On Saturday, April 28, three Pasadena Angels joined the graduating class of Executive MBA program at the Marshall School of Business to give the students an inside view of how the Angel process works.

Chris Wadden, Stender Sweeney and Barry Paulk joined Professor Tom O’Malia’s class to judge pitches from Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies students in order to let the E-MBA students see both side of the Angel process — what its like to pitch and what its like to evaluate early stage companies.  Chris O’Connell presented his company, ClearPath, which is a spin-out of USC that brings 5 years of research and 2 patents to the world of travel and delivery efficiency here in LA and soon to be nationwide.  Alfred Chung presented his company, Site Unseen, which opens up street art to anyone with a smart phone.  Timothy (Levi) Kinnard introduced Daily 2K, a competitive new twist on eating right each and every day.

Students in the E-MBA class were able to view the pitches, listen to the Pasadena Angels questions and comments and query the presenters and judges themselves.  Many questions centered around the process itself and how the students could learn more about the Pasadena Angels.  To that end, students from Universities around town are welcome to attend a Pasadena Angels screening meeting, held on the last Wednesday of each month.  To register, contact Barry Paulk at Barry.Paulk@PasadenaAngels.com.  Available slots are limited and filled on a first come, first served basis.

Wasatch uses a patented Continuous Flow Microspotter (CFM) to deposit biomolecules on biosensor surfaces.  This printer technology pushes past the old Human Genome Project printing technologies of its competitors because of its groundbreaking 3D design that uses flow to cycle molecules back and forth over a surface.  The Pasadena Angels are excited to support Wasatch’s unique product expand into the pharmaceutical and academic research communities, a niche $700 million market that includes a potential 14,000 labs.

“It was a pleasure working with Josh Eckman, President and Co-Founder of Wasatch Microfluidics. This patented technology will be disruptive to the protein analysis field in both the academic field as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Eckman came to the Pasadena Angels well prepared about their technology, competition, customer, market and the value proposition. We are very proud at the Pasadena Angels to fund this special company in a record time; in less than four weeks.” says Dr. Kevin Scanlon, the Chairman of the Pasadena Angel and leader of this investment round.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the Pasadena Angels.  As a syndicated deal, we have met with many different angel groups throughout the funding process,” comments Josh Eckman, President and Co-Founder of Wasatch Microfluidics.  “The Pasadena Angels stand out as one of the best in terms of organization, investor attendance, and engagement.   We were surprised by the speed at which they have moved.  We went from an initial meeting to filling out our round in less than a month.  I wish we had started with their group!”

About the Pasadena Angels

Founded in 2000, the Pasadena Angels is a group of leading private investors that provides long-term intellectual and financial capital to help build successful companies throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. Their members, with many years of collective leadership experience, provide the resources and experience to ensure the success of their portfolio companies.

The Pasadena Angels invests in early stage companies in a broad range of industries, including but not limited to technology, that have the potential to build sustainable and successful businesses. The Pasadena Angels charges no fees for its services.

About Wasatch Microfluidics

Wasatch Microfluidics was founded in Salt Lake City, in 2005 by Josh Eckman, Bruce Gale and Jim Smith.  The company licensed the CFM printing technology from the University of Utah Research Foundation later that year.  Over the years, Wasatch has worked to develop the CFM to create a product that maintains proteins in enclosed channels and allows more proteins to attach to the surface, improving results up tot 1000 fold.  Wasatch has 2 allowed  patents and 2 pending patents for its CFM technology and six total grants, including multiple Phase I and Phase II SBIR grants.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 20, 2012 – http://www.prweb.com/releases/gridtest-systems/venture-funding/prweb9277696.htm

Gridtest Systems Inc., an independent provider ofhigh-value test and measurement tools for electric vehicle (EV) charging, announced it has closed a seed investment round with Pasadena Angels and Tech Coast Angels. This initial round of external investment enables Gridtest Systems to accelerate the launch of its first product, the EV Emulator EVE-100L, which solves critical test and measurement problems for R&D labs of major charging system manufacturers and product suppliers.

“We’re delighted to close this funding round, which crucially allows us to target all our priority markets with a key product that our customers and prospects have been telling us is urgently needed,” said Neal Roche, CEO and founder of Gridtest Systems. “We’re pleased that angel investors have recognized our achievements to date and our commitment to becoming a leading player in the electric vehicle infrastructure testing market.”

Pasadena Angels and Tech Coast Angels invested in Gridtest Systems after it demonstrated market traction with key customers in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

“Gridtest Systems is a critically important player in the development of the electric vehicle charging market. The company has a strong and experienced management team, innovative technology, and a clear marketing strategy. We look forward to partnering with Gridtest in its drive to meet the needs of its leading-edge customers,” said Ian McGregor, Pasadena Angels board member.

“Gridtest is a perfect example of the type of Los Angeles-based startup we are looking to invest in,” said DC Palter of Tech Coast Angels. “In addition to capital, we will provide Gridtest with our collective resources and experience to help them bring their products to market and make them a leader as the clean-technology industry continues to mature.”

