WUTIF Capital receives many requests for funding.\u00a0 We have to be efficient at evaluating companies to determine if the investment opportunity meets our criteria for investment.<\/p>\n
Our purpose is to accelerate the success of technology entrepreneurs through our funding and stewardship of the companies.\u00a0 We believe that we provide a benefit to every start-up business that we assess through our Due Diligence.<\/p>\n
Making angel investments is very different. Very little written material to go on. Unlike public equity markets with research on public companies, there\u2019s little research or published material to go on.\u00a0 Even private equity investors have a business track record to assess, an established market to evaluate and agreements and contracts to study. \u00a0With Angel investing there is little or no history of the investment thesis.\u00a0 Few contracts or customers if any. Little management track record with the current business or of working together.<\/p>\n
WUTIF was founded by Mike Volker in 2003 and as such was one of the first Angel funds in Canada.\u00a0 Mike also was one of the founding members of NACO<\/a>, the National Angel Capital Organization, an organization dedicated to the advancement of angel investing in Canada.\u00a0 In that regard, NACO has sponsored the development of educational materials, the NACO Academy<\/a>, to help entrepreneurs and angel investors learn and engage to foster a vibrant ecosystem of angel investment in Canada.\u00a0 Through the sponsorship of Angel Forum Society<\/a> the NACO Academy program module, Adding Value through Due Diligence will be offered in a virtual webinar Thursday February 25<\/a>.<\/p>\n The process of due diligence begins the minute you hear about an investment opportunity.\u00a0 At WUTIF, as our website indicates, we have a set of qualification criteria to allow an entrepreneur to self-assess whether they should seek investment from WUTIF.\u00a0 There are some that are just out of scope.\u00a0 We hope that we are clear on our website about what is in and what is out of our scope. however, if an entrepreneur has any doubt, why not inquire?<\/p>\n Once on our radar as a potential investment, we conduct our pre-screen of the company and what the terms of investment might be.\u00a0 WUTIF tries to maintain a diverse portfolio of technology investments in all respects \u2013 people, technology sector and to some degree stage of company development.\u00a0 Part of that pre-screen activity is a review of any Term Sheet that might be proposed by the entrepreneur.\u00a0 As investors of our own and other people\u2019s money we have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure our investment receives certain investor rights such as voting rights, access to financial statements etc. that are protected by the Business Corporations Act of British Columbia.\u00a0 For this reason (and others) we are unlikely to accept term sheets for SAFEs<\/a>, (Simple Agreement for Equity) or Convertible Debt financing.<\/p>\n Engagement in due diligence after determining that an acceptable term sheet could be agreed upon, we break the due diligence into two segments, \u2018Hygiene\u2019 factors and gaining \u2018Insight\u2019.\u00a0 Hygiene factors are those that we can see and study \u2013 articles of incorporation, existing shareholder agreements, current financial statements, cap tables and the background of those who have invested previously, any contracts or agreements that are in place.\u00a0 These documents do not make a company but they can break a company so we are concerned about anomalies!<\/p>\n