Venture Group Eyeing O.C. Start-Ups

A new investment group has formed to help struggling entrepreneurs get their nascent companies off the ground.

Angeles Ventures, a Los Angeles-based “advisory venture capital firm,” seeks to help early-stage Internet and health care technology companies in the Southland raise money and beef up their management teams.

“There’s a lot of great ideas and smart entrepreneurs out there and a lot of money out there on the other side,” said Angeles Ventures partner Steven Sisskind, a physician with degrees from Stanford and UCLA and a background in biomedical consulting. “Our goal is to bring them together.”

The four Angeles Ventures partners have a combined 40 years of entrepreneurial experience, Sisskind said. In exchange for connecting entrepreneurs with investors, Angeles Ventures receives an ownership stake of 5% to 50% and a board seat or management position.

Sisskind said the four partners pore over 20 business plans a month and expect to invest mostly in companies in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The firm recently raised $150,000 for a Bay Area Internet gaming company.

In addition to Sisskind, partners include Newport Beach resident and finance expert Roy Aresh and veteran high-tech entrepreneurs Norman Schifman and Bo Ferger.

Information: (310) 470-9924.