The nascent electric vehicle market requires a dependable charging infrastructure

The fast-growing EV Charging industry faces challenges that require advanced test tools. Pike Research forecasts that EV Charger annual sales will reach $4.3 billion by 2017. Already, a variety of companies are supplying electric vehicle charging stations (known as EVSEs) to utility companies, EV service providers, and automotive companies. These entities need to ensure compatibility between charging stations and the new generation of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) that are entering the marketplace. Recently, General Motors presented a list of compatibility problems that can prevent electric vehicles from charging, highlighting the need for detailed testing of the compliance of charging stations to the EVSE standard SAE J1772™. For successful market adoption of electric vehicles, consumers must be assured of a safe and reliable charging experience every time they plug in their vehicle.

Gridtest Systems’ technology addresses an urgent need along the EV value chain

The EVE-100L is the most advanced, independent EVSE test instrument available today. It can run automated tests and report on the functional compatibility of electric vehicle charging stations, enabling the R&D labs of the major manufacturers of charging stations and independent test laboratories to quickly verify the correct functioning of charging stations. Until now, EVSE suppliers factored weeks or even months to comprehensively test a new charging station; the EVE 100L product reduces this by a factor of ten, accelerating their time to market.

The EVE-100L goes beyond simple EV simulator tools by analyzing key parameters that cause compatibility problems with electric vehicles, such as charger state transition timing or false ground-fault trips. The EVE-100L also verifies that the charger can support the maximum advertised current to emulate realistic electric vehicle loads. It records highly accurate measurements and generates comprehensive test reports that aid additional analysis.

In the second half of 2011, Gridtest Systems announced the EVE-100J, a field-test version of its EV Emulator tool, which is used by EV service providers and electrical contractors for installation testing and preventative maintenance on EV charging stations.

The EV Emulator can test charging stations worldwide that conform to SAE-J1772™, IEC 61851-1 and IEC 62196-2 Type 2 Mode 3, vehicle inlets. 
*EVSE stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment which is the industry designation for Level 1 and 2 Charging stations. SAE J1772™ is a trademark owned by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

About the Pasadena Angels 
Founded in 2000, the Pasadena Angels is a group of leading private investors that provides long-term intellectual and financial capital to help build successful companies throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. Their members, with many years of collective leadership experience, provide the resources and experience to ensure the success of their portfolio companies. The Pasadena Angels invest in early stage companies in a broad range of industries, including but not limited to technology, that have the potential to build sustainable and successful businesses. The Pasadena Angels charges no fees for its services. http://www.pasadenaangels.com

About Tech Coast Angels 
Tech Coast Angels, the largest organized angel investor group in the United States, provides funding and guidance to more early-stage, high-growth companies in Southern California than any other investment group. Since its inception in 1997, TCA members have focused on building valuable companies, personally invested more than $115 million, and helped more than 187 portfolio companies attract more than $1.4 billion in additional capital, mostly from venture capital firms. TCA members give companies more than just capital; they also provide counsel, mentoring and access to an extensive network of potential investors, customers, strategic partners, and management talent. TCA has more than 300 members, including its venture capital affiliates, in five networks in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Central Coast, and the Inland Empire. http://www.techcoastangels.com

About Gridtest Systems Inc. 
Gridtest Systems is a California-based startup that develops EV test and measurement products for labs and installers. Its EVSE Tester (called EVE — Electric Vehicle Emulator) comprehensively and automatically tests SAE-J1772™ (IEC 62196-2 Type 2 Mode 3) charging stations with full traceability. There are two versions: EVE-100J for installers (a simple version for rapid verification of the correct and safe operation of EVSEs); and EVE-100L for lab testing (a more elaborate test product with more detailed test suites and results, aimed at EVSE manufacturers and research laboratories). Gridtest Systems is the winner of the 2011 California Cleantech Open business competition and accelerator, and was accepted into the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (http://www.laincubator.com). Gridtest is a registered Trademark of Gridtest Systems Inc. For more information, contact Gridtest Systems at http://www.gridtest.com or call +1.214.986.8559.

Pasadena, Calif., MAR 8, 2012 – JobSync, an innovative online career service that reinvents recruiting for candidates and companies alike, has raised a $1.6M Series A investment from The Pasadena Angels, Tech Coast Angels, and other angel investors from across the country. The investment round will be used to fund JobSync’s operations and grow its network of candidates and jobs.

Founded in 2011 by Danny Simon, a Harvard Business School graduate who previously ran Disney’s e-commerce business, JobSync offers a proprietary algorithm that matches candidates to jobs based on experience, education, salary and location preferences, and personality. JobSync’s competitive differentiation stems from its intuitive user interface, robust matching process, and compliance with EEOC and OFCCP regulations.

“Danny and I had been speaking for almost a year before we invested in JobSync,” says Barry Paulk, a Pasadena Angel and leader of the investment round. “Over that time I became impressed with the progress JobSync was making in the noisy HR space. We believe that Danny will lead JobSync to great success in the online recruiting market.  We are looking forward to partnering with him on navigating the quickest and most profitable path to growth as part of our investment philosophy that ‘It’s more than the money.’”

