HOLLAND – Since Grand Angels was created in 2004, the angel investing group has made 18 investments for a total of $6.5 million. Half of those investments were in Western Michigan.
This update was provided by Jody VanderWel, president Grand Angels, during an interview with MITechNews.Com Editor Mike Brennan at the Momentum Lean Startup Summit on Thursday in Grand Rapids.
VanderWel said Grand Angels has done about a third in the greater Grand Rapids area, a third in Kalamazoo and a third in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area.
?We hope to close a deal by the end of May in a fixed wireless company,? she said.
It?s latest investment was in Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, a privately-held company that is joint venture between the Van Andel Institute and Grand Valley State University. Services offered include sterile biopharmaceutical outsourcing and clinical and commercial-scale parenteral manufacture.
Grand Angels doesn?t have a sweat spot for deals. The group doesn?t invest in consumer retail and has not yet invested in alternative energy. The average investment is $350,000.
The angel group has had six exits, with two of them very successful. Those include:
? RF IDentics, a Grand Rapids label-maker and office products company purchased in 2006 by Avery-Dennison. Grand Angels earned a 2.5 times return on investment.
? Accuri Cytometers , an Ann Arbor flow cytometers manufacturer. New Jersey medical devices maker Becton, Dickinson and Co. paid $205 million fo Accuri Cytometers, making it one of the largest exits in Michigan history. Grand Angels received a five times return on investment.
VanderWel said two companies in which Grand Angels has made investments have failed.
For more information, click on GrandAngels.Com
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