Keiretsu Forum is a private group of international members comprising an
angel investor
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible de ...
network. The network has 53 chapters in cities in three continents, these include San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Paris France, Istanbul Turkey, and Chennai in India. The network was founded in 2000 by Randy Williams in San Francisco.
History
In 2008, Williams started the Keiretsu Forum Investor Capital Expo, which brings together angel investors and entrepreneurs looking for funding. It started in Silicon Valley/San Francisco for the Northern California Investor Capital Expo and was held each year. Investor Capital Expos have been hosted in cities including: Stockholm, Seattle, Sydney, Toronto, Prague, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Referral Fees Controversy
Keiretsu Forum operates using a referral model that charges entrepreneurs and startups significant fees for the opportunity to pitch to the network members, a practice that is strongly discouraged in
Angel Capital Association
Angel Capital Association (ACA) is the official industry alliance of over 100 of the largest angel investor groups in the United States. Since its founding in 2004, it has played a significant role in bringing together the previously separate angel ...
guidelines. In 2009, tech investor and author
Jason Calacanis
Jason McCabe Calacanis (born November 28, 1970) is a podcaster, American Internet entrepreneur, angel investor, and author.
His first company was part of the Dot-com bubble, dot-com era in New York. His second venture, Weblogs, Inc., a publishi ...
criticized several investor networks, including Keiretsu, as operating
pay to play
Pay-to-play, sometimes pay-for-play or P2P, is a phrase used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage in certain activities. The common denominator of all forms of pay-to-play is that one mu ...
schemes.
He also established
Open Angel Forum as an alternative investor network that doesn't charge fees. Williams subsequently clarified Keiretsu's policy of waiving fees for startup companies that have limited capital and no revenue.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Keiretsu Forum - official website* (http://www.investorcapitalexpo.net Investor Capital Expo - official website)
Angel investing
Organizations established in 2000