Cornerstone Opportunity Partners, LLC an early stage investment fund affiliated with Cornerstone Angels leads $2mm Series A funding round for Madison, Wisconsin based restaurant order management platform company EatStreet.

See press release at the following link. Press Release

Chicago, IL — February 5, 2013 — Cornerstone Angels Director Larry Hayward was quoted in a recent article in Forbes about investing in the social sector and supporting impact entrepreneurs. The article titled “Social Enterprise: The Investor’s Final Frontier” was published on Forbes.com on February 5th. Please follow this link for the full article.

GALESBURG, IL – December 17, 2012 – Glen Barton, Retired Chairman/CEO of Caterpillar, has joined Intellihot’s Board of Directors. Intellihot, which manufactures energy-efficient tankless water heating systems and boilers for residential and commercial applications is a portfolio company of Cornerstone Angels. See press release below for details.

See Press Release here

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Nov 30, 2012 – Cornertone Angels Portfolio Company Lucky Litter LLC has been acquired by Radio Systems Corporation. For details see press release below.

Press Release

Chicago, IL — Oct 15, 2012 — As part of a Chicagoland Entrepreneur Center mentor program, Hayward will have office hours today at 1871.

The mentorship program is designed to provide connections and tactical knowledge to build great startups. Volunteer advisors and speaker who provide Office hours include experienced entrepreneurs, early stage investors, educators and practitioners with relevant startup expertise. Topics covered include Sales, Marketing, Financing, Legal, Talent, Product Development and Design, Strategy.

About the CEC and 1871:
The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) is a non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs on their path to building high-growth, sustainable businesses that serve as platforms for economic development and civic leadership. Its flagship project,1871, fulfills CEC’s vision of a central address for entrepreneurs in Chicago. CEC runs and operates the workspace, develops programming, organizes events and ensures that the culture of 1871 allows entrepreneurs the greatest opportunity for success.

Chicago, IL — Oct 2, 2012 — Cornerstone Angels Director Larry Hayward participated at the Crain’s Small Business Week’s Access to Capital Panel.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center organized panel discussed the different choices for capital available to small businesses. The panel discussion included senior-level capital providers from important and emerging sectors of the finance market including Angel Investing, Business Credit, Commercial Banking, Crowd Funding and more.

For more information on this event, click here.

Northbrook, IL (October 1, 2012) – Cornerstone Angels, a private membership-based investment network of high net-worth individuals and families has announced that with its two most recent investments in September, Cornerstone has now funded 8 companies within calendar year 2012.  Most recently, Cornerstone invested in the Series A funding round for Intellihot Green Technologies, Inc., a smart tankless water heater company based in Galesburg, IL as well as the Series C funding round for Agrivida, an industrial biotechnology company based in Cambridge, MA.

Cornerstone typically sees in excess of 250 deals a year which are proprietary sourced though its membership, and extensive nationwide network.  Cornerstone has established strong relationships with investors and entrepreneurs across the country and is active in reviewing, co-investing, and syndicating with other parties.

The 26 portfolio companies of Cornerstone have in aggregate across their history, both before and after Cornerstone’s participation, raised in excess of $1.6 Billion.  A partial listing of co-investors in Cornerstone portfolio companies include: Amerindo Investment Advisors, Baker Capital, Bright Capital, Cardinal Partners, DAG Ventures, DCM, DFJ, HLM Venture Partners, Independence Equity, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Millenium Private Equity, New Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Palo Alto Investors, Presidio Ventures, Qatar Holdings, Sumitomo Corporation, Sequoia Capital, Tudor Ventures, Trident Capital, Worldview Technology Partners, and US Venture Partners.

According to Cornerstone Angels Founder and Managing Director Michael C. Gruber, “I am excited that the members of Cornerstone have been so active within 2012 to date.  We continue to attract a strong amount of quality deal flow and have been attracting increasing amount of individuals and families interested in joining Cornerstone to participate in our investment activities.  We have a strong portfolio and are optimistic that our companies will continue to make strong progress against their business plans into 2013.”

Cornerstone and its members have experienced a number of notable acquisitions and IPOs over the past few years, which includes the acquisition of SmartCells by Merck, the sale of Force10 to Dell Computer, the sale of RMI to Netlogic, and the IPO for Amyris, Inc.

