Angels Are a Unique and Powerful Group to Develop Relationships With
To the surprise of some, angel investors are the most important
funders of high-growth startups. While some believe Venture Capital
firms fund startups, the data says that angels provide 90% of the
outside equity to startups.
Angels invest about $25B to about 70,000 companies every year,
more than 10 times the number of companies funded by VCs. Instead
VCs mostly provide important expansion capital to early-stage
companies.
Why don’t people understand this difference? Most angels are
private, so they are harder to find. The Angel Capital Association
Summit brings together many of the top angel investors in North
America and provides a way for sponsors to connect with angels with
large portfolios of startup companies and excellent relationships with
the innovation ecosystem (including great VCs).
Meet important angels, who fund the kind of companies that create all
of the net new jobs in the US over a 25 year period (new businesses).
Entrepreneurs
7%
have an MBA or graduate degree
(compared to 12.9%
of the American public)
55%
are entrepreneurs or C-level
executives at large corporations
51%
worked in technology companies
are Board members of for-profit
companies
Sponsors
10%
Economic Dev
3%
73%
46%
Other
1%
Universities
5%
Accelerators
3%
Key Numbers
22%
Who
attends
the
ACA
Summit?
are women
(and the percentage is growing –
30% of new angels)
11.4
Angel Investors
71%
average number of companies
in an angel’s portfolio
$35k
Angels Actively Support Entrepre nuers
average individual investment
$800k
average round size per company
5
Source: The American Angel, by ACA, Wharton Entrepreneurship and Harvard Business School, 2017)