Re: The Ritz Group – September 4, 2008
Thursday afternoon
We are pleased to announce the first meeting after the summer break of The Ritz Group. Please mark your calendars
for Thursday, September 4th at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead from 2:00 to 5:00 PM in the Wine Bar next to the Lounge.
Our monthly meetings since September have each hosted over 100 participants. Our May meeting hosted over
135 attendees, and our June meeting hosted over 160 attendees.
We are continually receiving invitation requests
from new investors and entrepreneurs almost every day. Please refer more entrepreneurs and investors. Investors
are telling us they want to see more 'deals' and less filtering of what business plans they might look at. If you
have been unable to attend previous monthly meetings, we have typically hosted angel investors, CEOs or Managing
Principals representing the investor, business and consulting community in Atlanta.
We also received word
at the April and May meetings that four companies have been funded as a result of contacts made at the Ritz Group. The first
received $3.5M. The other received a large infusion of "angel" money. The other two have each closed on $1.2M
and the other over $2.0M. Please let us know your results, or the results you hear from other attendees.
The Ritz Group - Boston & Las Vegas
We do not have a date yet for the next Ritz Group
- Boston or Las Vegas, but will notify you when we do.
We have also identified the largest Angel investor group
in the Northeast. This is arguably the first or second most active investor/entrepreneur market in the country. If you
would like to meet this group, go to the Resources page on this site, or ask us for an introduction.
The
Purpose of The Ritz Group
The purpose of The Ritz Group is to make targeted introductions of business
executives and owners to members of capital formation companies in Atlanta. The invitees will include angel investors, private
equity firms, investment banking and merchant banking firms with individuals focused on acquisitions, startups and refinancing.
Our Sponsors
The Ritz Group is pleased to receive sponsorship from Corporate
Performance Strategies, Adams Capital, Bernstein Alliance, Littler Mendelson, Advantage Talent, Inc., World Golf
Group, Alphagraphics and the Munson Global Logistics Group. Additionally, please welcome a new sponsor, Littler Mendelson,
the largest employment law firm in the country. It is our valuable sponsors who make it possible to invite attendees
to these events for no charge. As we continue to celebrate our 23rd year meeting at The Ritz Buckhead,
the group format will continue to be small and informal from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in the Wine Bar Room off the main lounge on
the first floor. Simply ask the Concierge in the Lobby for directions.
Welcome New Sponsors
We
want to welcome and acknowledge our three newest sponsors: Adams Capital, Bernstein Alliance and Alphagraphics. It
is through the support of our sponsors that we are able to offer this event at no charge to our attendees.
Funding Results to date...
Last year in 2007, five companies who have attended have
achieved their funding objectives in the amount of $2.2M, $4.5M, $1M, $2.0M and $850,000 as a result of contacts
made at the Ritz Group.
Please let us know if you have received funding or know someone who has so that it
can serve as encouragement to other Ritz group attendees.
A Special Thanks..
We
want to thank and acknowledge two special relationships. First, we want to thank
Susan Knox of
Corporate Connections for her interest in the Ritz group and referral of investors and entrepreneurs seeking capital.
We would
also like to encourage participants and those interested in Ritz group events to become a part of the
EChain Community in order to increase their contacts and business resources.
RSVPAlso, if you know of individuals or companies requiring capital for acquisitions or startup purposes who would add to or
benefit the group, or interested investors, please email Whit Blakeley (whitb@cmresources.net) or Jim Munson (JamesRMunson@aol.com)
or Laurine Erends (laurine
@cmresources.net) and we will be happy to extend an invitation to them.
In the meantime, we hope to continue to receive the tremendous
positive feedback and testimonials from participants who have benefited from these business introductions for the past 23
years, and look forward to a rewarding year for the many new business leaders who will benefit from The Ritz Group in 2008.
Thank you for your continued support and interest.
P.S. - Please RSVP to this correspondence. Space is limited
and invitations will only be extended to individual participants on a month-to-month basis. Thank you.