After spending much of yesterday in the company of angel capitalists – and were I wealthy – I’d now be better prepared to use that money both to make a profit and to help entrepreneurs.

As it turns out, all I have is a bit of increased knowledge.

On Wednesday, the Tacoma Angel Network sponsored a workshop called “Doing the Deal: Term Sheet and Valuation and Portfolio Strategy.” The network, comprised mainly of investors, seeks out, counsels and sometimes funds business ideas proposed by entrepreneurs.

On Wednesday, some among the group gathered to hear a all-day presentation by Robert Okabe, of Chicago’s RPX Group, who conducted the day on behalf of the Angel Capital Education Foundation.

Angel capital, for those of you who may wonder, is typically a project’s early money. Investments require a great deal of risk. Angels, according to Okabe, “are people who invest in and believe in the dreams of entrepreneurs. They do it because they like it. They help build communities.”

Angels typically make smaller investments than venture capitalists, and take greater risks. The workshop was designed to let potential investors know the possible pitfalls, frameworks, definitions, strategies, principles and paths to profit involved.
What voting rights will you have as an investor?

What are your chances of, and what are the best ways to build, an exit strategy? What about taxes? Should you be pleased with a return of five-times your investment? How long should you wait for a profit? How much of an effect will dilution have on the pre-money valuation?

That kind of thing.

Later in the day, I spoke with Bill Payne, an angel investor from Nevada, who also conducts seminars such as this one.

“Angel investors have been funding companies for hundreds of years,” he said. Angels, said Payne, serve on boards and offer mentorship as well as money. “This is a unique asset class. Some, but a minority, do so solely because of the potential high risk and high return. the psychic rewards are every bit as rewarding.”

Still, in this weak economy, he said, “deals are closing. Good deals are being shown.”

The network will hold another conference, “Doing the Deal: Due Diligence,” on February 11. As with Thursday’s workshop, the event wil be held at the William W. Philip Hall at University of Washington Tacoma.

For more information, visit www.tacomaangelnetwork.com.

Just when you thought that gas prices couldn't go any lower, the gas war in Gig Harbor yielded an even lower posting.

Both the Gig Harbor Costco and the ARCO on Olympic Drive were selling unleaded regular today for $1.79 a gallon.

That's an astounding $2.55 a gallon less than the top summertime average price for regular in the Tacoma area.

Analysts are expecting the price to bottom out soon and begin rising again as OPEC countries cut production.

But then again what do analysts know? None predicted the crash in prices we've seen this fall after the precipitous rise last spring and summer.

New statistics from Portland's FlightStats.com show Sea-Tac Airport was among the 10 best American airports in on-time departures in the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

Sea-Tac was tied with Phoenix and Tampa for seventh place on the list of the top 10 airports with just 20 percent of its flights departing late.

The top of the list was occupied by Salt Lake City where 15 percent of flights left 15 or more minutes behind schedule, the federal government's definition of a late flight.

Other West Coast airports did well. Portland was second with 16 percent of flights departing late.

Los Angeles was 10th with 21 percent late departures. Oakland tied for third place.

On the list of worst airports based on on-time departures, the top (or bottom if you will) of the list was occupied by Chicago's O'Hare Airport with 35 percent of its departures late during those same 12 months.

Boeing added just three airliner orders to its backlog this week as airlines cut back order activity because of falling traffic and tighter credit.

The company added two orders from unidentified buyers for 737s and one from another unidentified buyer for a 747-8 business jet.

Total orders for the year stand at 640, a pace that until the last three years would have been considered stellar.

But a surge of orders in 2005, 2006 and 2007 set a new standard. Boeing sold 1,423 planes last year, 1,050 in 2006 and 1,029 in 2005. In 2004, the company booked just 277 aircraft orders.

Even though orders are slowing, the 640 orders this year are still greater than Boeing's production pace of about 500 planes a year.

The company has an order backlog of more than 3,700 planes, about seven years' production at the present pace.

Britain's Rolls Royce Group announced today it will lay off 2,000 workers worldwide next year because of a slowdown in production of aircraft at Boeing and Airbus.

Among the first workers to be laid off will be at the jet engine maker's assembly and test site in Derby, England.

Rolls Royce said delays in the assembly and testing of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and its new generation 747-8 and Airbus problems with its A380 superjumbo.

Rolls Royce employs 39,000 people worldwide.

Boeing has rescheduled all of its aircraft deliveries by at least 10 weeks because of a 58-day Machinists Union strike and other setbacks.

Russell Investments sent a memo to employees on Wednesday telling them that layoffs are coming in early 2009.

The memo did not give details including how many employees would be affected and what jobs would be eliminated, according to three Russell employees who saw the memo but would not give their names for fear of losing their jobs.

Jennifer Tice, spokewoman for Russell, confirmed the memo but would not provide a copy to The News Tribune. She said the company is looking at its businesses to see where changes could be made and that reducing the number of employees could be part of that.

"The global financial crisis continues to put the financial services industry under unprecedented pressure," she wrote in an e-mail. "Russell, like so many others in our industry, has reduced its revenue projections for 2009 based on current market conditions. As a result, we are recalibrating our cost structure to reflect this."

The company told its employees that Russell is embarking on what they call "a comprehensive productivity review." This will include a full scale cost evaluation, and one outcome is a decrease in the size of the global work force, Tice said.

"We are just at the beginning of this process and it will be a number of months before we have further specifics to communicate. As we move forward, we will do so with an eye toward maximizing the value and service we deliver to our clients worldwide, while continuing to invest in our long-term growth opportunities," Tice said.

She goes on to say: "Russell’s resolve is strong in the face of the global financial crisis and we remain confident in our future prospects. We are firmly committed to our strategy of providing superior investment management by identifying the world’s best investment managers and by bringing them together to achieve long-term investment excellence for our individual and institutional clients."