Experienced angels here in the Northeast are looking to add a couple of new angel groups to our roster. One, the Science and Engineering Angels, is being formed out in Western MA by Joseph Steig and  Judith Giordan.  Another, SideCar Angels, proposed  by Rick Lucash and   Jeff Stoler, will be in the Boston area.

Red Line rider Scott Kirsner “outed” the Science and Engineering Angels in his Innovation Economy blog today, thus prompting this post.  I say outed because they really aren’t up and running and ready for prime time yet. "The whole project is still speculative," Steig told Kirsner. "We're talking to investors about how this might take shape. There's no critical mass of investors yet."

At least one expert considers it a good idea. “The HALO Report for 2011 found that nearly 30 percent of investments from angel groups were in companies outside of healthcare, Internet, and Mobile/Telecom,” says Marianne Hudson of the Angel Capital Assn. “It makes sense to build more investment and mentoring resources to support the science and engineering companies that are part of this significant segment.  The Science and Engineering Angels could help build diversity in the innovative startup community.”

Steig is well known to the angel community as the founder and original Managing Director at River Valley Investors.  He is currently CFO of  Long River Ventures, an early stage venture fund with IT and Healthcare IT focus.  Giordan is Board Chair of VentureWell, a nonprofit initiative providing venture development and seed investing for university based researchers and start-ups in green materials, energy efficiency, and medical products and services.

 SideCar Angels intends to work with existing groups that wish to raise capital for their portfolio companies by syndicating their deals: angel groups, microventure capital funds, and “super angels.” SideCar’s goal is to provide a substantial source of additional funding for early stage companies.

“I am deeply involved with the entrepreneurial community and founded the LaunchPad angel investment group,” says Lucash, a practicing attorney,  designated as a "Contributor" to the Venture Cafe in Cambridge.  Jeffrey Stoler is Lead Partner at McCarter & English's Emerging Companies Practice Group -- emphasizing financing, growth & deals. 

For more information on these groups, contact the principals. For more information on the principals, click through to their LinkedIn profiles.