“We invest in the entrepreneur presenters, so reading their body language and how they respond to questions is critical.” Says Don McQueen Chairman of Dorset Business Angels (DBA), giving just one of many reasons, why he is so pleased to welcome back face-to-face events. The next event is on 4th October in Bournemouth. Don continues, “face to face interaction on the night, with the presenting pitching company and investors, is incredibly valuable for angel investors.”
Opportunity to share investment ideas – meeting like-minded people
Max Wright, DBA Director, and an active angel investor says, “I am really looking forward to discussing with other angel investors, their activities over the last months. To explore the mood of the markets.” Similarly, Steve Royffe DBA Director, and Chartered Certified Accountant comments that “online networking is fine, but the 4th October pitch event allows many opportunities for face to face private conversations on a wide variety of topics.”
We’re here for the long term! Stronger more meaningful relationships
Peter Eales, GM and one of the founder directors adds “we’ve been doing face-to-face events since 1st May 2012, so nearly 10 years now. DBA has tried various formats, we endeavour to be innovative – to practice what we preach!” What is key, is to continue to grow our networks, subscribers and members. Zoom, video, website and communications to everybody are critical but central to activity will always be personal relationships. A study by Forbes Insight, showed in-person meetings build stronger, more meaningful relationships – while video is more convenient. Another study by the Harvard Review shows 95% of people say face-to-face meetings are a key factor in successfully building and maintaining long-term business relationships.
It’s a People Business
Last word to DBA Vice-Chairman Frank Guinn. “I have been angel investing for many years. In recent years there have been new ideas such as crowd-funding, or bitcoin. And new technology aids such as Zoom. But business still comes down to people, solving problems with great ideas. And you cannot do that at arm’s length! That’s why I love what we do at DBA.”
Come along to the Dorset Business Angels pitch event on 4th October, register here.
