Come Be an Angel: Angel Investing 101

Have you ever thought that you’d like to help early stage companies grow but you don’t know enough about the process? Or that you’d like to be part of an angel network but you don’t know where to start?

Come join the angel conversation that we’re starting at HAYVN in October. HAYVN is partnering with Tidal River, a new CT-based group of women investors who will be leading the conversation about what you need to know to evaluate early stage/seed investment opportunities.

Christine, Sullivan, CT SBDC Consultant, Alison Malloy, Tidal River Co-Founder and Connecticut Innovations Director of Investments; and Galia Gichon, Tidal River Deal Flow Manager and Down to Earth Finance Founder, will discuss topics including pitch evaluation, due diligence, valuation, financials and term sheets. You’ll learn the critical questions to ask entrepreneurs and you’ll get some practice with real women with innovative ideas that they’re currently pitching.

A three-day workshop over lunch that combines investor assessment techniques with guest pitches from real entrepreneurs.

General Admission: $120 (includes lunch)

Dates: Wednesday, October 12, 19 & 26

Location: HAYVN, 320 Boston Post Road Suite 180 Darien, CT 06820

About the speakers:

Christine Sullivan is a consultant at the CT Small Business Development Center. She enjoys helping entrepreneurs and small business owners achieve their next milestone. Whether it’s developing a business plan or finding the right source of capital, Christine can help advise on the best plan to achieve the company’s short- and long-term goals. Prior to joining CTSBDC, Christine worked in investment banking for nearly 20 years where she focused on technology and food and beverage companies. During her career, she realized how rewarding it was to work with earlier stage businesses where you could see that your advice was having a real impact on the company’s growth and success. With a passion for organic and natural food, Christine spent two years working for Revolution Foods, a b-corp focused on providing healthy school lunches to schools in low income communities. Her interest in healthy food and innovative food business ideas continues and she loves experiencing the exciting Connecticut foodie scene!

Galia Gichon serves on the Tidal River leadership team and assists with managing deal flow. She is also an independent personal financial expert whose career has spanned corporate bond research analyst, personal finance expert, angel investor, entrepreneur advisor and author. As an angel investor, she actively supports women-led and impact startups. She is the founder of Down to Earth Finance, providing independent personal finance education. Galia teaches at Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership and Freelancers Union, and is often asked for comment by the New York Times, NBC, CNN and other media outlets. Previously, she worked at Bear Stearns and Nomura Securities. Galia is the author of My Money Matters, which was featured on the Today show, and of the novel The Accidental Suffragist.

Alison Malloy is co-founder of Tidal River and primarily helps manage the group’s deal flow. She is also director of investments at CI, where she is responsible for evaluating investment opportunities, structuring investments and accelerating portfolio companies through active board participation. Alison was the CEO and co-founder of Design2Launch (D2L), a leading Connecticut-based tech startup in workflow collaboration for the pharmaceuticals industry that she helped sell twice. After D2L was initially acquired by Eastman Kodak Company in 2008, Alison worked on the spinout and merger with BLUE Software in 2016, where she served on the board of directors and supported the successful exit for the second time to Danaher in 2018. Alison previously worked at the Slovak American Enterprise Fund and Trimodia LLC. She worked for General Electric around the world, graduating from GE Capital’s prestigious financial management program.