DowntownAnchorage,AlaskaonJune12,2018.(LorenHolmes/ADN) TheAlaskaAngelConferencewillholditsfourthannualAngelConferenceeventonMay18,afterthreemonthsofpreparationandtrainingofangelinvestors.Surprisingly,theimpactandroleofangelinvestorsinAlaska,aswellastheimpactofourearly-stageventureecosystem,arenotwellknownaroundAlaska.Moresurprisingtomewastostudytheimpactoftheseinvestorsandhowvitaltheyaretoahealthyeconomicdevelopmentecosystem.Whilepubliclyfundednewventureprogramsaretypicallyencouragingtonewfoundersandsometimesthefocusofpoliticalexuberance,withoutthecrucibleofearly-stageprivateinvestorsworkingwithfounders,therecanbeagapintheneededmentorshipandadvice,includingthetoughlovethatanideaisgreat,butthebusinessisn’tyetinvestable. Thatfeedbackisessentialtothepivotsandimprovementsthatcreateapipelineofscalableandsuccessfulstartupsaswellasefficientuseofcapital.Alaskaneedsitsangelinvestorsasmuchasitneedsitsstartupfoundersandtheirnewventures,anddareIsuggest,needsbothevenmorenowaswelookdowntheemptyingbarrelofourlegacyresourcedevelopmenteconomy.Advocatescansayotherwise,butitshardtoimageanyscenariowherethereissomefutureboominthelegacyeconomywe’veallenjoyedanddependedon,thatfuelstheaspirationsandeconomyofournextgeneration. Thisweek,ImetwithafellowecosystembuildersinCalgary,whosharedtheirstoryofeconomictransformationandsimilarwakeupcallafterlosing15%oftheirjobsduetorestructuring,efficienciesandmaturingoftheiroil,gasandminingindustries.Thepivotalchangeintheircommunityhappenedwiththerealizationthat“Calgaryisnotwhatyouthinkitis.”Thatwasthereactionfromadeeplookatwhatwasreallyhappeningintheircommunity,whotheywereandwhatopportunitiesexistedinthefuture.ThiscommentresonatedwithmeasIreflectedonthemanyconversationsI’vehadinAlaskaaboutourinnovationecosystemandstartupcommunity.AsI’veaskedthequestion,‘What’snext,Alaska?”itisbecomeclearthatkeepingourpipeline25%fullisnotananswerournextgenerationneedsanditdoesn’treflectevenwhatwearetoday. It’snotunusualforpeopletoassumetheworkofourestablishedindustriesandafewhigh-profileprojectsaretheengineourfutureeconomy,butdatafromtheUAACenterforEconomicDevelopment’sstudyontheimpactofentrepreneurshipturnedupresultsconsistentwithnationaldata.Accordingtothe2018study,“StateofEntrepreneurship”: “Overthelastdecade,startupsinAlaskaconsistentlyadded4,000to6,000jobstotheeconomyeachyear.Firmsthatareagedfiveyearsoryoungeraccountedfor89%ofAlaska’snetemploymentgrowthintheprivatesector.” TheAngelConferenceisoneofthewayswehelpthesestartups.Itismodeledafteranationalapproachforbringingtogetherqualifiedindividuals,basedonincomeornetworth,withvariouslevelsofexperiencewhowanttolearnmoreaboutmakingdirectinvestmentsinnewventures.Generally,peopledonotevenknowtheyarequalified—$1millionnetworthexcludingahome,ormorethan$200,000individualor$300,000jointannualincome.TheAlaskaprogramhasalowermoreaccessiblethresholdforparticipationfollowingtheAlaskaintrastatecrowdfundingregulations. Participantseachinvestabout$5,000andspendthreemonthslearningaboutearly-stageinvesting,meetnewventurefounders,watchandevaluatetheirpitches;andlearntoevaluatethein