A week after announcing its closure, Seattle angel investment group Zino Society has found … an angel.
The Keiretsu Forum Northwest announced today that it is acquiring the assets of Zino Society, and that Zino founder Cathi Hatch will now serve as the Seattle chapter president of Keiretsu Forum Northwest.
It marks a stark turnaround from last week when Hatch told us that she was tossing in the towel on Zino Society after 10 years.
“After personally funding the company for the past 10 years in partnership with the original investors, the time has come for us to close,” Hatch wrote at the time.
At the time, Hatch was referring Zino’s members to the Keiretsu Forum and other angel groups in Seattle.
Now, those angel investor members will have a new home.
“This deal will allow ZINO Society investors to have access to the extensive Keiretsu Forum network of high quality deal flow and due diligence collaboration,” said Hatch in a press release. “We believe that combining the passionate ZINO Society community with the systems and full service support resources of the Keiretsu Forum will create a unique opportunity for our combined angel community to thrive.”
Meanwhile, Sherry Calvert, president of Keiretsu Forum Northwest, said that Hatch’s skills will be a “great addition and benefit to our community of successful entrepreneurs and active angel investors.”
Keiretsu Capital, an affiliate of the Keiretsu Forum group, closed a so-called “co-investment and opportunity fund” earlier this year with $6 million. It has already invested $2.5 million in 22 early-stage technology companies this year.
The larger Keiretsu Forum was established in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000, and it now boasts 39 chapters across the globe with 1,500 members.
