Manos Angel Network Invites Latino Investors, Entrepreneurs to Attend Educational Conference

SAN FRANCISCO - June 23, 2014 - PRLog -- Susan Preston, an Angel Resource Institute (ARI) lead instructor and world-renowned expert on angel financing, will lead ARI’s Angel Investing Overview in San Francisco on Friday, June 27. Manos Angel Network, whose mission is to foster a new generation of Latino entrepreneurs and angel investors, will host the eight-hour flagship course. Less than 1 percent of venture-backed companies are founded by Latinos according to CB Insights, while all minorities represent only 4 percent of U.S. angel investors. This workshop will empower attendees to defy the statistics and effectively navigate the competitive early-stage ecosystem by equipping them with the fundamentals of and best practices in deal making.

"We are excited to work together with Susan and ARI to help close the funding gap for Latino startups through our Manos Angel Network's investing programs," said Hana Yang, a partner of Manos Accelerator.  "We look forward to the collaboration to build a solid foundation for early-stage startups and the funding ecosystem within Latino hi-tech community."

From 1990 to 2012, Latino entrepreneurs in the U.S. more than tripled from 577,000 to 2 million. This flood of entrepreneurs is underrepresented in the venture-funded community. Susan Preston, who is an experienced investor and a leader in the early-stage investing community worldwide, seeks to close this gap with entrepreneur and investor education for minorities. She is the head of ARI’s Women First Enterprise, the newly launched initiative geared toward educating females and minorities in the early-stage space. As the author of two books, Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs: Early-Stage Funding for Long-Term Success and Angel Investment Groups, Networks and Funds: A Guidebook to Developing the Right Angel Organization for Your Community, she brings first-hand investing knowledge to the ARI’s program. Because she has weathered both wins and losses, Preston uniquely understands the goals of entrepreneurs and investors.

“Just as with the under-representation of women in angel investing and ventured-backed entrepreneurial endeavors, we need to provide minorities with the tools and connections for success”, explained Preston. “Creating a great company should be gender and ethnicity neutral. Education and training are keys to leveling the playing field; ARI and WFE are providing them.”

For more information on this upcoming educational event and ARI’s Women First Enterprise, contact JJ Knight at 910.523.5503 or at jj@angelresource.org.

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About Manos Angel Network – Manos Angel Network is the first-of-its-kind Latino angel network dedicated to new and seasoned angel investors focused on investing in hi-tech startups founded by Latino entrepreneurs who are generally underrepresented in early stage ventures. Manos Angel Network's mission is to create and develop a new generation of Latino angel investors.  Manos Angel Network is a program under Manos Accelerator, a organization that provides education, resources and guidance for promising startup companies led by Latinos. For more information about Manos Accelerator, please visit http://www.manosaccelerator.com.

About ARI – The Angel Resource Institute, founded in 2006, is an innovative nonprofit that focuses on delivering top-notch education on proven best practices in angel investing to both entrepreneurs and investor, as well as delivering the most robust data trends in angel investing. ARI’s commitment to producing premier education and research is rooted in its relationship with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which originally developed ARI. Just as the business industry evolves, so does ARI. It is currently expanding its education and research initiatives around the globe, including countries such as India, Canada, Australia, Scotland, Brazil, Israel, England, and elsewhere. For more information, visit www.angelresourceinstitute.org.