Oregon Sports Angels played a pretty good game in 2023. In January, as geopolitical upheaval, economic and inflationary pressures and ongoing Covid-related angst and behavioral changes lingered, we adopted the motto: “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going.”
We got going.
As investors, we played a little more conservatively than in prior years but we did not ride the bench. In 2023, our team rallied and continued to invest, enduring some losses and racking up a few wins. A few of our Portfolio companies struggled and wound down operations this year while many others powered up and to the right, launching products, hiring employees, building brands, securing paying customers, recruiting board members and raising additional capital. Check out our Portfolio Page to learn more about our growing family.
We also met and coach/ed many great founders outside of our Portfolio – we are always looking for exceptional talent, so if you think you can play, Pitch Us.
We ran a record number of meetings, and we met some of our “Covid-era” members (and their adorable babies🙂) IRL for the first time! We hosted four hybrid pitch days, a dozen follow-on investment pitches, another inspiring Member Offsite, several happy hours, a handful of member education sessions and countless founder and member “dates.” Our members also attended and/or spoke at many events across our ecosystem and we intend to increase our event participation each year. We are open for business, so please connect through our website if you’re interested in partnership.
Since investing through OSA is a team sport, it truly is all about the people. When one of our founding members passed away in 2022, we created – and hired for – the inaugural Len Bergstein Internship. This is one of our biggest wins for 2023. Thank you, Len for being a guiding light and we will begin recruitment for 2024 in March.
We end 2023 with 50 dues-paying members; our largest membership since our start in 2017. Thank you to every member and to our alumni members for your passion, support, and investment of time, talent, and treasure into OSA and our founder community. We still have work to do in our quest to be a “majority minority” angel investor group and we are always interested in meeting prospective members – join the amazing team at OSA.
Lastly, as a non-profit and volunteer-run organization, we lean heavily on our leadership team. Since inception, OSA has been governed by three officers and several committee leaders, each of whom dedicates significant time to building, managing and evolving the OSA brand and organization. These people (and our pro-bono legal and accounting partners) are amazing humans, phenomenal leaders, and in 2023, this team proved to be empathetic and trusted problem-solvers. I could not ask for better colleagues who I proudly also count as friends.
As the founder and the only President OSA has known (and as the famous “flipcharts” will attest…IYKYK), it was always my vision and dream to build an organization that would far outlast me. As a wise friend says, the best things happen when you prioritize “Outcome Over Ego.” That is why OSA has executed succession plans for each of our key roles since 2018.
As we kickoff 2024. I am truly humbled and honored to announce important changes to our leadership. Jim Chi becomes OSA’s second President; Sandy Pressley becomes our Vice-President and will help launch an East Coast Chapter; Jinky Panganiban becomes our Secretary; and Doug Klucevek steps up as Treasurer. Diane Penny and Milessa Muchmore Lowrie co-chair our Membership committee; Caleb Ginsberg chairs our Investment committee, with support from co-chair Anna Toshach Nunoo; Nancy Monsarrat continues to lead our Marketing function, with the capable assistance of our digital guru Maddy Veith. Thank you and congratulations to everyone!
As for me? Not going away. Fellow OSA badass Hans George and I are hatching a plan. You’ll learn about it next year!
All my love,
Kate Delhagen, Founder & President-Emeritus
P.S. 2024 Motto? Not for me to decide 🙂