Arizona Venture Conference Shifts Focus to Angels

After 12 years, the Arizona Venture Capital Conference is shifting its focus to angel investors and the local entrepreneurs who are desperately seeking them out.

By:
Adam Kress
Phoenix Business Hournal

http://www.nasvf.org/web/allpress.nsf/pages/9648

The Arizona Angel Investment Conference — to be held in December — also is taking on a much shorter format than the former AVCC. The angel conference will take place over a half-day, while the AVCC generally lasted close to three full days.

The change in conference format is based on what organizers view as the evolving needs of local entrepreneurs. While the venture market in Arizona remains dry, the angel market is viewed as burgeoning, with the potential to help grow a slew of local firms struggling to get off the ground.

Michael Hool, chairman of this year’s angel conference and an attorney at Phoenix-based Rogers & Theobald LLC, said the change has been brewing for some time. The goal, he said, is to better serve early-stage firms.

Quinn Williams, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig who helped found the AVCC more than a decade ago, said the change is due.

"The real need in this market from entrepreneurs is angel investors," he said. "Most of the deals being walked around town are not big VC deals. I think this change responds to what the community needs."

Williams also said that since the AVCC originally was founded, the local VC market has changed to such a degree that a VC conference is not as meaningful as it used to be.

"The venture market was much stronger than it is today," he explained. "With all the bank consolidation in the late 1990s, there are far fewer small-business investment companies than there used to be."

Peter Eberle is the vice president of economic development for the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the organizing group of the event. He said the conference was shortened in an effort to avoid redundancy.

"We don’t want to preach to the choir," he said.

Last year, 10 companies gave 10-minute presentations to investors and three companies gave three-minute presentations. This year, eight companies will give five-minute presentations to investors. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 13.

"With the presentations, a panel of angels will listen and give feedback," Eberle said. "This will give the audience a better idea of what the angels are looking for."

The format of this year’s event at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort will be a lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m., followed by educational sessions and breakout seminars where the eight companies will present. The day concludes with a dinner that features keynote speaker John Scully, former chief executive of Apple Computers and PepsiCo Inc.

There is some concern locally that Arizona is losing its only major venture capital conference, but it seems the slack will be picked up elsewhere.

Williams said there are large annual VC conferences in San Diego, Denver, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles that many Arizona companies have presented at in the past.

Hool said there have been discussions with AVCC veterans about how to create more venture capital events.

"We’ll have another VC conference, it’s just a matter of what it is comprised of," he said.

TiE-Arizona, a local nonprofit that fosters entrepreneurship, is hosting its Annual Venture Capital Roundtable Oct. 13 at the Pointe South Mountain Resort. The Arizona Technology Council, AeA Arizona and the Arizona State University Technopolis program also are good candidates to host VC events in the future.

Hool said there are a number of potential angel investors in the Valley who simply need to be introduced to the local angel community. He hopes this conference can build that bridge.

"We’re trying to bring out those who have invested before, but also those out there with money who are fearful to jump in the game," he said. "Part of this conference is educational, but a part of it is also to build angel networks."