Today was day one, I repeat, day ONE of REES Capital and let me tell you that EPIC is seriously the only word that would describe today.  What a whirlwind of amazingness today was!

We had news interviews with the Salt Lake Tribune that hit today’s paper:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/55011370-79/anderson-capital-rees-mediconnect.html.csp

The Deseret News that hit today’s paper:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865563665/Starting-a-business-Utah-investment-group-mentors-while-funding.html

And the Dow Jones report that hit today (see that article is posted at the bottom of today’s blog.)

After handling the whirlwind of interviews we were off to the BYU Entrepreneur & Venture Ecosystem Networking Night.  REES Capital was a major sponsor for the event which was really cool given that it was our first day of being official with our new company.  There were well over 1,000 people at the event – it was a packed house of entrepreneurs and students and investors and I can’t even begin to count the number of people we talked with tonight.  The number of amazing young talent we met with tonight was unreal!  And the business ideas they had were so innovative it just blew me away.  People have no idea of the amazing ideas that flow out of Utah.  The entrepreneurial spirit is stronger here than anywhere I have ever witnessed.  And the energy of these young people is just infectious.  I LOVED IT!!! I walked away from tonight’s event so excited for what our future holds with REES Capital.  It’s like a dream come true to focus my time and attention on mentoring others.

So tonight I am finally under my covers in bed, curled up with my laptop writing to you, completely worn out and exhausted from the whirlwind of a week I have had so far, but feeling more blessed than I can even begin to describe to you.  I truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world and I cannot wait to wake up in the morning because tomorrow is DAY TWO, and if DAY ONE was this amazing, how freaking cool will DAY TWO be?!?!   I can’t wait!!!

Have an INCREDIBLY BLESSED THURSDAY!

~Amy

PS.   the Dow Jones article is pasted below———————————–

Former MediConnect Execs Launch New Firm REES Capital

VentureWire ,

Timothy Hay,

October 03, 2012,

(c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Three successful entrepreneurs based in Utah have launched REES Capital, a new firm that will mentor and make angel investments in a range of start-up technology companies.

REES Capital will go at least a year before raising a formal fund, so as to keep the focus entirely on company founders, rather than limited partners who might want to see a quick return, said Amy Rees Anderson , a founder and the former chief executive of medical-records company MediConnect Global Inc .

MediConnect, which survived for years on small angel investments, sold in March to Verisk Analytics Inc . in a deal valued at $377 million, Ms. Anderson said. The company never disclosed its total angel backing.

Two other executives from the company–former executive vice president of business development Adam Casto and former chief operating officer Shani Allsop–have also become partners at REES Capital, she said.

The greater Salt Lake City area is a “secret hotbed of entrepreneurship,” Ms. Anderson said, as there are four nearby universities churning out talented technology developers. But as many of them lack the resources to hire a seasoned executive team, they are left to confront the ups and downs of the business world on their own.

“We are trying to bridge this gap,” she said. “These people can learn from the mistakes we made, cling to the successes that we had.”

REES Capital will provide free mentoring to emerging technology companies, she said, but will take small equity stakes and charge fees for formally advising the companies.

Additionally, the partners at REES will be able to make angel investments of up to $2 million in start-up companies. The firm will also bring together other local angels to back promising ideas, Ms. Anderson said.

The new firm will not have a specific investment focus, but partners at REES have extensive experience with medical technology, she said.

In the coming months and years, REES Capital will be looking to expand its team of investors and mentors, Ms. Anderson said.

Beyond angel investments, emerging companies need guidance in the areas of recruiting talent, structuring company leadership, bringing new technologies to market, living within a set budget and handling sales and marketing, she said.

Since REES is not an incubator or accelerator that offers office space; the firm will mentor companies from different geographic areas, she said.

Ms. Anderson declined to give extensive details about the fees for formally advising start-ups, or the stakes that the firm will take in the companies. Besides being part of her name, REES stands for Recognizing & Empowering Entrepreneurial Success.