BLOOMFIELD HILLS ? Great Lakes Angles, one of the region’s leading angel investment groups, will move its office to the business incubator at Oakland University as part of a new alliance with the school.
Great Lakes Angels President and Founder David Weaver said a package of benefits offered GLA by OU Accelerator Executive Director David Spencer was so compelling, he decided to switch his office from Wayne State University?s Tech Town to OU in Auburn Hills.
?We?re not abandoning Detroit, we just adding Oakland University,? Weaver said. ?We?ll still use our Tech Town office for meetings, screening deals and due diligence. But this alliance will help GLA accelerate our vision for funding more young companies in Michigan, which will be revealed in the near future. This relationship is very timely since connecting to seed capital throughout Michigan is not easy as many entrepreneurs can attest.?
Spencer, the former president of Michigan Virtual University, said there is no better place for the Great Lakes Angels to grow than at OU Inc.?
?We not only have the resources to help GLA grow, but any expansion of GLA provides a great return for our client company community as well,? he said. ?As we help GLA build their network of investors, entrepreneurial companies ? like the ones we help launch at OU INC ? will have a greater chance of receiving angel funding. We?re planning to work together to provide unique technology based resources to angel investors and the GLA organization.?
The latest estimates from the Center for Venture Research show that angels provided $18.1 billion in start-up financing in 2003, up from $15.7 billion in 2002. The Center also estimates that there are between 250,000 and 400,000 angel investors in the United States currently, with a projected 1 to 5 million potential angels.
For more information, click on GLAngels.Org
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