Grand Forks, ND - The Center for Innovation is happy to announce that successful angel investors, entrepreneur, and business executive  Bill Payne will present his talk “The Venture Capital Model is Broken” as part of the Entrepreneur Forum series.

The Entrepreneur Forum will be held Thursday, June 18th at 6:00 PM in the Idea Lab at the Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center. The Forum is free and  visitor parking is readily available.

The presentation, “The VC Model is Broken” focuses on the problems and decline of Venture Capital firms since the internet bubble: fewer funds with poor industry returns.  In the past decade, angel investors seem to be getting their act together:  banding in groups, using new deal flow tools, developing standardized due diligence and term sheet documents, syndicating deals and measuring returns.  Mr. Payne will discuss what is next for both angel investors and entrepreneurs. 

There has been a large increase in Angel Investment activity in North Dakota in recent years thanks to efforts by the Center for Innovation and St. Paul based RAIN Source Capital. There are close to 10 funds operational or in development in North Dakota and northern Minnesota.  Angel investors have played an important role in the economic development of our region.

Mr. Payne is a business executive, entrepreneur and “angel investor” (investor/mentor to startup companies). He held positions with two Fortune 500 companies before co-founding Solid State Dielectrics, Inc. in 1971. After selling SSD to DuPont in 1982, he managed the merged business and sought new opportunities for DuPont in advanced ceramics until 1986. Mr. Payne has significant experience in new product development, commercializing new products and using strategic partnerships to facilitate new product implementation.

Mr. Payne is an experienced advisor to entrepreneurs. He has invested in thirty-one startup companies and has served on the Boards of Directors for more than 15 private businesses. He has over 120 years of cumulative Board service for private companies and not-for-profit organizations. Through his role as an Entrepreneur in Residence to the Kauffman Foundation, he has been a Board advisor to the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization, an organization of 5000 young entrepreneurs with businesses exceeding $1 million in annual revenues.

In April 2009, the Angel Capital Association (ACA) and Angel Capital Education Foundation (ACEF) named William H. Payne - an ACA founder and active participant in four angel groups - as the recipient of the 2009 Hans Severiens Award. The award recognizes individual accomplishments in the advancement of angel investing. Payne is a member of Tech Coast Angels and Aztec Angel Networks in San Diego, CA; Vegas Valley Angels in Las Vegas, NV, and Frontier Angel Fund in Whitefish, MT, all groups he helped found.

The Entrepreneur Forum is a periodic gathering of entrepreneurs and business people who share experiences, strategies, and success stories.  The event is sponsored by the Center for Innovation and is free and open to the public.

Bill Payne will be holding two half-day seminars on advanced angel investing on Friday June 19th at the Center for Innovation.  The morning seminar covers due diligence and the afternoon seminar covers valuations and portfolio strategy.   Contact Bruce Gjovig at bruce@innovators.net if interested in attending this advanced angel workshop.