By Bill Lascher - April 7-13, 2006 - Pacific Coast Business Times

Marc Bookman knew what to say to intrigue his listeners; Daryll Strauss' words came rapidly and nervously; Ted Titmus was tempting, if not a little flashy; and Bo Ferger went straight for the heart.

All four sought the same goal: a sign of interest that at least one of about two dozen people in the ballroom of the Sherwood Country Club wanted to see them again. Against the backdrop of the Santa Monica mountains and the grounds of the posh Westlake Village resort, they each had 10 minutes to catch the eyes - and bank accounts of angel investors from the area.

"This is kinda like speed dating," Titmus, chief executive officer of Mission Viejo based Ttest USA, said at the start of his presentation. It was an apt description I had already pondered.

The companies presented at the March 24 inaugural meeting of the Westlake Village Chapter of the Maverick Angels. John Dilts, the group's founder and president, launched the Maverick Angels after splitting from the Keiretsu Forum, where he was president of its Los Angeles and Westlake Village chapters.

Chapters of the new network have also been launched in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. They join the Keiretsu Forum and the Tech Coast Angels in offering the region's emerging technology companies a chance to bridge the gap from start-up capital to sustainable business. The Maverick Angels have also expanded from the tech-centric nature of other angel investment networks. The group lends itself to entrepreneurial endeavors in fields such as entertainment, real estate and health care.

"This is the American Idol of investing," Dilts said. "They love to dabble."

Indeed, the process was similar to the popular television show. The "audience" consisted of Maverick Angel members and guests at the event. The "arena" meeting was the fourth step for presenters who completed two-page executive summaries of their companies, reviews by industry specific committees and initial deal screenings.

According to Dilts, investors are approached by 15 to 20 companies per month. Of the initial companies at the deal screening, they were whittled down to Bookman's Mobile Content Networks; Struass' Digital Mobile Ordnance; Titmus' Ttest USA; and Ferger's Toonacious Family Entertainment. Arena meetings were also held in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

The groups weren't competing directly with each other. They were just trying to persuade the investors present of the viability of their plans and why they needed an angel to swoop in and carry them through a thin time in their companies' beginnings. Investors weren't urged to give money on the spot. Instead, they filled out papers expressing some kind of interest. Many pulled presenters aside to speak privately.

After 10 minutes, entrepreneurs were scrutinized about the viability of their presentations. Investors asked questions about implementation costs for a particular technology, they checked for possible legal liabilities and they peppered presenters with questions about patent status and royalty rights. Presenters were then ushered out of the room while the Mavericks discussed presentations.

"He's either a diamond in the rough, or he's just rough," George Carney, a former Nestle executive, said of Titmus, who presented a reconfigurable saliva swab that he originally developed to test for alcohol and other drugs. He is now reconfiguring it to test for HIV.

One person wondered if Bookman, whose software platform for cell phones connects users with customized online content, could avoid a company like Google breathing down his neck.

The concerns showed the breadth of knowledge investors brought to the table. The angels and their guests came from a variety of backgrounds and had experience in high level positions with companies such as Amgen, Nestle USA and Paramount Studios.

"This is their pastime, they're knowledgeable," he said. Some already had angel investment experience. Many had connections with Dilts from his time with the Keiretsu forum.

"I have been angel investing since before that's what that was called. I've been doing angel investing probably since 1995," Richard Wolpert, chief strategy officer of Seattle-based Real Networks, said. Wolpert met Dilts two years ago through his personal attorneys at Alschuler, Grossman, Stein & Kahan in Los Angeles.

"I was very impressed that in the last few months he already set up the structure," Wolpert said. The former president of Disney Online caught the end of the Westlake Village event, attended the Santa Barbara arena and also took part in the deal screenings.

"It's a great resource for somebody like me who hears about a lot of details, but one of the things that was particularly attractive for me was seeing non-technology deals," Wolpert said. "The appeal to me of the whole idea, which has worked out pretty well, is seeing something that I wouldn't have naturally seen and having somebody in my group who knows something about the field."

Wolpert also liked the brevity of the companies' presentations at the Maverick Angels events.

"Sophisticated investors can usually tell if they're interested in something in the first 10 minutes," he said.

According to Dilts, 40 to 50 angels have verbally committed to joining the Maverick Angels providing they are approved by the membership committee.

Bill Lascher can be reached via e-mail to blascher@pacbiztimes.com