Barbara Boxer, founder of Women Angels, LLC, a group of women investors in Milwaukee, Miami and Chicago, will be speaking at the Women’s Congress equity financing panel for entrepreneurs on Thursday, Jan. 24, and critiquing women entrepreneurs’ 5-minute investor presentations on Friday, Jan. 25. The former business owner and lawyer said she is looking forward to the three-day event in Miami Beach so that more women entrepreneurs know about her group.
Can you tell us a little bit about your business background?
I owned an international mail-order business of diagnostic equipment for 25 years. It was really a fundraising business because we sold it to student nursing organizations and medical students who would have medical equipment sales instead of bake sales.
I had 3 divisions, 25 employees and then sold it all off when I was 41. Then I practiced at a large law firm for 12 years. My largest client asked me to be in-house as general counsel, but I never lost my passion for business and for helping women entrepreneurs.
One of the areas I specialized in at the head of government relations department for the private law firm was certification of women-owned business and forming joint ventures between minority-owned businesses and larger businesses.
I have two children and a husband. One of my daughters is a physician, and my son is at the University of Pennsylvania.
How does this experience relate to what you are doing now?
I am someone who supports women entrepreneurs and tries to connect the dots for investors and women entrepreneurs.
Women Angels, LLC is a group of qualified women investors – which means they have net assets of $1 million or make $200,000, or if married, they have a combined income of $300,000 – not a terribly difficult threshold because the house is included. These investors make a commitment to invest in women-only businesses, meaning the entrepreneur has to own 51% of her business.
We are located in three cities – Milwaukee, Miami and Chicago, with plans to add Philadelphia and Houston by the end of 2008. We’re looking for a few more investors, probably 2 or 3. We want women from all different professions and backgrounds.
If entrepreneurs contact me, we go through due diligence – a checklist of what we’re looking for – and then make a recommendation to have the entrepreneur present to the group.
It’s not a fund; it’s a club. Each member of Women Angels does not have to invest, but if they do, the minimum investment is $10,000 and there is no maximum.
We’ve invested in three businesses so far. One business we invested almost $500,000, another, we invested $100,000 and another was $50,000. So it runs the entire gamut.
When I say connecting the dots, it’s having the woman entrepreneur come before a group, hearing her story and what she needs. Sometimes the entrepreneur is not quite ready for investment money. Sometimes the business isn’t mature enough, meaning, it is not necessarily profitable, and just has a record of sales, but we can help connect the dots around the table, by having them contact people in our network.
Money is one dot, but there are other dots to move people from Point A to Point B.
Even if someone doesn’t have $1 million in assets or a $200,000 annual salary, is it still possible for that person to invest in an early-stage company?
Family, friends and the entrepreneur can put money in. The next level is angel. When you’re an angel, you take an equity position in the business. In 5-7 years, we want a return on our money for each of the years because it’s high-risk investing.
Do you typically send your entrepreneurs to venture capitalists for their next round of funding? Or an investment bank?
When we get to the point there should be an exit strategy, we do try to hook up the entrepreneur with the venture capitalists to get them to the next level.
- Angels typically invest $1 million – $2 million
- VCs invest $7 million to $15 million
- Investment bankers come in and invest anything from $15 million and higher
So there are different phases. The earlier you invest, there is more risk, because there is that much unproven…although VCs come in and expect the same return as angels.
What is it like to be a woman in the financial industry?
When I started this in 2005 in Milwaukee, I spoke to angel male groups. They said, “You’re never going to have enough deal flow!”
First of all, I knew as soon as I heard that, that was every reason to do it. We have no problem with deal flow and we look at 20 deals and invest in 2. Whatever deals you look at, you usually invest at a 10% rate. We have had no problem getting deals. We’re always looking for women who are making sales. They can contact me and send executive summaries and business plans at bboxer@pdmbridge.com.
You have been in Florida for one year. Do you think it is a good place for women to start a business? Is it better or worse than other places?Miami is a “can-do” city. Everything is possible, probably because of the influx of Latins and people coming from other countries and starting new lives. It has a very positive attitude. It’s very refreshing.
In the northern cities – it’s a male dominated old boys club, they’ve been around since the 1800s. Miami has reinvented itself. Cubans have turned the city around, and in general, this is the financial capital of Latin America.
This new idea of Women Angels was embraced by the Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade. They introduced me to people; they believe this can be done.
My husband says, “You’ve accomplished in 6 months in Miami what would take 30 years in Milwaukee!”
It’s a complicated question, but making money and doing good can be simultaneous. Robert Kennedy, Jr., started investing in power plants in the Northeast. He formed a fund and ended up reducing the cost of electricity to the community.
Our investors and entrepreneurs are looking to make money. That’s the number one goal and focus, but that doesn’t mean you can’t invest in a green product. I’m not one to invest just because something is green or does good – it has to meet our stringent financial parameters.
We have looked at a number of companies that are green and women owned, and we haven’t invested in them, only because they’re not ready yet with the financials.
Yes, they do think differently. Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars. The biggest difference is we’re more nurturing in our group when we get together with an entrepreneur. Even if during the due diligence, we determine they’re not ready for an influx of money, we’ll spend the time trying to give them access to our network so they can get to the next level.
Women have a bonding and sisterhood when they see a competent woman. I sometimes wonder why women aren’t more supportive of competent women, and I think that’s how we can as women make a better business and economy, recognizing we have to be supportive of our fellow women in business.
I had mentors – both men and women. One woman in particular was with a non-profit I volunteered for. She was a CPA, and the mentoring she gave me was on a different level – it was how to meet and satisfy your inner passions and goals. Men never talked this way.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton have done wonderful showing competency for women (that’s not a political endorsement!).
It doesn’t matter as long it is women-owned. It could be what they call a “one-off” like a dress store, but not usually because those kinds of businesses can’t get the kind of growth we need. We’re looking for companies with tremendous growth potential. For instance, one of the companies is Traffic Cast and they give traffic updates in real time. That area is hot now, but also because they use the cell phone – it would be a natural exit strategy for a cell phone to buy this.
Don’t give up. Don’t let someone tell you it’s impossible when things aren’t going your way. Believe in yourself and your passion and follow it.
Kemila Velan, Director of Communications for Ethical Markets Media, conducted and edited this interview.