Steve Shillingford earned MBAs from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Columbia University Business School. He has held executive positions with several technology firms, most recently as the president and CEO of Solera Networks, and currently serves as an advisor with the venture capital firm Signal Peak. Passionate about entrepreneurship and high-tech security issues, Steve Shillingford belongs to several related professional organizations, including the Utah Technology Council, Security Innovation Networks, and Utah Angels2.
Individuals and groups that invest in startups are generally classified as angel investors or venture capitalists. Angels derive their name from Broadway investors who fund theatrical productions, also a risky investment. They’re generally high-net-worth individuals who invest to make a profit, but sometimes for other reasons as well--to keep abreast of developments in the field, for instance, or to mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs. The average angel investment is between $25,000 and $100,000, although “angel groups” may aggregate funds into investments closer to a million dollars.
Venture capitalists, or VC firms, on the other hand, are more formal in their structure and decision-making process. Usually organized as limited partnerships, they have a fiduciary responsibility to their limited partners and thus put a great deal more effort into the decision-making process, especially due diligence. Because of this, VC firms cannot make decisions as quickly as angels, and they generally invest at a later stage of a new firm’s growth. However, VC firms’ average investment is significantly larger, around $7 million.
To safeguard their investments, VC firms and angels alike frequently expect to be included in the management of companies they invest in, sometimes in an informal advisory role and sometimes more formally, in a board-of-directors capacity.
Utah Angels2 invests in Utah startups, primarily in the high-tech field. Because it’s comprised primarily of current and former high-tech executives and entrepreneurs, it offers not only funding but experience. A more thorough exploration of the group’s strategy and several of its most recent projects is available on its website, www.ua2.co.
