Angel investors here are continuing to invest in promising early-stage and emerging businesses despite the sluggish economy, judging by data released recently showing Spokane Angel Alliance activity over the last 18 months.

During that period, Alliance members have invested more than $2.3 million in 10 companies, and those companies have raised more than $8 million in additional financing from non-Alliance members, says Tom Simpson, its president. Together, he says, those companies now employ about 225 people.

"I'm really, really pleased," says Simpson, referring to the level of investment activity and the quality of the companies seeking angel backing, despite the fact that "everybody's feeling a little wounded" by the local and national economic malaise.

Though it might be natural to assume that angel investing would decline as the economy weakens, Simpson says, "I wouldn't say it's necessarily economically driven." It's predicated more on the number and perceived potential of the companies making presentations to angel investors, and the Inland Northwest has stayed relatively strong in that regard, he says.

So far this year, the Alliance has reviewed more than 40 potential presenters, he says.

Among companies that have received funding from Alliance members are GemIIni Education Systems, IP Street, Medication Review Inc., Ecowell Inc., Pacinian Corp., Green Cupboards, and PCS UtiliData.

GemIIni Education Systems is still in a quiet startup period, Simpson says, so he declines to say much about the company other than that it will market a software application "that addresses a very topical need right now."

IP Street, unveiled last month by intellectual property law firm Lee & Hayes PLLC, is a subscription website offering patent-related data and tools. It's designed to help users research things such as whether an idea is patentable, what patent infringement risks they might face, and who might want to acquire their technology. It's targeted at inventors, investors, intellectual-property professionals, analysts, business strategists, and other executives.

Medication Review provides telepharmacy services to small and medium-sized hospitals, and Ecowell markets waste-free, healthy-beverage vending kiosks that it developed. Pacinian develops technology intended to make electronic-device touch screens respond to a user's touch much like the keys on a keyboard do, and Green Cupboards is an online retailer of eco-friendly products. PCS UtiliData is a control system integrator providing energy management and other services to the electric utility industry.

Angel investors are accredited individuals who provide capital for startups and early-stage companies, usually in exchange for an equity stake, and look for a higher return than they would garner from more conventional investments.

They often provide the first outside financing that early-stage companies receive beyond what they can raise from family members or friends while they're still too immature to seek financing from venture firms or financial institutions.

In addition to providing needed seed funding, an angel might play an active role in guiding the entrepreneur, including taking a seat on the company's board or even joining the company as an executive.

The Spokane Angel Alliance holds luncheon meetings six times a year at the Davenport Hotel downtown and hears presentations from at least two companies seeking angel funding at each meeting.

The Alliance is a program of Connect Northwest, a nonprofit organization here overseen by managing director Catherine Greer that supports entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. It provides coaching and mentoring services and holds regular educational seminars and networking events.

One of those events, Executive Connect, is a bimonthly breakfast forum that brings together entrepreneurs and business executives. Participants gather to hear speakers discuss their companies and to share relevant experiences.

Another is CFO Connect, an invitation-only forum designed exclusively for chief financial officers and other top financial professionals.

Connect Northwest also hosts the Investment Capital Forum, an annual event designed to attract successful entrepreneurs, prominent venture capital firms, and active angel investors from throughout the Northwest.

Connect Northwest is supported by sponsors that include the Witherspoon Kelley law firm, Hart Capital Management Inc., Northwest Venture Associates LLC, the Moss Adams LLP and LarsonAllen LLP accounting firms, Wells Fargo & Co., and Cowles Co.

The Spokane Angel Alliance has a vetting committee that helps in identifying, evaluating, and recommending candidates to make presentations to the organization's membership. Committee members include Craig Hart, of Hart Capital; Andrew Schultheis, general counsel attorney for Sterling Financial Corp.; John Pariseau, an angel investor and board member on several emerging companies here; Steve Salvatori, of the Spokane Entrepreneurial Center; and North Leatha, of Gonzaga University's Hogan Entrepreneurial Center. Other members include Nate Riggan, a partner at LarsonAllen; Rick Repp, a partner at Witherspoon Kelley; and Gary Mallon, of Greater Spokane Incorporated.

The Alliance now has more than 75 members, making it substantially larger than the Spokane-based Delta Angel Group that it succeeded. In addition to direct investment from its members, the organization has a dedicated fund, called Kick-Start, from which it makes investments.

Simpson says this area has shown an ability to generate five to 10 "legitimate investable companies" each year.

"For investment-worthy companies, the pool of current capital is sufficient," he says. "More, of course, would be good, but the current level is adequate."

Simpson says, "It really takes a cadre of young companies to stimulate continued growth," and he believes the enterprises emerging here collectively have created that environment of sustainability.

In the current weakened employment market, more young business-minded people appear to be "pursuing a path of entrepreneurship almost out of necessity," he says, which could translate into more local options for angel investors in coming years.