By: Emily Angold, ACA Marketing Manager

We can’t wait to welcome Martha Miller, Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to ACA 2020 – The Summit of Angel Investing! Martha will join ACA for an exclusive fireside chat to discuss updates, trends, and perspectives about how COVID-19 is impacting raising capital, crowdfunding, and strategies to bridge networks. 

By: Emily Angold, ACA Marketing Manager

What would it be like if start up success wasn’t so hard to predict? What if you could leverage a research-based, long-term study to help you assess a company’s potential? Even better, what if you had a turnkey, proven way to set early stage entrepreneurs up for success as they go beyond founding a business and start building their business? 

Christopher Mirabile, ACA Chair Emeritus, Managing Director at Launchpad Venture Group and Co-Founder of Seraf-investor.com

Entrepreneurs who have just launched or are contemplating launching a startup are undoubtedly feeling a bit panicky as the social and economic consequences of Covid-19 start to pile up. There is a reasonable basis for concern in this climate, but I am here to tell you that the situation is not hopeless. If you have a good idea, it’s focused on a problem truly worth solving, and you are still feeling passionate and motivated about it, then hang in there a little longer and don’t give up on trying to raise money for your company.  

By: Gwendolyn Jaramillo, Partner at Foley Hoag LLP and Anna Annino, Associate at Foley Hoag LLP

Editor’s Note – ACA extends a huge thank you to ACA Gold Partner, Foley Hoag LLP for creating this timely article to educate the angel community on the recent changes related to the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).  Thank you for your work on behalf of angels and the startup ecosystem!

On February 13, 2020, the final regulations went into effect which implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) and expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The new rules will have a significant impact on the angel investing community, especially for investments in certain industries as described further below. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The Paycheck Protection Program under the recently passed CARES Act provides forgivable loans for businesses with less than 500 employees, but included a huge hurdle for many startups, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “Affiliation Rules”. 

Christopher Mirabile, ACA Chair Emeritus, Managing Director at Launchpad Venture Group and Co-Founder of Seraf-investor.com

We are all dealing with a lot right now - health, family, work, economic concerns. Angel community leaders have the additional challenges of adapting their processes to work over video, and assessing the damage spreading through the portfolio of startups in their flock. Given how much people are dealing with I thought it might be useful to give folks some important reminders. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

As part of America’s startup community, ACA was among many organizations that responded this weekend to address an issue of concern regarding a needed clarification that otherwise excludes small businesses with equity investors from the 7(a) loan program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The U.S. House of Representative has just passed the historic $2.2 trillion dollar COVID-19 emergency relief bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to speed recovery across the U.S. economy.  These funds will be distributed to individuals, businesses and states in response to the coronavirus pandemic under H.R. 748. 

Dan Rosen, Alliance of Angels

Editor’s Note – Dan Rosen shares a note to Alliance of Angels members and his portfolio companies with his thoughts on the financial impact of COVID-19 on startups. 

By: Ham Lord, Chairman of Launchpad Venture Group and Co-Founder of Seraf-investor.com 

This post originally appeared on Seraf-investor.com

It’s amazing how the world economic situation changed seemingly overnight with Covid-19. One moment we were enjoying a healthy economy with a robust outlook on the future. Suddenly, a pandemic crisis sweeps over the globe creating uncertainty in all aspects of our lives. We’ve been through economic downturns before, yet this time it feels different. Being forced to live in a world of “social distancing” has changed people’s psychology because it has altered everything about our day-to-day world.