Bellingham Angel Group surpasses previous annual investment levels

despite difficult economic year 

Bellingham, WA -- March 17, 2010 –. Members of the Bellingham Angel Group have used a number of strategies to combat the recession over the past year. Despite the current economy, this was their highest investment year ever. Aggregated member investment figures for 2009 totaled a record $3.256 million.

The Bellingham Angels, founded in 2005, is a local group of investors dedicated to providing equity capital to early and mid-stage entrepreneurial companies in the Pacific Northwest with emphasis in Whatcom, Skagit and Island Counties.

“We creatively adapted our investment strategies this past year to meet the changing economy.” said Bruce MacCormack, Chairman of the Bellingham Angel Group. “In many instances, diversification of members’ portfolios was facilitated by lower funding levels in a greater variety of investments. This included individual investments, co-investing with another angel group in the region, investing in a ‘Managed Fund’ or sometimes forming a specific LLC in which several angels could jointly fund a company. Each of these strategies played a role in making this our strongest year yet.”

Entrepreneurs apply for angel funding consideration by online application on the Bellingham Angels’ website. Applicants are screened and up to18 companies a year are selected to present at the bi-monthly Angel meetings. Outside of these meetings, members can search the online database to review companies that applied for funding but were unsuccessful in the screening process.  “Such significant investment in companies that applied for funding, but that did not actually present to members, is an interesting new phenomenon,” said MacCormack. “It shows that our members are willing to do some research to find an opportunity that attracts them on a purely personal level.” 

As well as ‘Managed Fund’ investments, another trend among members in 2009 was to reinvest in companies which they had previously funded, more often than they chose to invest in new deals.  This can be attributed to the success these companies have seen as they demonstrated they can navigate through the recession as well as the desire of angels to safeguard and reinforce their original investment.   

After a very active five years of investing, members of the Bellingham Angels are eagerly anticipating their first successful exits. As companies in which early investments were made seek exits, usually through acquisition, members are hopeful that some of these companies will provide strong returns on investment in 2010.

Indeed, a recent Bellingham Angels member survey indicates a promising outlook for this year, as individual investment expectations increased. Angels are likely to continue investing smaller amounts of money in an increasingly diversified portfolio.

“We will remain an active source of support for early stage companies,” said MacCormack. “The milestone we achieved in 2009 clearly shows our members’ increasing maturity and confidence in the power of angel investing. They understand that their active involvement helps create successful companies, providing more jobs in our community, which is especially important to our recovering economy.”

Membership in the Bellingham Angel Group is by invitation only.

Learn more about the Bellingham Angels by visiting their website at www.bellinghamangels.com

 Mike Volker honored as 2009 Canadian Angel of the Year

Bellingham, WA -- March 17th, 2010 -- The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), Canada's industry association for angel investors, named Mike Volker as its 2009 Canadian Angel of the Year. Volker has been an active member of the Bellingham Angel Group for four years.

“Mike plays an instrumental role in helping us make cross-border investments with Canadian entrepreneurs who want to establish a presence in the United States, using Whatcom County as their gateway. He is a great asset to our Group,” said Bruce MacCormack, Chairman of the Bellingham Angels.

Volker's business career began in 1973 when he founded Volker-Craig Ltd., a computer terminals company. He has spent more than 40 years focused on the development of technology-based businesses as an entrepreneur and investor. He directs two managed funds that are available to Bellingham Angel members. The first is the Western Universities Technology Innovation Fund (WUTIF), of which Volker is President and Founder. The second is the Green Angel Energy Fund, which is a public company (listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, symbol GAE) that invests in green technologies.

Volker is Director of Simon Fraser University's Industry Liaison Office. This office is responsible for assisting new technology entrepreneurs. He is also the Founder and Manager of the Vancouver Technology Network (VANTEC), an angel organization focused on British Columbia.

NACO's Canadian Angel of the Year award recognizes the increasing professionalism and accomplishments of Canada's Angel investment community. NACO is committed to ensuring that individuals making significant contributions to the development of Angel investing receive the credit they deserve.

For more information about the Bellingham Angel Group visit their website at www.bellinghamangels.com