File photos by Ralph Freso
Grand Canyon University's Canyon Angels will showcase the angel investment group's annual pitch event on the largest stage of its 11-year history.
The independent, student-led angel group’s process of investing in startup companies, including technology-focused companies, is expected to attract more than 150 attendees during Arizona Tech Week, which runs from today through Sunday.
It isn't the only GCU-led event that will be part of the AZ Tech Week schedule.
From 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday at the Cyber Center of Excellence, high school students across the Phoenix area who have been studying with professors in GCU's College of Engineering and Technology will present their research. At 11 a.m. Wednesday in Global Credit Union Arena, the college is hosting its Engineering and Technology Capstone Showcase. There's also TEDxGCU at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Global Credit Union Arena and the Lopes Cloudathon, where students team up to solve technology challenges experienced by nonprofit organizations, from 1 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Cyber Center of Excellence.
At the Canyon Angels pitch event, slated for 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Joshua North, “We’re showcasing that we have an active investment community in Arizona, and we’re part of that early stage investing community,” said Tim Kelley, GCU’s Colangelo College of Business entrepreneurship chair and Canyon Angels founder.
“More people will come from external parts, people that haven't been to Canyon Angels before. It gets the name out across the whole tech community, and there's stuff going on across the state, from Flagstaff to Tucson.”
The Canyon Angels event is part of GCU showcasing its vision in the tech and business sectors in conjunction with AZ Tech Week.
Attendees will have an opportunity to participate in a tour of Canyon Ventures, GCU’s startup business accelerator that has produced Lux Manufacturing and Lectric eBikes – founded by GCU alumni – as well as Noggin Boss hats and Nineteentwenty convertible clothing, both winners on entrepreneurial competition show "Shark Tank."
A panel discussion involving Kelley and Eric Miller, principal and co-founder of Phoenix Analysis and Design Technologies, an engineering simulation and 3D printing company based in Arizona, is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Wednesday in the Canyon Ventures Lecture Hall.
AZ Tech Week will feature more than 250 events throughout the state, from workshops to industry panels to open houses and startup pitch events. The weeklong event’s intent is to stress Arizona’s expanding role in the global tech ecosystem and provide an opportunity to display the state’s metamorphosis and tech leaders.
AZ Tech Week is sponsored by the Arizona Commerce Authority and connects tech companies and entrepreneurs in the state.
Canyon Angels pitch event attendees will get a close look at the process that leads to a startup being selected.
They'll see the due diligence teams selecting what company has the best traction and best financial outlook, as well as how they spend a month researching various facets of each company, from marketing to validation to finance, before talking to the companies’ customers and CEOs multiple times. Teams then report their findings and decide whether to invest or pass.
Companies have 10 minutes to deliver their pitch, followed by five minutes of answering questions. The due diligence teams will provide a 10-minute pitch on each company, followed by a five-minute question-and-answer session on their findings.
This spring, high-tech companies with an Arizona presence will get extra scrutiny, Kelley said. Those involve one space internet company, another connected to defense applications of carbon nanotubes for antennas, and a blockchain analytics forensics company that tracks and mitigates cryptocurrency fraud.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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