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PubTalks boost start ups Frederick Schilling has some hot chocolate while the takes a business call in December 2014. The Ashland entrepreneur headlines Tuesday's 'PubTalk.' Tidings file photo Saturday Feb 4, 2017 at 2:00 AM By John Darling For the Tidings Regional entrepreneurs engaged in the hard and risky business of startups are fortunate to have a huge lift from the Southern Oregon Angel Network, a group of investors with a wealth of experience needed to evaluate ideas, business plans and owners — then invest serious capital in the promising ones. The Angels, created under the aegis of SOREDI (Southern Oregon Regional Development Inc.) has created the Launch Ashland monthly PubTalk, a platform where investors and entrepreneurs outreach and connect with each other. The talk at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the ballroom at Ashland Springs Hotel is by Frederick Schilling, who created Dagoba Organic Chocolates and, realizing the startup entrepreneur’s dream, sold it five years later to Hershey's for $17 million. Schilling gained his entrepreneurial experience on his own, notes that it “takes a hell of a lot of work, sacrifice and conviction” and that “having access to capital can be the biggest hurdle. An angel group like this, willing to vet a business plan, idea, product or service and potentially invest in it is an enormous opportunity for the entrepreneur, especially if the investors are willing to remain on the board and guide it.” After selling Dagoba, Ashlander Schilling has gone on to create Nira, an Indonesian-based company that operates the largest organic coconut supply chain in that country, using 10,000 coconut farmers, he says. “To start a business takes so much work and is a lot of fun,” says Schilling. “Serial entrepreneurs like me keep doing it because it’s a challenge and fun. For entrepreneurs to have a network of experienced business people, like the Angels, to share their successes and failures and guide them forward – that’s invaluable.” Shallan Ramsey, last week’s Launch Ashland speaker, was evaluated by the Angels and last June got a $445,000 investment for her invention, called MaskIT, an organic, biodegradable feminine hygiene pouch, in which consumers can insert used sanitary napkins, without the embarrassment and worry of dropping them in wastebaskets. “We’re a startup and definitely are at the point where we need help,” said Ashlander Ramsey. “We had the retail product and public dispenser and now are able to enter the commercial market. We’re already in a lot of stores nationally. It’s crazy how it’s grown. It’s been an incredible journey. We’ve been planting seeds a long time and now they’re flowering.” Ramsey says the investment capital was a “pinnacle moment” where 15 investors got behind her, and it wasn’t just with money, but expertise and guidance. In addition, she says, it means a lot to have local investors, rather than people far off she doesn’t know. The Angels over the past six years have invested $2.1 million across nine companies here, says Stephen Vincent of Avista, the founder of the network. The Launch Ashland campaign, which is soon planned for other cities in the valley, “is a forum to coax companies out of the woodwork. We hope to meet them and identify some who might be willing to look to Angels for a startup. The Angel investors have an 80 percent failure rate, Vincent says, but that’s normal — and it’s the other 20 percent that look good for a 10 to 20 percent return on investment that make it work. The Angels look at two or three prospects a year, searching for a good team, good founder — people who can show it’s a credible idea, scaleable and has a good business plan and is a good match for investors, he says. Often, he notes, investors are as much or more interested in the team, as the product. Someone with a “disagreeable personality” who doesn’t want to change the product or plan and just wants the money, he says, usually won’t work out. Angel investors focus on local entrepreneurs, Vincent says, because they enjoy the review process, want to help them build a good business plan and can advise the company as it goes along. “They feel some personal satisfaction knowing they had a hand in a startup that is successful in the Rogue Valley and has a good payroll.” The Angel Network is found all over the country, mostly in small communities and mostly volunteer run, Vincent says, adding, “There are no two alike. One wants to manufacture bicycles, another a food product, another is internet, another renewable energy production. One here is creating a transformer for solar panels. Southern Oregon University's School of Business and Small Business Development Center are offering instruction, mentoring and coaching, individually and in small groups for the project, A grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, with funding from the city of Ashland and backing from the Oregon Entrepreneur Network, will assist. LAUNCH Ashland PubTalks are held monthly. To attend February PubTalk, register at no cost at www.soredi.org or simply show up. — John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].