Angel Investors Adjust to Change In Tech Outlook.

Being an angel in L.A. is about to get more serious.

The Tech Coast Angeles, one of Southern California's most prominent angel investor groups, is raising the bar to adapt to the change investment landscape. Gone are the days of easy-to-understand dot-com pitches. Today's angel investment plays are more complex -- tech infrastructure outfits and the like.

Assessing the relative attractiveness of such investments requires more time and commitment on the part of angels. So, TCA is more than doubling its annual membership fee and cutting down on the number of companies it will allow to make pitches at its twice-monthly meetings. In addition, it is streamlining its 10-member board of governors down to seven.

The organization, with branches in Los Angeles, Orange County and as of this month San Diego, has invested seed financing in two dozen local Internet companies.

The increase in popularity of angel investing -- in which informal groups of wealthy individuals stake a portion of their disposable income on high-risk startups -- has led to a perception that angele3s are "a bunch of guys with no (management) value who sit around wanting to make some money," said John Morris, president of TCA Los Angeles. "We're trying to scrub that out of our process and deliver on our promise to add value to the companies we put money into."

To that end, the group, which until now has been an all-volunteer force, is raising its annual dues to $2,000 from $995. That will enable the angels to hire a small full-time staff to help run the organization.

By reducing the number of companies at each screening meeting to four from six, TCA members can take a closer look at each one.

"It takes a certain amount of energy and effort to pick the right ones," said TCA member Peter Cowen. "One-and-a-half, two years ago there was less technology to be evaluated."