Startup America Partnership said Wednesday it has signed on several new angel partners, including the Angel Capital Association and Angel Resource Institute. The partnership hopes to double the number of top notch investors in angel groups across the country and increase annual investing by $1 billion. Startups are to be matched with angel mentors to help grow their businesses.

PRESS RELEASE

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Angel Capital Association and Angel Resource Institute are New Partners to Startup America Partnership

Focus on Growing the Pool of Angel Capital and
Establishing Angel-Entrepreneur Mentoring Relationships

PALO ALTO, CA, April 20, 2011 – The Startup America Partnership announced today at Facebook several new partners, including the Angel Capital Association and Angel Resource Institute. The angel project is aimed at doubling the number of high caliber investors in angel groups across the country, increasing annual investment by $1 billion. In addition, qualifying Startup America Partnership member companies will be matched with angel investor mentors to build their success in starting and growing their businesses.

“The timing for our commitment with Startup America Partnership is perfect,” said Allan May, chairman of the Angel Resource Institute. “Angel capital is increasingly important to entrepreneurs and we were looking to strengthen the pool of angel investors and better connect them with startups in more communities. As many angel investors are successful entrepreneurs themselves, they have the knowledge, experience, and contacts to help startups successfully start and build their companies. We will ensure high quality education that not only increases the number of angels in the United States, but ensures that new angel investors have the skills needed to actively invest in and mentor high growth ventures.”

The Angel Capital Association (ACA) and Angel Resource Institute (ARI) will work together on two programs: growing the pool of angel capital available for startups and connecting startup entrepreneurs with experienced investors for mentoring. ARI will conduct a series of workshops and events to educate potential and new angel investors on best practices in angel investment and then link interested investors with 160 ACA member angel organizations, so they may work with many other investors to support promising high growth ventures. It is expected that the number of investors in angel groups will double in two years as a result. The angel mentoring program matches angel investors and promising startup entrepreneurs for mentoring so that promising startups receive experienced advice on determining the right capital for startup, best positioning the company for capital, and building the company for long-term growth. As many as 2,500 of these mentored companies may attract angel or other capital during the first two years of the program.

Thirteen ACA member angel groups committed to participate in the inaugural Angel Mentor Project during the 2011 ACA Summit in Boston, and the project will expand to include many others. Those organizations include:

? Band of Angels, Menlo Park, CA
? BlueTree Allied Angels, Pittsburgh
? CommonAngels, Boston
? Golden Seeds, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco
? Hub Angels Investment Group, Boston
? Central Texas Angel Network, Austin
? Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network, Mt. Laurel, NJ
? Life Science Angels, Palo Alto, CA
? Mid-America Angels, Kansas City
? Mid-Atlantic Angel Group Fund, Philadelphia
? SeedStep Angels, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK
? Sierra Angels, Incline Village, NV
? Wilmington Investor Network, Wilmington, NC
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About the Startup America Partnership
The Startup America Partnership is a movement – by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs – to help inspire and celebrate entrepreneurs, their firms and the people that join them. Launched January 31st at the White House in response to President Obama’s call to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation, the Partnership is bringing together an alliance of major corporations, funders, service providers, mentors and advisors working to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of high-growth enterprises in the U.S. AOL co-founder Steve Case chairs the partnership and the Kauffman and Case Foundations are founding partners, providing initial funding and strategic guidance. For more information on the Partnership, visit www.startupamericapartnership.org and follow atwww.twitter.com/startupamerica and www.facebook.com/startupamerica.

About the Angel Capital Association
The Angel Capital Association (ACA) is North America’s professional alliance of angel groups, bringing together approximately 180 angel groups and organizations in the United States and Canada to share best practices and collaboration opportunities. More than 7,500 accredited investors belong to ACA member groups. For more information on ACA, visit www.angelcapitalassociation.org.

About the Angel Resource Institute
The Angel Resource Institute has been known to date as the Angel Capital Education Foundation, a charitable organization devoted to providing education, training, and information on best practices in the field of angel investing. Our work is built on a foundation of extensive data collection, research, and analysis efforts that validate and support our programs. ACEF believes that the relationship between startup companies and their investors should be collaborative, and as a result we are expanding our efforts to connect with the entrepreneurial community. Over the next few months ACEF will become the Angel Resource Institute, a name we believe reflects our broader mission of improving the connections between angel investors and entrepreneurs. ACEF was founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. For more information on the Angel Resource Institute/ ACEF, go towww.angelcapitaleducation.org.