Jennifer Rousseau is the executive director of the Cherrystone Angel Group and a FountainHead RI committee member.
The angel investment group was recently named one of the four most active in the region. Rousseau talks with Providence Business News about the recognition, the group’s recent activity and what folks should expect from them next.
PBN: The Angel Resource Institute recently named Cherrystone one of the top four most active angel groups in New England. To what do you attribute such robust activity?
ROUSSEAU: We are honored to be named among the top four angel groups in New England along with Boston based groups – Launchpad Venture Group and Hub Angels – and Maine’s Maine Angels. It proves that you don’t have to be in Boston to be an active player in the region. Cherrystone’s members are extremely active in investing and mentoring entrepreneurs throughout the region. Because of that, we have built a reputation across the New England region of being an active investor group which has afforded us the opportunity to source and invest in talented teams and great companies.
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PBN: Are you finding more opportunities locally, or elsewhere across your investment footprint? Why?
ROUSSEAU: We are seeing an increase in the quality and quantity of deals throughout the region, including Rhode Island. Young ventures are getting access to key resources and support earlier in their growth trajectory. This support allows companies to achieve significant milestones with fewer capital making them attractive to angel investors when they raise subsequent capital.
PBN: Can you give our readers an update of the size and scope of your investment group, and what has challenged it most?
ROUSSEAU: Cherrystone currently has 65 members, mostly from the Rhode Island area. Since our founding in 2004, Cherrystone has funded 26 companies through 87 transactions and invested over $23 million into the New England ecosystem. A challenge before our group now is helping our mature portfolio companies exit. We have several companies in the portfolio that we invested in three to five years ago. They have achieved key milestones and are at an interesting value inflection point. Helping those companies achieve liquidity points is a big focus for 2017 and 2018.
PBN: How about some examples of recent activity and why you’re excited about them?
ROUSSEAU: It’s hard to pick a favorite within the portfolio; it’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. However, we recently participated in a follow-on round for Luna Pharmaceuticals (d.b.a. Premama). Founded by Dan Aziz shortly after graduating from Brown University, Premama has a line of prenatal products that come in powder and gummy form. In 2011, Premama won the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, which gave Dan the seed capital needed to start the company. Cherrystone led the Series A for Premama in 2014 and River Hollow, a New York venture fund, recently led the Series B (which our members also participated in). The team has achieved significant milestones since our initial investment and continues to grow here in Rhode Island.
PBN: What can you tell us about the rest of 2017, and beyond?
ROUSSEAU: We currently have two companies in active due diligence as well as several follow-on rounds which are on the horizon for Q3-Q4 2017. We look forward to maintaining our active presence within the region while continuing to work with local angel investors who are looking to get more engaged with these promising ventures.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @JennSRousseau
Wealth Building 101 With Justin Medeiros (Part 1 of 3)
Jennifer Rousseau is the executive director of the Cherrystone Angel Group and a FountainHead RI committee member.
The angel investment group was recently named one of the four most active in the region. Rousseau talks with Providence Business News about the recognition, the group’s recent activity and what folks should expect from them next.
PBN: The Angel Resource Institute recently named Cherrystone one of the top four most active angel groups in New England. To what do you attribute such robust activity?
ROUSSEAU: We are honored to be named among the top four angel groups in New England along with Boston based groups – Launchpad Venture Group and Hub Angels – and Maine’s Maine Angels. It proves that you don’t have to be in Boston to be an active player in the region. Cherrystone’s members are extremely active in investing and mentoring entrepreneurs throughout the region. Because of that, we have built a reputation across the New England region of being an active investor group which has afforded us the opportunity to source and invest in talented teams and great companies.
– Advertisement –
PBN: Are you finding more opportunities locally, or elsewhere across your investment footprint? Why?
ROUSSEAU: We are seeing an increase in the quality and quantity of deals throughout the region, including Rhode Island. Young ventures are getting access to key resources and support earlier in their growth trajectory. This support allows companies to achieve significant milestones with fewer capital making them attractive to angel investors when they raise subsequent capital.
PBN: Can you give our readers an update of the size and scope of your investment group, and what has challenged it most?
ROUSSEAU: Cherrystone currently has 65 members, mostly from the Rhode Island area. Since our founding in 2004, Cherrystone has funded 26 companies through 87 transactions and invested over $23 million into the New England ecosystem. A challenge before our group now is helping our mature portfolio companies exit. We have several companies in the portfolio that we invested in three to five years ago. They have achieved key milestones and are at an interesting value inflection point. Helping those companies achieve liquidity points is a big focus for 2017 and 2018.
PBN: How about some examples of recent activity and why you’re excited about them?
ROUSSEAU: It’s hard to pick a favorite within the portfolio; it’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. However, we recently participated in a follow-on round for Luna Pharmaceuticals (d.b.a. Premama). Founded by Dan Aziz shortly after graduating from Brown University, Premama has a line of prenatal products that come in powder and gummy form. In 2011, Premama won the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, which gave Dan the seed capital needed to start the company. Cherrystone led the Series A for Premama in 2014 and River Hollow, a New York venture fund, recently led the Series B (which our members also participated in). The team has achieved significant milestones since our initial investment and continues to grow here in Rhode Island.
PBN: What can you tell us about the rest of 2017, and beyond?
ROUSSEAU: We currently have two companies in active due diligence as well as several follow-on rounds which are on the horizon for Q3-Q4 2017. We look forward to maintaining our active presence within the region while continuing to work with local angel investors who are looking to get more engaged with these promising ventures.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @JennSRousseau