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What resources or organizations can help me learn more about angel investing?
Various educational resources, online platforms, and angel investor associations offer valuable insights into angel investing. Consider joining local or online groups, attending workshops, or seeking out books and articles on the subject to enhance your knowledge and skills as an angel investor.
How can I get started with angel investing if I'm interested?
To begin angel investing, consider conducting research on startup opportunities, attending networking events, or exploring online angel investment platforms and syndicates. It's essential to learn more about the specific processes and requirements in your area or through the platform you choose to use.
What role do angel investors play in startups beyond providing funds?
Angel investors often play a supportive role in the startups they invest in. They can provide mentorship, guidance, and valuable connections to help the founders grow their businesses and achieve milestones.
Are angel investors limited to specific regions, like Silicon Valley?
No, angel investing opportunities exist in various regions and cities worldwide. Innovation hubs are emerging globally, and successful startups can be found in many different locations.
Is there a recommended approach to angel investing?
Building an angel portfolio, which involves investing in multiple startups to spread risk, is often recommended. Diversifying your investments across different companies can help mitigate risk and increase the likelihood of a higher return on investment.
How can individuals get involved in angel investing?
There are a few ways to get started with angel investing. You can choose to invest directly in startups you believe in, performing your own due diligence and negotiation. Alternatively, you can join crowd-investing platforms or angel investor groups, where experts evaluate opportunities for you. Lastly, you can participate in angel syndicates or clubs, investing with a group of like-minded individuals.
Can you provide examples of successful startups that began as early-stage companies?
Yes, there are numerous examples of startups that started with minimal funding and became highly successful. For instance, Airbnb initially raised only $20,000 and went on to have an IPO with a valuation of $47 billion. Factorial, a Spanish HR solutions company, took six years to reach a valuation of over $1 billion.
What are the risks associated with angel investing?
Angel investing is high-risk and often comes with low liquidity. These investments are typically private, making it challenging to sell shares to other investors. Therefore, investors should be prepared for a longer-term commitment and have a clear understanding of the risks involved.
What is a SAFE contract?
A SAFE contract stands for "Security Agreement for Future Equity." It is a type of contract used in angel investing where an investor provides funds in exchange for the promise of receiving equity in the company at a later date, typically when certain milestones are reached.
How do angel investors make a return on their investment?
Angel investors make money by investing in startups in exchange for equity. When the value of the startup increases, they can later sell their shares or equity for a profit. This return on investment is realized when the startup succeeds and potentially goes public (IPO) or is acquired.
What kind of startups do angel investors support?
Angel investors typically invest in very early-stage companies, which are usually less than three years old. These startups are still in the process of testing the market to determine if their product or service has a market fit and are often focused on creating innovative solutions that can be scaled.
What is angel investing?
Angel investing is a type of early-stage investment where individuals provide small amounts of their own money to startups in exchange for equity or a share in the company. Angel investors play a crucial role in fostering innovation by supporting new businesses with the potential to change the world.
Can I invest in a startup if it is not approved in the investment committee?
You can choose to invest in that startup individually, if the founders accept your investment. Most of our pre-selected startups choose COREangels because of our global community and the smart money provided by a group of angel investors and the diversity of expertise in the group.
Who decides which startup I invest in after the pitch?
You and your fellow group members.
You vote: Yes, No or Maybe for each startup that comes to the investment committee. We have a 1-investor, 1-vote policy so regardless of your investment ticket size in the group, you will always have equal voting rights. The leaders count the votes and if the startup gets a majority Yes, the group invests in that startup.
How is an investment committee different from a pitch day/demo day?
A demo day is a day where usually more than 10 startups are invited. On big Demo days, you might have 60 founders pitching their ideas.
In an Investment Committee, you are going to see pitches of no more than 3 startups that have already passed a screening process and primary due diligence. Your fund leaders have already done the valuations and the deal is negotiated ahead of time.
What is an investment committee?
Once you join a COREangels fund, there are going to be recurring demo days or pitch sessions of each angel fund where investors of the group listen to 2 or 3 startups that are pre-selected by the fund leaders. You get to ask questions during and after each Investment Committee and vote.
How do I invest in COREangels?
Pick a COREangels Fund in your country or one that is closest to your mission in life. Here is a list of our funds around the world: https://coreangels.com/our-angel-groups.
Make sure the minimum investment ticket and language requirements to join the fund of your choice are met. For instance, If you are based in a European country, speak English, and have a background in Artificial Intelligence, COREangels Big Data & AI might be a good match for you.
Connect with the leaders and angel investors of the fund that attracts you the most on LinkedIn and get an understanding of the group dynamics.
Once you have chosen an angel fund, apply via their webpage and a leader of the fund will followup with you to set up a call or meeting.
Is COREangels an accelerator or incubator?
No. COREangels is a community of angels funds that provide capital and create relationships among angel investors and founders.
We invest in your company and support your business to achieve the next level. Each group has its investment thesis and a way to support the evolution of startups consistent with the industry and company stage. The main supports are in management, fundraising, mentoring, hiring, and sales. You will be part of a global community of angel investors and entrepreneurs.
I am a solo founder. What are my chances?
We usually invest in startups with two or three founders. We understand that only one founder or more than four founders can bring some extra risks. You can apply as a solo founder, but it’s essential to have a clear plan on what areas, who, and how you will bring more talent to the startup. To achieve success is vital to have an excellent team.
