In an attempt to cultivate a diverse and robust investor pipeline in Southern
Arizona, Startup Tucson is thrilled to present its next member event under the Rising Arizona Investor Network (RAIN) program. Mark your calendars for the “Ask Me Anything: Angel Investor Edition” workshop on September 14th, 2023, from 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at The Refinery @The Bridges.
This member event promises invaluable insights as local angel investors gather to share their motivations, lessons learned, and invaluable tips and tricks about the investing landscape.
Aspiring, new, and seasoned investors alike are encouraged to attend and capitalize on this opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge from experienced professionals. The event will be paired with Startup Tucson’s monthly networking mixer Startup Drinks and held in partnership with University of Arizona Center for Innovation and Desert Angels.
RAIN membership is free with an application and can be found at RainArizona.com.
Startup Drinks is also a free event and open to the entrepreneurial community.
The Rising Arizona Investor Network (RAIN) was launched in 2021 thanks to a national grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration under their Capital Challenge program. It is designed to support individuals that would like to learn more about the process of investing in local entrepreneurs. Since its inception, RAIN has been diligently working towards its vision of constructing a sustainable pipeline of emerging, active, and diverse investors. By focusing on traditional and non-traditional funding tools, RAIN envisions supporting founders across the spectrum, especially those from under-represented and BIPOC communities, throughout the Southern Arizona entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Supported with $300K in federal funds and $300K in local match support, the program is run in collaboration with numerous regional partners including the Desert Angels, Arizona Commerce Authority, UA Venture Capital, University of Arizona Center for Innovation, the Community Investment Corporation, Southern Arizona Leadership Council, and University of Arizona FORGE.
“Our goal is to create an army of investors that care about supporting local entrepreneurs so that we can bridge the funding gap for innovative startups led by diverse founders in our region,” says Liz Pocock, CEO at Startup Tucson. “We believe that by diversifying our investor community and offering education on forward-looking capital raising methods like equity crowdfunding, we can create an environment where every entrepreneur can thrive and Tucsonans can learn to invest.”
Startup Tucson’s RAIN initiative not only offers insightful workshops like the upcoming Angel Investor event but also provides participants with a network and an online membership portal.
Once on-boarded into the RAIN community, members receive regular updates about local investment opportunities, ongoing training opportunities, and access to investor resources.
Members also receive free access to RAIN’s annual investor conference that takes place every Fall during Startup Tucson’s annual TENWEST Impact Festival. This year’s conference will take place November 7-9 at the Tucson Convention Center. Startup Tucson strongly encourages individuals, whether they are new or well-versed in business investment, to apply for the RAIN program on the RAIN website at RainArizona.com and join the workshop on September 14th and the Conference in November.
