Angel Groups Spread Their Wings-And Raise Their Hands

The Wall Street Journal reports today that angel investors, a group typically associated with providing technology-oriented firms with initial seed capital (before venture and vulture capitalists step in for a second round), are more frequently investing in a wider spectrum of companies, including retail, consumer products, food, and service-oriented companies.

Two striking examples include Wilton-based Artemis Woman a beauty care company, and MGS Soapopular, another CT-based company with WBENC-certification, that, within three months of startup, has since gained a significant market share in the alcohol-free hand sanitizer space--the recent MRSA outbreak has catapulted this company into the limelight, and with initial funding of less than $350k, the company's products will be appearing on 1000+ retail shelves before year end (including select Target stores throughout the country) and is expected to deliver $1million in gross revenue during its first 9 months of operations. Not bad..High Five!