Spokane Angel Alliance

What Spokane Angel Alliance does

Spokane Angel Alliance (SAA) is a 501(c)-style angel investor network founded in 2005 and headquartered at 518 W. Riverside, Suite 202, Spokane, Washington. The group is the largest and most active angel investor organization focused on investing in early-stage companies headquartered in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana, with occasional extension into adjacent regions. SAA consists of more than 100 individual and institutional members who collectively have deployed over $87 million into 84 portfolio companies since inception across a portfolio that includes Blaze Barrier, Spiceology, Gestalt Diagnostics, Medcurity, Treasury4, SecureSave, and others; named historical exits include etailz, Demand Energy (acquired by Enel), Alcatel Mobile, Skyward, and Ciena. Investment instruments include preferred stock, common stock, and convertible promissory notes.

The core offering is its five annual member lunch meetings held at the Isabella Ballroom in the Historic Davenport Hotel, at which selected companies deliver investment presentations and members commit capital. The organization supplements its investment activity with two programmatic offerings: (i) the '25+5' annual awards ceremony recognizing 25 fastest-growing regional companies plus 5 to watch, and (ii) startup acceleration programs that convene successful entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and angel/venture/private equity investors. Revenue is generated through individual and institutional membership dues plus corporate sponsorships structured at two tiers — Premier Sponsors ($5,000 annually) and Lunch Sponsors ($2,500 annually) — both of which confer institutional membership plus event and website acknowledgment.

The organization is managed by Tom Simpson (Wharton MBA, ex-Managing Director at Dain Bosworth, ex-Managing Partner of NWVA, co-founder/former Executive Chairman of Kaspien which was acquired at $120M in revenue scale). Simpson concurrently serves as CEO of Ignite Northwest and Managing Member of the Kick-Start Seed Fund, creating structural alignment across the Inland Northwest's angel, seed, and acceleration capital stack. The volunteer Board of Directors includes representatives from Foster Garvey (legal), Davis Wright Tremaine (legal), Banner Bank (commercial banking), Avista (engineering/operations), CliftonLarsonAllen (accounting), and Witherspoon Brajcich McPhee (legal), providing an embedded professional-services backbone for portfolio companies.

Name

Spokane Angel Alliance

Legal name

Spokane Angel Alliance

Website

https://spokaneangelalliance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Spokane Angel Alliance is the largest angel investor network in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Its 100+ members have deployed over $87 million into 84 early-stage companies through five annual investment meetings at the Historic Davenport Hotel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Angel Investing Network

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Angel investor network
• Early-stage investments
• Startup funding services
• Venture capital network
• Regional investment group

Headquarters

HQ city

Spokane

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The SAA generates revenue through institutional memberships and individual investor memberships. Members pay fees to join and participate in the angel investment group, which provides access to deal flow, investment presentations, and networking with other investors.
2. Sponsorship Revenue: The organization receives sponsorship revenue through Premier Sponsors ($5,000) and Lunch Sponsors ($2,500). Sponsors receive institutional membership, guest allocations per lunch, and website/at-event acknowledgment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Spokane Angel Alliance is a regional angel investor network comprising over 100 individual and institutional members who collectively invest in early-stage companies headquartered in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The group reviews investment presentations five times per year at lunch meetings and deploys capital through preferred stock, common stock, or convertible promissory notes. The organization supplements its core investment activity with an annual 25+5 recognition ceremony and startup acceleration programs.

Product overview

Spokane Angel Alliance operates as a single unified investment services organization rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is angel investment services, where over 100 members collectively invest in emerging companies across Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The organization supplements its investment activities with two key programs: the 25 + 5 Program, which is an annual awards ceremony recognizing the region's fastest growing companies, and various Startup Acceleration Programs that connect entrepreneurs with investors and subject matter experts through educational events and networking opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 25+5: Annual recognition program for the 25 fastest growing companies in the region plus 5 to watch. SAA holds an annual ceremony in February to recognize these companies and present awards in several categories.

Products and services

• Angel Investment Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $87 million invested into 84 companies since inception
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ignite NorthwestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgnite Northwest focuses on funding, mentoring and accelerating explosively growing companies in the Spokane region. Tom Simpson serves as CEO of Ignite Northwest while also serving as President of the Spokane Angel Alliance, indicating a closely aligned strategic relationship between the two organizations.
• Foster GarveyminorOthersDan Wadkins, Principal at Foster Garvey (a law firm), serves on the SAA Board of Directors, indicating legal/advisory support relationship.
• Davis Wright TremaineminorOthersAndrew Schultheis, Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine (a law firm), serves on the SAA Board of Directors, indicating legal/advisory support relationship.
• Witherspoon Brajcich McPheeminorOthersRick Repp, Partner at Witherspoon Brajcich McPhee (a law firm), serves on the SAA Board of Directors, indicating legal/advisory support relationship.
• Gonzaga UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTom Simpson has served as an adjunct professor in Gonzaga University's Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, representing educational collaboration and talent development for the regional startup ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alliance of Angels: Seattle-based angel investor network with a long-running monthly meeting cadence and similar membership model. It is the most directly comparable Pacific Northwest angel group to SAA, differing mainly by serving the greater Puget Sound region rather than the Inland Northwest.
• Keiretsu Forum: Large multi-chapter angel network operating across the U.S. (including the Pacific Northwest) and internationally with a similar monthly meeting cadence and member-driven deal screening process. Comparable in structure and stage focus to SAA.
• ZINO Society: Pacific Northwest investor network connecting accredited investors with early-stage companies through curated events and a deal-screening process analogous to SAA. Operates in adjacent regional geography with a similar angel syndication model.
• Portland Seed Fund: Oregon-based early-stage investment vehicle focused on Pacific Northwest founders with a structured pitch and screening cadence. Closely mirrors SAA's regional focus, although it operates as a fund rather than a membership organization.
• Boise Angel Alliance: Idaho-based angel investor group with a comparable regional focus, structured meetings and member-funded investment model. Direct overlap in the Inland Northwest deal-flow geography that SAA also targets.

Emerging players

• Bend Venture Conference: Oregon-based annual venture conference and affiliated investment funds that screen and fund early-stage companies across the Pacific Northwest. Comparable in regional scope and stage focus, though event-driven rather than a recurring angel group.

Broad incumbents

• AngelList (AngelList Venture): Online platform enabling rolling, rolling-close syndicates and angel funds at global scale. Represents the digital-first alternative to traditional regional angel groups like SAA, with very different operating model but overlapping investor and founder audiences.
• Techstars: Global accelerator and investor network offering structured programs, mentor networks and demo-day deal flow. Relevant broader incumbent to SAA because both aggregate early-stage deal flow, though Techstars operates a cohort-based accelerator model versus SAA's member-led angel model.

Regional players

• Ignite Northwest: Spokane-region accelerator and capital provider run by Tom Simpson alongside SAA. Directly co-operates with SAA on deal sourcing, mentoring and acceleration for the same Inland Northwest founder pool.
• Voyager Capital: Pacific Northwest early- and growth-stage venture capital firm with which SAA has a documented advisory-board relationship via Tom Simpson. Operates as a regional co-investor and follow-on capital partner for SAA portfolio companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spokane Angel Alliance