Group to pair entrepreneurs, angel investors

Entrepreneurs such as Gregory Menas, who are looking to finance the early stages of their companies, have a new resource to give them access to the people with money.

Entrepreneur Stan Brannan and Pizza Hut franchisee Gene Bicknell are part of a group launching an organization called Midwest Venture Alliance. The aim is to bring all Kansas angel investors together, and serve as a central point for entrepreneurs to pitch their startups.

That would be a first for the Wichita area and this part of the state, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists say.

"It’s like somebody finding a gold mine," says Menas, CEO of upstart technology company PowerSmart LLC. "And the gold in this mine is the venture capitalist. And what they are doing is inviting us in to extract gold from the mine."

Until now, entrepreneurs seeking startup capital had to know the right people to tap into that informal network of angels.

Jerry Siebenmark

Full Story: http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/banking_financial_services/venture_capital/2005/03/14/wichita_story2.html