The Billiken Angel Network (BAN) is an angel investment organization affiliated with Saint Louis University with the goal of funding "the deals that make a difference" in our locality as well as within our University community. We have three major focuses in our investments: (1) Entrepreneurial firms in the St. Louis MO-IL region (2) Firms anywhere in the world whose owners are current or former students, faculty or staff from Saint Louis University, and (3) Firms referred to BAN by its university and entrepreneurial development partners across the region and the country.
The BAN meets every two months (January, March, May, July, September, November) to consider opportunities. BAN will fund firms in any industry and at any stage, but we do have a focus on firms that can provide high returns, typically at least five times the amount invested within 5 years. This also means we are looking for firms who have a strategy in place to harvest the value of the angels' investment. Our funding range is $50,000 to $500,000 per round (note for student-owned businesses out of Saint Louis University, our minimum investment is $5,000). Our preferred form of investment is through convertible debt with warrants. You can learn more about this investment vehicle from of main website (http://www.billikenangels.com/resources.html).
Note that while we are always interested in firms offering high returns and fast exits, we are unlike typical angel groups in that we are also open to businesses in which our investment can significantly increase revenues (50% increase or more) and provide above market returns over a long term.
When applying to the Billiken Angels, please make sure you have included your complete business plan (with financials). We do not make presentation decisions based on pitch decks alone.
If you have any questions, please contact the BAN Director Jerome Katz, at 314-977-3864 or by email at katzja@slu.edu.
