In angel investing, value is often reduced to numbers: IRR, multiples, exits. These metrics matter, but anyone who has spent time inside an angel community knows they don’t tell the whole story.
At COREangels, we regularly hear angels describe their most meaningful investments not in terms of returns alone, but in moments:
- The founder they helped through a critical decision,
- The first customer they introduced,
- The quiet satisfaction of seeing a startup grow into a real company.
This raises an important question: how do angels actually define value?
Recent research by Rui Falcão, CEO of COREangels, offers a new way to answer that question — one that moves beyond financial returns and captures the full experience of angel investing.
Why Financial Returns Don’t Tell the Full Story
Traditional investment theory assumes investors are primarily driven by economic outcomes. But business angels are different by nature.
Angels invest their own capital, at early stages, in high-risk ventures — and they often stay close to the founders long after the deal is done. This proximity changes the experience of investing. It introduces emotion, identity, responsibility, and purpose.
Research consistently shows that many angels are motivated by:
- Giving back to society
- Staying connected to entrepreneurship
- Supporting the next generation of founders
- Being part of a meaningful community
Yet until recently, there was no structured way to capture this broader definition of value.
Introducing Angel Perceived Investment Value (APIV)
To address this gap, Rui Falcão and co-authors developed the concept of Angel Perceived Investment Value (APIV) — a framework that reflects how angels actually experience value from their investments.
Based on a global study of 869 business angels across 79 countries, APIV shows that angel value is multi-dimensional, consisting of five key pillars:
1. Esteem Value
The sense of fulfillment, confidence, and self-worth angels derive from being involved in meaningful ventures. Angel investing can reinforce identity — “this is who I am and what I stand for.”
2. Altruistic Value
The satisfaction of giving back: supporting founders, creating jobs, and contributing to economic and social progress. For many angels, impact is not a side effect — it’s a core motivation.
3. Emotional Value
Enjoyment, excitement, challenge, and the intellectual stimulation that comes with early-stage investing. Pitch sessions, problem-solving, and founder interactions all add emotional richness to the journey.
4. Entrepreneurial Value
Staying close to creation. Mentoring founders. Helping build something from scratch without bearing full operational responsibility. This is especially powerful for former entrepreneurs who want to remain connected to innovation.
5. Economic Value
Returns, diversification, and financial upside — still important, but no longer the sole or dominant dimension.
One of the study’s most striking findings is that symbolic and experiential value (esteem, altruism, emotions, entrepreneurship) often outweigh purely financial considerations in how angels assess success.
How Angels Redefine “Success”
APIV challenges the stereotype of angels as return-maximizing investors.
Instead, it reveals angels as purpose-driven participants in the entrepreneurial ecosystem — people who measure success not only by exits, but by:
- The founders they helped grow
- The lessons they learned along the way
- The community they belong to
- The legacy they are building
This explains why many angels remain active even after losses, and why they continue investing long after they have achieved financial independence.
Angel investing, in this sense, becomes less about winning deals and more about living values.
Why This Matters for Angel Groups and Leaders
Understanding APIV has practical implications for how angel communities are built and managed.
Angel groups that focus only on deal flow and returns risk missing what truly motivates their members. By contrast, groups that intentionally create space for:
- Mentorship and hands-on involvement
- Peer learning and shared reflection
- Recognition of non-financial contributions
are more likely to build engaged, resilient, and long-term investor communities.
At COREangels, we see this play out every day: when angels feel valued beyond their capital, they invest more time, energy, and care into the ecosystem.
A Broader View of Impact
For founders, APIV helps explain why angels often go far beyond what’s written in the term sheet.
For policymakers, it highlights the societal value angels create — long before financial returns materialize.
For new angels, it offers reassurance: it’s okay if success feels bigger than money.
Angel investing is one of the few investment activities where personal growth, social contribution, and financial outcomes intersect so closely.
From ROI to a Fuller Definition of Value
Financial returns will always matter. But if we want to understand angel investing — and design healthier, more impactful ecosystems — we need a broader lens.
Angel Perceived Investment Value gives us that lens.
It reminds us that angels don’t just invest in startups.
- They invest in people.
- In ideas.
- In communities.
- And in a legacy that extends far beyond the balance sheet.
This is the kind of value we believe in and the kind we work every day to create.
