Small Business Angels

Small business angels are around, but sometimes it’s difficult to locate where they flock when you need them to help with your business financing. The best way to locate them is to spread the word that you’re looking. Here are some sources that can help you locate business angels.

Angels and angel investor groups are affiliated with local university business schools. Some have made substantial donations to the schools themselves and can be located through campus PR departments, or by contacting business school department heads or their secretaries. Some angels like to hang out on campus from time to time.

While there may not be a “small business angel” category in the phone book index, venture capitalists are listed. You can try your local libraries for state phone books, or go online at Superpages.com for a listing of venture capitalists of which “angels” are a sub-category. You may have to wade through several hundred listings to find an angel though.

Ask for help if you’re a member of any local or regional association. Spreading the word that you’re looking for business financing and passing out your business cards while networking will help an angel find you through an intermediary. Your association may also have a membership directory that you can check. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, call your local city or university library to see if they have a hard copy or access to an online source for Gale’s Encyclopedia of Associations, a directory which lists associations in nearly every industry nationwide.

Tap into the minds of members of the local Elks, Rotary, Knights of Columbus or any other group that may be available.

Make that membership work for you. Sometimes angels populate local chambers in hopes of making contacts for new business financing ventures. Make it known that you’re looking and seek to make contacts.

These folks should have the knowledge of local players and perhaps can put you in touch with them. Or better still, they may actually have a program that you didn’t know about. Check around.

Brokers, lawyers, real estate developers, accountants, planners and business incubators should have their ears to the ground and can help.

If you have a local office, he/she should know the money sources. If not, contact the SBA at 1-800-827-5722 or online at SBA.

While they may or may not want to take you on, they may be able to offer some good advice and put you in touch with some active players. It’s worth a phone call to find out.

After-service Networking with other business professionals at your church may help you locate the contacts you need.

While not a conventional approach, check with owners of local successful businesses. There’s a good chance that they also had to utilize an angel to start or expand their business. Ask.

Your city or state may have an angel matching or locating service that can put you in touch with those backers you need. Try city hall or your state’s Department of Commerce.

Originally created in 1995 within the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, in 2000 the SBA spun off ACE-Net which is now a nonprofit corporation with state, university, entrepreneurial, educational and economic development organization operators covering most of the lower 48 states. ACE-NET special interest investors actively seek women and minority owned companies. Funding ranges from $1-$5 million. ACE-NET services cost about $450. Their Web site is ACE-NET.

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