Jeff Barker, Executive Vice President, National Sales Manager, Travelers Life & Anuity. Travelers is a member of international financial services company, Citigroup.

"As a career executive at a large, public company, I'm investigating alternative investments. I may be ready to retire in a few years and I want to be prepared to recognize, evaluate, and seize the 'right' opportunity when it presents itself. By joining the Orlando AAIC club, whose members are experienced and skilled entrepreneurs or private equity investors, I expect to reduce the cost and accelerate the pace of adapting to a new and different business environment. And, I expect to improve my chances of success significantly."

Neal C. Gould, Managing Partner, Gould Capital, Inc. Neal is a veteran advisor on capital formation and mergers and acquisitions to early stage and middle market companies in New England. For 20 years, his company has managed and completed transactions with total value that exceeds $400 million and that have included many business angel investors as sources of capital.

"To provide a professional association for angel clubs is a good idea. By formalizing angel clubs, an ideal market place for entrepreneurs in their quest for early stage financing is created. Some time ago, I received a call from a gentleman who was retiring from his position as CEO of billion-dollar company. Since he had invested successfully in the stock market, he thought that investing in early-stage, private companies would be just as easy. I explained to him that he should join an angel club to collaborate with other angels in an effort to lower the risk of investing in unproven business ventures. He did not take my advice. A couple of years later, he called me, again, and said that he had lost money in financing entrepreneurs and that he wanted to know if I could suggest a successful angel club for him to join. I did that. And, he has done quite well working with other angels who he could relate to and, of course, share the risk.

Angel Clubs provide a platform that can prove to be very beneficial for the novice, first time angel investor. Not only can members pool their capital, they can share valuable knowledge with each other in an effort to support their mutual investments."

George Livingston, President and CEO of NAI/Realvest Partners, Inc., an international, full-service commercial real estate operating company that is headquartered in Orlando, Florida

"For me, as an angel investor who's tried investing alone and membership in an informal, local-only club, AAIC is the best alternative. Because, in the AAIC club, I work with other club members who have succeeded in different businesses and my contacts aren't restricted to my local area, I gain deeper insights into businesses and technologies that are new to me, better evaluations of management teams, and more extensive and higher-quality due diligence."

Randy Fields, Managing Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, Orlando, Florida, a full-service international law firm, a principal in The Fields Auto Group, an international network of luxury car automobile dealerships, and a principal in MCC/Semones & Fields, investment bankers.

"I'm involved in a lot of different businesses and have found that collaborating with experienced investors who are also experienced entrepreneurs improves my decisions measurably. AAIC offers tremendous opportunities for leveraging the experience and knowledge of others into better ROI."