Looking To Get Investment For Your Startup? – Here Are 7 Ways To Find Angel Investors
Thinking of getting angel investors, but not sure where to start? Where should you look? What questions should you ask them?
Firstly – let’s address the elephant in the room. What is an angel investor? Angel investors are individuals who invest in entrepreneurial ventures like startups using their own capital in exchange for equity.
They often provide the startup founders with capital for their business, but they do not have any operational voting rights in the company.
Angels can come from different backgrounds, such as venture capitalists, corporate investors, wealthy individuals, and members of angel networks.
While we can’t tell you which investor to go with – we can tell you where to find them.
Where to find them?
Angel Investors Directory (mainly the US) by @firstround
There’s also the Angel Investment Network, which is a US-based platform helping to bring startups and angel investors closer together. You have access to investors worldwide with exactly 285,542 angel investors available to connect in their directory.
Angel capital association by @ACAAngelCapital
The Angel Capital Association is a group of accredited angel investors with entrepreneurial experience and high net-worths to help lead early seed angel investment rounds. Getting involved with ACA is simple and they provide direct access to a full directory of potential investors.
Find angel investors and syndicates in the US (groups of angel investors) by @AngelList
AngelList is a popular website where startups can go to hire as well as look for investors to partner with for funding. It primarily aims to serve tech startups and works well as a reliable tool with excellent reach in the industry.
UK database of startups, funding rounds and investors by @TechNation
Built by and for founders, investors, executives and tech enthusiasts. The website says “Are you a founder, a VC, or otherwise active in the ecosystem? Gain visibility, unlock more features, and help the database become more complete by adding your organization for free.”
There is also a global database of startups, funding rounds and investors by @crunchbase and @PitchBook.
Medium articles such as the future of angel investing by Pietro Invernizzi list dozens of angel investors open to making investment
“The UK ecosystem has also become really deep in recent years, but you might just not know who the players are: when you think of amazing angels, it is often the same few names that come up: Shakil Khan, Martha lane fox, Taavet Hinrikus, Charlie Songhurst, Sherry Coutu, Alex Chesterman.
“While these are great, I thought I’d go on a hunt to find other equally incredible investors for you, who were happy to share a bit about themselves and what they look for in founders (the #hashtags below) with the world.” The medium, article is here:
Angel programmes such as Atomico Angel Program by @atomico and others.
Atomico’s Angel Programme is said to empower the next generation of European angel investors to partner with the most ambitious early-stage founders. The investments made by Atomico’s angels showcase the diversity of founder talent in Europe, and the growing tech ecosystem. For Atomico, the programme is an important connection to the community at the pre-seed and seed stages.
Networking Events
If you prefer to connect in person, there is no better way to get involved and meet potential angel investors for your startup than networking events. You should look around in your local community and nearby cities that host big events and grow your network.
Eventbrite is another great way to find pitching and live demo opportunities.