Wyoming SBDC - Angel Investing: Strategies for Securing Early-stage Funding

The “Angel Investing for Small Business Growth” workshop is a hands-on, interactive session designed to empower small business owners with the knowledge and tools to secure angel investment. This workshop covers the fundamentals of angel investing, including understanding what angel investors look for, how to craft a compelling pitch, and building relationships with potential investors. Participants will learn how to assess their business’s readiness for funding, identify and connect with angel networks, and navigate the investment process from valuation to deal negotiation. With case studies, expert insights, and practical exercises, this workshop equips small business owners to confidently pursue angel investment opportunities to fuel their growth.

Speaker: Oltac Unsal, Advisor on Venture Investing Tambourine Innovation Ventures

Oltac Unsal brings extensive experience in the technology entrepreneurship, investment, and development sectors. He is the President of Smyrna Capital and has invested in over 45 startups in technology, renewable energy, and other opportunistic sectors. His success in their entrepreneurial ventures is greatly attributable to his mentoring of the portfolio businesses on market positioning, growth, and sales strategy. In these ventures, he has led the development of numerous products (from conception to lab tests to mass engineering and sales).

Mr. Unsal has worked as a Senior Advisor/Manager at the World Bank. He managed Early Stage Innovation Financing programs and initiatives in 50+ countries for infoDev and led ministerial-level innovation-led economic development initiatives in over 30+ countries. During his position as Senior Portfolio and Offerings Manager for Microsoft, Oltac assisted the turnaround of $500M unprofitable Enterprise Services to $800M, 14% profit business in 3 years through focusing on value-priced productized services and international. He also architected a three-year offerings strategy to reinvent all of Enterprise Services away from a cost-plus business model to define a clear “theater of operations” that minimized channel conflict and helped the Federal team redefine offerings pricing and strategy to minimize support costs by 42% and increase customer response times by 75%. He also served as Investor-In-Residence at USAID Development Innovation Ventures (DIV).
Mr. Oltac Unsal holds an MBA in Finance/Entrepreneurship from Stanford Business School and a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Whitman College.