How large are the tickets?
In general, COREangels funds invest between €25,000 and €250,000. However, it is necessary to see the investment tickets for each fund. Tickets are adjusted according to the investment phase and according to the characteristics of the local ecosystem of each COREangels fund.
You can see the ticket sizes of each angel fund here: https://coreangels.com/fundraise
Do I need to fundraise from other investors?
Usually, you can start your round with COREangels. If approved, COREangels also supports the process of finding new co-investors. However, the fact of already having inventors committed in the round is a well received. Some of our groups will pay great attention to having committed investors for the round.
What documents should I have to apply?
To apply is only mandatory the pitch deck. After receiving your application, the COREangels fund will ask for complementary documentation before the individual meeting. The complementary documentation can be the captable, financial information, business plan, and CVs.
I don't have a pitch deck. Can I still apply?
No. It’s mandatory to have a pitch deck to apply for COREangels funds.
The pitch deck is a short and efficient way to present your business. While the specific content may vary depending on your industry and business model, here are the typical sections you should consider including:
What is an Investment Committee?
The investment committee is the moment when you present your startup to all the angel investors of the selected fund. After the presentation they will decide if approve or not the investment deal.
Typically, there are between 10 and 15 minutes of presentation, for between 20 and 30 minutes of questions and answers.
The central role of the Investment Committee for investors is to review and evaluate investment opportunities. The angel investors review pitch decks, financial information, business plans, and other relevant materials provided by startups seeking investment prior to presentation.
Angel investors evaluate opportunity potential based on a variety of criteria, including business model, market opportunity, team, product or service differentiation, competitive landscape, financial projections, and growth potential. It's essential to show off your secret sauce. The synergy between the startup and the COREangels Fund must be presented to the Investment Committee.
After the investment committee, the angel fund will respond whether or not to invest within a period of up to 10 days.
When should I start fundraising with COREangels?
We invest in the pre-seed and seed stages. If you are raising a round or need a co-investor for your round, you can apply for COREangels Funds.
When do you invest?
Not too early, not too late. We finance startups from the pre-seed to Seed stages. We don’t invest in later stages than series A. We invest in the validation and go-to-market phases.
I don’t want too many investors on my cap table. How do you deal with this?
We invest as Angel Fund, so if you receive an investment from a COREangels Fund, it will appear as only one entity in your captable. If a second fund invests in you, then you will have more than one entity in your captable.
Do you charge any commission/fees?
No, you don’t need to pay to receive the investment from a COREangels Group. In some Angel Funds, you can have some contracting expenses, for example, a lawyer, due diligence, or notary, but not addressed, for a COREangels Fund.
I like COREangels' global approach. If I apply to one group, can I apply to others?
Once invested by one fund, you will be exposed to be invested by other funds in COREangels. But yes, if you see fit between your moment and other COREangels Funds, you can apply for a second investment. We have many startups co-invested by multiple COREangels funds. Our invested startups use the power of our global community to expand to different geographies and markets.
Is COREangels the right investor for me?
We have angel funds for different industries and areas, but we are great at supporting the Pre-seed and Seed phases. Here, you will be invested by a group of people who want to give you the up to achieve your milestones. We are investing and supporting you in the very early stage and will make it possible with you to achieve the next level.
Can I apply for funding from multiple angel groups?
Yes, you can apply for more than one fund, but we highly recommend that you select the best two COREangel Funds for you. Great founders deserve the best investors.
What is your investment process?
We invest as an entity in your startup. The investment can happen in form of equity, convertible note, or SAFE. We can propose a term sheet or we can analyze the term sheet from committed co-investors.
How long does it take to receive the investment after receiving the approval from the Investment Committee?
The investment is made within 60 days.
How does the application process work?
How can I apply for COREangels funding?
The first step is to select the angel fund that fits your startup. You should take into consideration your area, industry, stage, and investment ticket.
Select your fund on https://coreangels.com/fundraise
On this page, you will find the form to apply for funding. Each COREangels fund will have a different form. Usually, the forms are about basic information, verification questions, and a place to include the pitch deck URL.
What are you looking for in startups you invest in?
We are a glocal community. We have different angel funds acting local but sharing a global network.
We look for startups that want to be global or the market leader in their region. We expect an amazing, balanced, and promising founders team.
We invest in startups from pre-seed to seed.
Each of our Angel Funds has specific expertise and focus. For some groups, the Go-to-market is essential, for others can be the validation phase or the internationalization preparation phase. Check them out here: https://coreangels.com/fundraise
What is COREangels added value?
COREangels funds are created by hands-on angel investors. First, our angel groups invest capital in your business, but we support way more. Each angel group has its investment thesis and a way to support the evolution of startups consistent with the industry and company stage.
Once one of our angel groups invest in oyur startup, you become part of a global community of angels and entrepreneurs. We are connecting entrepreneurs and investors from different parts of the world. We have an exclusive event agenda for founders of startups.
All startups have one or two Archangels. The archangel is an angel investor with a closer relationship with a particular startup, supporting its challenges. The archangel is a co-creator of value for the startup.
You can learn more about our angel funds and angel investors here: https://coreangels.com/our-angel-groups
