Good news for entrpreneurs: Angels are back

The Wall Street Journal's Startupjournal.com has an interesting article up right now, reporting on the second rise of "angel" investors in the US. Angels are investors who are interested in funding new small companies, but lack the tens of millions of dollars of a venture capitalist - they often invest at the beginning stage of a company, when the owner needs seed money to create the things that attract a VC, and usually don't invest more than a few hundred thousand dollars. The good news is that if you're like me and only need a few hundred thousand dollars altogether (I'm seeking $200,000, for example, for this arts center I'm trying to open), an angel can easily be the only source of funding you need to find. The bad news - most angels are looking to invest in companies with a high potential growth rate, like computers or biotech, and not so much the so-called "meat and potato" small businesses, like restaurants, construction companies and...er, arts centers. Anyway, a good place to start if you're interested is at the Angel Capital Association website, a clearinghouse of sorts for angels and angel groups around the US.