-
It was started in 1988.
-
Its purpose is to provide “angel
investors” with the opportunity to see business situations in
which they might choose to invest. Such investments are
frequently made in start-ups and always have goals of helping
both the recipient of the investment and the investors.
-
LORE believes that it is not
realistic to invest in any situation if there is no profit
potential.
-
LORE views investments without
advice and mentoring to be extremely dangerous and will
generally only invest where there is a role for a LORE member to
provide such advice as an advisor, board member, etc.
-
LORE is organized to have a
Chairman and a Program Chairman who might be in those functions
for several years, together with a Secretary/Treasurer and
Membership Chairman who serve longer terms.
-
Currently LORE has 51 active
members and about half a dozen inactive members who are former
active members who have become unable to remain active.
-
There are meetings every month
except for July and August. A typical meeting starts at 8:00
A.M. and runs to noon. Continental breakfast is provided.
There is no lunch on a regular basis, but, since we meet in
hotels, anyone who wishes to have lunch can join with the others
informally.
-
A typical meeting consists of two
business presentations, a review of current investments,
administrative conversations and sometimes a personal
presentation by one of our members concerning his background or
an investment speaker, etc.
-
A typical meeting is attended by
about half of the members.
-
The Program Chairman’s job is the
toughest. He may receive as many as 20 to 30 business plans a
month coming from all different sources. He then selects no
more than two, which is the maximum number of presentations we
schedule per month.
-
Each of these selected presenters
must give us a business plan and responds to a questionnaire on
a form which is provided to them. The plan and the
questionnaire are sent to all LORE members prior to the meeting
at which the presentation is scheduled..
-
A typical meeting schedules 30
minutes for each presentation including questions and answers.
At the end of that time, the presenter is excused and we meet in
an informal caucus to decide whether or not any of the LORE
members desire to pursue consideration of investment in the
company.
-
If the decision is “no”, the
presenters are so informed. If there is interest, the
presenters are told of the interest and the due diligence
process proceeds.
-
There is a champion for every
deal in which there is interest. It is usually someone who is
familiar with the field in which the company in involved and is
interested in the investment.
-
Due diligence can take many
forms. Most often it is performed by the various members in
personal interviews, review of financials, etc.
-
The terms of the deal are
negotiated, with the champion leading the negotiations.
-
Investments are always made by
individuals.
-
Investment range between $25,000
to $100,000 per member.
-
Often the LORE investment is a
critical bridge between the initial monies put into the company
by the entrepreneur and the funds necessary to get the
enterprise underway.
-
LORE members rarely invest in a
company where there is no product or service being produced and
purchased by somebody. We have to be comfortable that the
company has a good chance of becoming successful and meeting its
business plan.
-
In the course of a year, LORE
members see about twenty presentations. We invest in
approximately two to three deals per year.
-
This is high risk investing in
very early stage companies; but it we do it properly, we can
help the entrepreneur and make a profit at the same time.
-
We are fortunate in having
members from diverse backgrounds, each of whom has been a
successful head of a business before joining LORE.
