Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network is a group of individual accredited angel investors. Its mission is to provide opportunities for members to obtain outstanding financial returns by investing in innovative companies with a presence in western North Carolina or a willingness to relocate or expand to the region, and that have intellectual property, job creation potential and realistic exit strategies.

BRAIN is the brainchild of the AdvantageWest Economic Development Group, which founded the group to be a catalyst for economic development in the North Carolina mountains. It is now an independent corporation.