“As an angel investor, it’s rewarding to see the impact of my contributions to the growth of companies and the local economy. For investors, it can be overwhelming at times to determine which investments are best for me and the community. Wisconsin River Business Angels provide a high level of due diligence, researching and investigating hundreds of opportunities yearly and providing me with confidence that my investments are sound. My involvement with young companies as a board member also provides me with the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience guiding startups.”

“In spite of winning first place in the manufacturing sector of the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, it was still challenging to find pre-seed round capital for our business growth. Being ‘first in’ on an investment takes courage. With Wisconsin River Business Angels as the lead investor, a second angel group came joined with WRBA providing additional capital to close out the pre-seed round. In addition to the capital investment, Wisconsin River Business Angels also provided the support, guidance, strategies, and advice to access future capital needed to fuel our growth.”

“Economic vitality is a top priority for our members and the community. The Wisconsin River Business Angels provide for an unmet need in Central Wisconsin by connecting the resources of private investors to the needs of young and growing companies. Not only do they provide capital for companies at the stage of highest risk, they also provide guidance and network connections that add value and greatly improve success rates. Leon and Jeff both being engaged in the community is an added bonus.”

“Accessing capital to start a business is challenging. Working with the angels, we broke through the barriers to access early stage seed funding to launch our business. Our local investors believed in our opportunity to design and build a revolutionary wheelchair by providing early capital and guidance, allowing us to grow our business. Since then, we have grown locally to over 300 employees with sales in 45 countries.”