There’s a certain romance in calling oneself an entrepreneur or angel investor. It conjures up images of Shark Tank, deal-making and hefty exits. Starting and investing in new companies is exciting and can be rewarding, but it requires a tremendous amount of knowledge and sweat equity.
In a few short weeks, VisionTech Partners and VisionTech Angels will “open the kimono” on angel investing when we host our annual E3 Summit, Empowering an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, on July 13 at the Dallara IndyCar Factory. The E3 Summit kicks off the two-day Innovation Showcase, an event billed as “Indiana’s premier event for “connecting fundable companies with capital sources.”
While education and insight into angel investing are the focus of VisionTech’s E3 Summit, it’s also a great networking event. We’ve invited our nearly 100 angel investors from across the state to attend, along with the leaders of our 18 start-up companies. If you want the real story on company formation, angel investing, pitching, and the due diligence process, the E3 Summit is the place to get it as we intentionally designed the summit to connect people, ideas and knowledge.
We do want to make the summit about your interests as entrepreneurs and potential angel investors. So we’re asking attendees to complete a survey on your background and interests. During the summit itself, attendees will be given the opportunity to assess, conduct due diligence and invest – with play money – in three pitch companies. We’ll start with lunch and end with a VIP Reception hosted by Elevate Ventures so there will also be plenty of time for discussion and connections
For those who are new to VisionTech Partners and VisionTech Angels, we’re among the most active angel groups in the Midwest. In the last three years, we’ve added angel-investing chapters in Bloomington and Fort Wayne, bringing our total to five chapters (the others are in Indianapolis, Lafayette and Warsaw.) Membership is nearly 100 angel investors strong and our investment portfolio includes 18 companies reflecting a diversity of markets. We’ve recently added a sidecar fund. Rest assured our savvy angel investing members will have their eyes open for promising start-ups participating in the E3 Summit and The Innovation Showcase.
The E3 Summit and The Innovation Showcase are ticketed events. Space is limited so those interested are encouraged to purchase tickets on The Innovation Showcase website.