The Angel Association (in conjunction with NZTE Escalator) is a running a basic training course called “The Power of Angel Investing” in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin in February and March (see the course schedule for details). Based on the Angel Capital Education Foundation’s course of the same name, it promises to provide an overview of the angel investment process. The course is aimed at:
Successful entrepreneurs who have exited from their businesses and have an interest in staying involved in early stage companies.
High net-worth individuals with senior business experience who now have the time and interest in investing in early stage companies.
Angel investors who have done from one to three deals.
Community leaders and entrepreneurial support professionals who are interested in promoting angel investing in their communities.
It’s an all day course, and the cost is between $300-$400 depending on whether or not you’re a member of an associated angel club. It will be interesting to see whether the penny gap or time elasticity of demand (a whole day is a lot of time to be sitting in front of an instructor) effect attendance.
Today, we continue our Politics of Angel Investment series with an interview with Rodney Hide, the leader of ACT.
ACT’s policies revolve around reducing government. It’s a simple message, easy to understand, and clear in its impact on investment and innovation. They want to reduce taxes, government expenditure, and the impact of government on our daily lives, leaving us to get on with the job in our selected spheres of expertise, and sinking or swimming on our own merits.
Rodney’s key points:
Entrepreneurs drive the entire economy
Governments are incapable of predicting which ideas are going to be great
The main task is to grow the economy, and catch up to and surpass Australia
Key policy areas:
Fiscal: reduce government spending – taxpayer rights bill would cap government spending at rate of inflation
Regulatory: reduce rules and regulations; they stifle innovation — regulatory responsibility bill protects property rights and freedom to contract
Education: Break state monopoly in education; fund students not schools – that would enable innovation to flourish
The state should be right out of business; they should stick to core business of providing police force and critical infrastructure. Ministry of Economic Development would be disbanded; if state planning worked, the USSR and Korea would have been staggering successes.
Taxes should be as low, flat, broad, and neutral as possible. In an ideal world you should be able to run the state on GST and get rid of income tax. If you have to have an income tax, it should be flat. The worst tax you can inflict on an economy is a capital gains tax, which is especially bad for entrepreneurs.
Broadband: Rodney disagrees with unbundling and the pretend split of Telecom and the constant regulation of the Telecommunications sector. ACT would pare back regulation to a bare minimum, especially the Resource Manangement Act.
Rodney closes by saying, “Angel investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs are the heroes of our economy … I salute them!”
Wellington’s AngelHQ will be running an education evening on Due Diligence on 7 May 2008 at CreativeHQ. Rod Drury and Dion Mortensen (MOVAC) will be address issues including what questions you should raise during due diligence, what information to review, how to make a decision, what advice to take, how much time due diligence typically takes … everything you always wanted to know about due diligence but were afraid to ask.
AngelHQ is a new organisation, and is shaping up to be a great resource for Wellington-based angels.