Entrepreneurs have unique skills and personalities. And launching their good ideas into full-fledged successful businesses can be impacted by numerous factors. Besides a good idea, it takes hard work; it takes luck; and above all, it takes money. To find that perfect storm of talent, timing and financing takes something else. In some cases, it takes an angel--or in the vernacular of business, an angel investor.

A group of local investors, working with RAIN Source^SM Capital, has established a Regional Angel Investor Network (RAIN) and fund for start-up ventures in Fargo-Moorhead. RAIN Source Capital is a multi-state network of RAIN funds that works with angel investors interested in supporting growing companies. It provides investment capital, a process for due diligence, legal templates, management support, access to deal flow and other resources. Terri Zimmerman, business development specialist at the NDSU Research & Technology Park, serves as president of the F-M Angel Investment Fund. "Equity capital is vital to small companies and is needed to nurture innovation," said Zimmerman.

The Fargo-Moorhead RAIN fund focuses on growth companies. The group's 26 members include entrepreneurs with broad experience. "They are people who have built businesses, attorneys, members of the banking community and others who are involved in various industries including manufacturing, engineering, life science, software, construction and biosciences," explained Zimmerman. The fund began forming in late 2006 and it was recently closed at a level of $1.6 million.

Zimmerman emphasizes that in addition to financing promising ventures, the F-M Angel Investment Fund can provide networking opportunities for entrepreneurs that are equally valuable. The process typically begins with an entrepreneur contacting the fund. For start-up businesses interested in learning more about the fund, contact Zimmerman at terri@ndsuresearchpark.com.

If the application progresses, the business seeking financing fills out an entrepreneur application that is reviewed by the F-M Angel Investment Fund screening committee. If the committee wants to learn more about the proposed business, the entrepreneur is invited to make a 30-minute presentation to the entire fund membership. If the fund is interested, members pursue due diligence, seek additional information and decide whether the fund will invest in the venture. Members also have the option of making side-by-side investments in conjunction with the fund. Angel investors are typically individuals with income exceeding $200,000 and a net worth of more than $1 million.

Other angel funds have been developed in Bismarck and Grand Forks, N.D. All of the North Dakota funds are affiliated with RAIN Source Capital, St. Paul, Minn., a multi-state network of RAIN funds that works with angel investors who are interested in supporting growing companies. The network brings the power of angel investing opportunities to areas of the country that are not always targeted by equity funding sources. As of November 2006, the RAIN network included 19 funds, with more than $20 million invested in 40 companies. Approximately 90 percent of outside equity capital in seed or start-up companies comes from angel investors, according to the Angel Capital Education Foundation.

"Angel dollars often come at critical points in a company's development, enabling it to get past funding and growth hurdles in its early years," according to Steve Mercil, CEO of RAIN Source Capital. He views the F-M fund as an advantage to the area. "You have a focused group of people looking for opportunities in your own backyard," said Mercil. "You have essentially built a runway. Now you can get something to land."