The Aggie Angel Network (AAN) is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing quality early-stage investment opportunities for accredited angel investors, and to assisting early-stage high-growth potential technology companies with fundraising and advisory services.
Who We Are
We are a network of accredited investors who invest directly into promising entrepreneurial businesses in return for stock in the companies. The Center for Venture Research estimates that U.S. angel investors invested $19 billion in 55,000 deals (about 35,000 small businesses) in 2008
What We Do
The Aggie Angel Network is actively seeking to invest in great startup companies. In addition to money, the AAN brings connections, market knowledge, mentoring and operational excellence to early-stage entrepreneurs with disruptive technologies. Let us help you to turn your vision into reality.
Board of Directors
Will Botts, Director
William W. Botts (Will) is currently the Chief Commercialization Officer at Lynntech Inc., a private research and development company headquartered in College Station. Previously, for 22 years, he was Chairman and CEO of OI Corporation, a NASDAQ Company and market leader in the field of scientific instruments. OI Corp was recognized by Business Week Magazine as one of the “Best 100 Small Companies” and by Forbes as one of the “Fastest Growth Small Companies”. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of The Brandt Company, an oil field service company, which he led through a dynamic growth cycle and sale to TRW Inc.
Mr. Botts also served as Vice President and general manager of business units held other positions in two Fortune 500 companies. He initiated and directed a number of acquisitions and the formation of international subsidiary companies. He is a community director of Wells Fargo Brazos Valley bank, has served as a director on the boards of two private companies, and has served on the board of directors of various trade associations and non-profit organizations.
Mr. Botts graduated from Mississippi State University with a BSIE and an MBA.
Omar Hakim, Managing Director
omar.hakim@aggieangelnetwork.com
Omar Hakim is an entrepreneur and management consultant with over 22 years of experience. He has assisted over 150 technology startup companies since 1997. Mr. Hakim is the co-founder and president of the Aggie Angel Network, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation dedicated to providing quality early-stage investment opportunities to accredited angel investors, and to assisting early-stage high-growth potential technology companies with fundraising and advisory services.
Prior to co-founding the Aggie Angel Network, Mr. Hakim was the General Manager of the Research Valley Innovation Center (RVIC), a technology based incubator providing business strategy and intellectual property consulting services and fundraising assistance to over 50 startups in the life sciences, clean energy, information technology and advanced materials domains.
Prior to leading the RVIC, Mr. Hakim was co-founder of IP Knowledge Ventures, Inc. (doing business as IP Tactics), an intellectual property monetization and professional services firm. Mr. Hakim identified promising IP acquisitions, performed IP valuation analysis and presented investment recommendations to investors and hedge funds.
Prior to co-founding IP Tactics, Mr. Hakim was with Accenture for ten years. Mr. Hakim founded their Asia region network consulting practice which supported all network engagements across 15 countries. Mr. Hakim was responsible for regional account planning, alliance management, sales support, proposal development, project reviews, quality oversight, opportunity pipeline tracking, relationship management and communications with senior client and Accenture executives. He grew his consulting practice’s revenues from zero to 5% of the entire regional market unit’s annual revenues in two years.
Prior to relocating to Asia, Mr. Hakim worked in Accenture’s New Business Models group, providing consulting services to startups. Mr. Hakim was also liaison to Cisco Systems, where his responsibilities included identifying joint venture opportunities, performing due diligence and reporting investment recommendations to Accenture Technology Ventures (a $1 billion VC fund). Mr. Hakim also managed one of Accenture’s five patent portfolios which was made up of over 500 awarded and pending patents.
Mr. Hakim holds a BS in Applied Mathematics with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico and an MS in Technology Commercialization from The University of Texas at Austin. He has been awarded three patents and has numerous patents pending.
Dr. David Hickson, Director
Dr. David Hickson is currently President and CEO of HCE Companies. HCE is a Texas based minority owned cost containment services company helping Research, Healthcare, governmental agencies and private sector companies reduce their contracted services costs. Dr. Hickson has been a City Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of College Station for almost a decade, Past Chairman of the Research Valley Partnership, Past Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce, Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 1992 and a member of various other Boards and Agencies.
Dr. Hickson holds a BS in Biology and an MS and PhD in Food Science & Technology from Texas A&M University.
Jamie Rhodes, Director
With over 30 years of experience in technology management, Jamie Rhodes is currently the Director for New Ventures at Texas A&M University System’s Office of Technology Commercialization. Jamie is a serial entrepreneur, co-founding National NanoMaterials, manufacturer of Graphenol™, a functionalized form of graphene and has previously founded numerous start-ups.
Jamie spent the early years of his career working in the tech industry at IBM and National Instruments. With the support of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce (GACC), Jamie founded the Central Texas Angel Network. He founded the Alliance of Texas Angel Networks. He is a member of the board of the Angel Capital Association, the national organization representing seed stage investors. He is on the board of the Texas Tri-Cities Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Jamie was honored to be named one of the 30 Most Influential People in Central Texas in the Last 30 Years by the Austin Business Journal and the Technology Volunteer of the Year by the GACC. He is a Fellow of the IC2 Institute.
Jamie has served on advisory boards at St. Edward’s University, Texas State University and the University of Texas. He holds both a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s of Science from the University of Texas at Austin.
Richard Scruggs, Director
Richard Scruggs is President and CEO of Salient Pharmaceuticals, a start-up in the bio-tech industry, and a principal with Winston Sage Partners, a business consultancy. Previously he was the Director of Texas A&M’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Align Solutions Corp. In 1999, Align was recognized as the fastest growing private company in Houston and Mr. Scruggs was honored as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Other experience includes Andersen Consulting, BSG Alliance/IT and Perot Systems.
Mr. Scruggs serves on boards for the Houston Technology Center and multiple private companies. He is a seven year member of Houston Angel Network and has served in the past as the president, director and chairman of the board. In addition to angel investing experience, he has been a speaker at various events on the subject of fund raising and working with angel investors.
Mr. Scruggs holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Texas A&M University.
David Wesson, Chairman
David Wesson is a serial entrepreneur with more than 15 start-up companies to his credit, including numerous oil and gas manufacturing and service companies (both international and domestic), nutrition and skin care companies, a web-based business services company, a patent licensing company, a winery and a hospitality company.
In 2003, Mr. Wesson founded GEODynamics B.V. (Netherlands) and served as the company’s CEO and President until September 2009. In 2005, he was instrumental in the reorganization of the company whereby Shell Oil and Orica became investors and partners as part of his vision for GEODynamics to become the leading provider of perforating technology to the global oil and gas industry. GEODynamics was Number 1 in 2006 and Number 10 in 2007 on the “Aggie 100” list of fastest growing Aggie founded companies (http://www.aggie100.com). Compounded annual revenue growth of GEODynamics has exceeded 250% per year since its inception with more than 60% of its revenue coming from outside the United States. He remains active in GEODynamics today, serving as a board member and a consultant to the company.
Mr. Wesson is also an inventor or co-inventor of more than 45 US patents and he has extensive patent licensing and technology commercialization experience. His inventions include numerous oilfield technologies licensed to Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Weatherford and others.
Mr. Wesson is a registered professional engineer and holds a BS in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.