Cornerstone Angels is a private membership-based investment organization composed of successful executives, entrepreneurs, and investors who seek to provide financial capital and mentorship to early-stage companies.  Cornerstone Angels through its strong relationships attracts in excess of 250 deals annually for investment consideration.  The group focuses on early stage private equity opportunities, but also actively considers a range of later stage and opportunistic investments as well.

Cornerstone Angels meets on a monthly basis By Invitation Only in Chicago, IL, while attracting investor and company interest and participation nationwide.  Cornerstone has recently re-opened up its private membership to a select group of individuals and families for participation.

For more information: www.cornerstoneangels.com

Contact: Cornerstone Angels, 2100 Sanders Road, Suite 170, Northbrook, IL  60062

Michael C. Gruber, 847.739.0100, michael@cornerstoneangels.com

Northbrook, IL (October 1, 2012) – Cornerstone Angels, a private membership-based investment network of high net-worth individuals and families has announced it has participated in the Series A funding round for Intellihot Green Technologies, Inc., a smart tankless water heater company based in Galesburg, IL

Intellihot Green Technologies Inc., based in Galesburg, IL, designs and manufactures intelligent water heating systems.  The Intellihot system incorporates advanced control logic, sensors, remote monitoring, self-cleaning and self-learning capabilities, which combined with other patent-pending features enable instant and continuous hot water.

According to Cornerstone Angels Founder and Managing Director Michael C. Gruber, “Intellihot is an incredibly exciting company given that it has developed a highly innovative solution to address issues surrounding our growing water and energy usage.  The company is targeting a huge market with an elegantly engineered solution that provides a clearly compelling economic return.  Lastly, the company is targeting commercial and industrial users who do not have another viable alternative solution.”

Water heaters are major contributors to global problems of wasted energy and wasted water.  Today’s conventional heaters keep large tanks of water hot even when the water is not being used, and people waste significant amounts of water by running the faucet until hot water arrives.  Inefficient water heaters account for $19 billion annually in wasted energy costs in the U.S. alone based on a DOE study .  Intellihot will be able to address this tremendous problem and has demonstrated its ability to save customers 20-40% in energy savings.

Sri Deivasiamani, CEO of Intellihot, stated that he is excited to add Cornerstone to his investor base given the level of expertise and experience within its membership base.  I look forward to their ongoing support to accelerate our growth.”

Cornerstone joins Independence Equity I, LP, Central Illinois Angels, and other high net worth individuals as shareholders in the Series A round.

Cornerstone Angels is a private membership-based investment organization composed of successful executives, entrepreneurs, and investors who seek to provide financial capital and mentorship to early-stage companies.  Cornerstone Angels through its strong relationships attracts in excess of 250 deals annually for investment consideration.

Cornerstone Angels meets on a monthly basis By Invitation Only in Chicago, IL, while attracting investor and company interest and participation nationwide.  Cornerstone has recently re-opened up its private membership to a select group of individuals and families for participation.

For more information: www.cornerstoneangels.com

About Intellihot Green Technologies

Intellihot Green Technologies Inc., based in Galesburg, IL, designs and manufactures intelligent water heating systems that enable significant water and energy savings.  The Intellihot tankless water heaters are the first condensing tankless gas water heaters designed and assembled in the USA.  The Intellihot system incorporates advanced control logic, sensors, remote monitoring, self-cleaning and self-learning capabilities, which combined with other patent-pending features enable instant and continuous hot water. For more information, visit: www.intellihot.com

Contact: Cornerstone Angels, 2100 Sanders Road, Suite 170, Northbrook, IL  60062

Michael C. Gruber, 847.739.0100, michael@cornerstoneangels.com

Cornerstone Angels Founder, Michael Gruber, shall be speaking on ACG Chicago’s panel on ‘Building the Next Gazelles: from Early Funding to Emerging Growth’ on June 26 in downtown Chicago.

For registration and further details please follow this link: Register Here

Here are some details on the event:

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
Building the Next Gazelles: From Early Funding to Emerging Growth

11:30 AM – 1:15 PM

The Standard Club
320 S. Plymouth Ct.
Chicago, IL

Building the Next Gazelles:
from Early Funding to Emerging Growth

Chicago’s entrepreneurs are finding new capital in the rapidly developing angel networks, new talent and mentorship in the expanding incubator spaces and many are now looking for next stage investment/exit expertise to join the gazelles in the middle market. Join us to meet some leaders in this early stage investment community and better understand where you fit into this new growth dynamic.

To view the newsletter please follow this link: Newsletter #2 – 2012 Investments and Other Activities