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Below is a letter from an experienced venture capitalist, Al Lorenz, who lives in the Lake Chelan area.  He is trying to form a Venture Capital Club in our region.  Access to capital is one of the key barriers to business creation and expansion.  Having a local venture capital group will help fill this gap and help us “grow our own” jobs within the region.  The key is getting 20 members to establish the club.  If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Al directly.

Greetings,

 I’ve been chatting with folks for awhile that we could do more to attract businesses to North Central Washington.  As you know, our quality of life can be a huge draw to attract companies to the area.  The easiest companies to attract to the area are startups, who aren’t as established in a given area. 

But, one of the things that is missing is that we don’t have an active community of angel investors to help support promising companies.  Since that is not something that government entities can, or should be, doing it needs to come from the private sector.

When I lived on the other side of the mountains, I was active in the Puget Sound Venture Club.  With the help of the founder of that club, I am working to see if I can get a group of interested investors to form an angel investment group in North Central Washington. If done correctly, a group like this can provide a tremendous boost to business development in the area.  Some of the other groups in the Seattle area include:  Alliance of Angels and the Zino Society.

I would need a minimum of 20 members to form a viable group.  The maximum is also limited to 35 members at this point.  I want to personally call and invite potential members to an organizational meeting in early December so we can start receiving pitches from startups early next year.  From this group I would like to ask for some names and phone numbers of potential members that I can invite.  I already have a list started, but if each of you could send me three to five names of good potential members, we could have an angel investment club in North Central Washington.

Here is a link to the beginning web site of the North Central Washington Venture Club: http://www.ncwventureclub.org/

Sponsorships also help defray the costs of running a club.  On the other side of the hills, banks, attorneys and financial firms are all common sponsors.  Please let me know your due dates for requests for funding and I will get a proposal into your organizations, if appropriate (chambers, port, GWATA) as well.  When chatting with folks at possible business sponsors, please feel free to put in a good word about potentially sponsoring this effort.  Also, please forward this to others you think should be aware of it.

Thank you for looking at this.  It could become a wonderful asset to our area.

NCW Venture Club

Al Lorenz
509-630-6769
877-822-3271 fax

 EMMY AWARD WINNING STARS ON ICE

Launches 2012 “Love ‘n’ Life” Tour

Headlined by a Select Cast of Olympic and World Champions 

The Premier Figure Skating Tour Brings Its New Production

Co-Directed and Choreographed by Skating Superstar Kurt Browning

to theTownToyotaCenterinWenatcheeon Sunday, February 26 at4:00 p.m.

Tickets On Sale Now!

Wenatchee, WA – The world’s premier figure skating tour, Stars on Ice, has brought together a superstar ensemble of Olympic, World and National Champions from all over the globe for the 2011-12 season.  Stars on Ice will present a limited engagement, command performance tour that will visit 10U.S. cities which have hosted sold out shows throughout the history of the Tour. The Emmy Award winning production will visitWenatchee,WA onSunday,February 26, 2012 for a4:00 PM performance atTownToyotaCenter.

Stars on Ice has always showcased the unique combination of athleticism and artistry which is figure skating, in a cutting edge premier entertainment spectacular. In 2010, Stars on Ice highlighted North American superiority in the Winter Olympics. Last year, Stars on Ice celebrated its 25-year legacy by bringing the world an unparalleled cast of legends past, present, and future. In 2012, the “Stars on Ice Love ‘n’ Life” tour will get a new infusion of creativity from legendary skater, Kurt Browning, who will co-direct and choreograph this year’s production.

“I am thrilled and a tad intimidated with the opportunity to choreograph Stars on Ice,” said Browning. “My relationship with this tour has been wonderful for over two decades, and I want to give this new role with the show my best effort like I did, and still will, as a skater.” 

Stars on Ice, founded by Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton, is one of the premier touring entertainment events in the world.  Tickets for the “Stars on Ice Love ‘n’ Life” Tour in Wenatchee are on sale now!  Special on-ice seating is available upon request. Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more.  Tickets start at $25 and are available via www.towntoyotacenter.com and the Town Toyota Center Box Office. Please visit www.starsonice.com for more information as well as exciting show announcements.  

About Stars on Ice

Founded in 1986 by skating icon Scott Hamilton, the Stars on Ice tour has played more than 1,000 shows for over a quarter of a century. Past tour performers include Olympic Gold Medalists Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt, Dorothy Hamill and Torvill & Dean. The Tour has won three Emmy Awards, one ACE Cable Award (Best Sports Special), and is recognized as the finest ice production in the world. Stars on Ice is produced by IMG, the world’s premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. For more information about the tour, visit www.starsonice.com.  Keep in touch with Stars on Ice on Facebook: www.facebook.com/starsonice and on Twitter: @starsonice, www.twitter.com/starsonice.   

Social Security: The Hot Potato No One Wants to Touch

By Don C. Brunell

President

Association of Washington

 As Congress continues to struggle with our nation’s massive $15 trillion debt, another looming crisis has slipped off the radar screen:  Social Security.

Social Security is running almost $50 billion in the red each year, deficits that are being covered by reserves in the General Fund. But because the number of people getting benefits is outpacing the number of people footing the bill, the program will be insolvent in 20 years.

 Social Security started in 1935 as a sort of widows and orphans fund. The boss and worker each paid a 1 percent tax on the first $3,000 of earnings. Today, the tax is 10.4 percent on the first $110,000 in earnings — and it’s still going broke.

 What’s the problem? 

Social Security worked back in the ’30s because Read More »

Mission Ridge skiers score wine discounts in Wenatchee Wine Country!

SeaPort Airlines will begin serving Pangborn Memorial Airport with service to Yakima and Portland on March 1.  Here is an earlier post announcing the new service:  http://www.wenatchee.org/the-chamber-guy-blog/seaport-airlines-to-serve-pangborn/

SeaPort has launched a special four-day fare sale network-wide that ends midnight January 30th.  Fares range from $19 to $89 for travel from March 1 through May 15, 2012 and are subject to availability.  Here is your chance to try out the new service to Portland at the  great price of $49 one way!

To take advantage of the sale, go to www.SeaPortAirlines.com or call 888-573-2767 and use the promo code SPRING.