The Angels look forward to a successful exit in the next few years.

About the Pasadena Angels

Founded in 2000, the Pasadena Angels is a group of leading private investors that provides long-term intellectual and financial capital to help build successful companies throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. Their members, with many years of collective leadership experience, provide the resources and experience to ensure the success of their portfolio companies.

The Pasadena Angels invests in early stage companies in a broad range of industries, including but not limited to technology, that have the potential to build sustainable and successful businesses. The Pasadena Angels charges no fees for its services.

Contact:

Barry Paulk

1-818-980-3939

barrypaulk@questexec.com

Written By Cindy Vanegas

Published December 29, 2011

FOXBusiness

Read more: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/finance-accounting/2011/12/28/angel-investing-trends-for-2012/#ixzz1iRXUCrnV

That is pushing some entrepreneurs to look for “bridge” financing to keep forging ahead, or to cut the valuations they are seeking, the people add.

The average valuations of young companies have dropped recently to $3 million to $5 million, from $6 million to $8 million earlier this year, says Naval Ravikant, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor who runs AngelList, a website where young companies can apply to seek “angel” or “seed” money.

The start-up financing market “is getting weaker by the week, no question,” he says. While AngelList has 50 to 100 start-ups applying for funding daily through its site, only one to two are getting financing, he estimates. “The survivor rate of these companies is way down.”

The trend is nascent and so far largely affects the earliest-stage start-ups, with excess still rampant in much of the market, say investors and entrepreneurs. The strains appear to echo what happened in the late 1990s, when the dot-com boom began to peter out and many small start-ups suddenly found it harder to raise cash.

A fundamental mismatch is now starting to show: While scores of Web companies were founded in recent years, there isn’t enough venture capital to keep all of them going indefinitely.

Overall, 826 consumer-oriented Internet start-ups received a round of venture funding from 2009 through this year’s first half, nearly double the 416 such companies that snagged a round of venture financing in the dot-com boom years of 1998 to 2000, according to an analysis by VentureSource.

The numbers don’t include start-ups that received funding only from wealthy individuals who invested their own money, known as angels, so the true number of Web companies is likely much higher.

At the same time, the amount that venture funds themselves are raising—which determines how much money gets pumped into the start-up ecosystem—has plunged.

Between Jan. 1, 2009, and late last month, U.S. venture-capital firms raised $39.2 billion, down 76% from the $162.5 billion that was raised between Jan. 1, 1998, and Dec. 21, 2000, according to VentureSource.

On Monday, the National Venture Capital Association said that venture fund raising in the third quarter fell to its lowest quarterly level in eight years.

“There are a lot of seed-funded companies that are starting to seek out new capital, but there just aren’t enough venture capitalists to fund them,” says George Zachary, a venture capitalist at Charles River Ventures, who adds that he can’t keep up with the 40 requests he gets a week from new start-ups that want money. “There’s going to be a culling,” he predicts.  Jessica Mah, chief executive of San Francisco start-up InDinero, which makes online financial tools, has felt the effects of the market change. The 21-year-old, whose company went through Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator incubator program last year, easily raised $1.1 million a year ago from angel investors and others.

Then, several months ago, she says, she saw “a turn in the environment. A lot of my own investors are backing down. I’m trying to send them deals, and they’re a lot more picky.”

Ms. Mah adds that InDinero has been burning through its $1.1 million “quickly,” so she has trimmed back the company’s burn rate by $20,000 a month. She says she was able to garner some “bridge” financing, which will give her a cash cushion until 2013.  ”I’m taking as much as I can get,” Ms. Mah says, “because I don’t know what will happen to the market.”  Spark Capital’s Mo Koyfman visited the digits set to discuss why the venture capital firm is investing in tech platforms like Tumblr and Twitter.

Some investors say they would welcome a market self-correction. Any winnowing will help eliminate the me-too competitors that have sprung up and dampen any extreme valuations, the investors say. “It’s a totally healthy” dynamic, adds Howard Hartenbaum, a venture capitalist at August Capital.

Aydin Senkut, a Silicon Valley angel investor, says he has cut down on the percentage of seed deals he funds as part of his portfolio because the “markups I’ve seen [on valuations of young companies] are insane.”

Instead, Mr. Senkut says, he has begun looking overseas for start-up deals that are relatively cheaper than Silicon Valley companies, and he is also looking to invest in more established companies rather than just the tiniest enterprises. Among his investments this year: Finland-based Rovio Inc., the maker of the mobile-game “Angry Birds.”

For some Silicon Valley acquirers, any breather in start-up valuations is a boon. Marcus Shen, head of Yahoo <http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=YHOO>  Inc.’s corporate development, says he is “starting to see valuations pull back a little bit” because “the sheer numbers of start-ups are creating pressure on the marketplace.”

So while small tech companies may previously have had ambitions to stay independent, he says, now they are more interested in selling themselves—and at a more reasonable price.