In an article called “The web can make women into angels”, Sunday Times Small Business Editor Kiki Loizou talks about how women angel investors can be a real advantage for women entrepreneurs.
Luke Lang from Crowdcube (a crowdfunding site) suggests that women might find face-to-face angel groups “intimidating” and that such groups are “totally outdated in the 21st century”. Hmmmm. Setting aside his rather patronising view of women, obviously I don’t agree about groups being outdated or I wouldn’t have set one up.
At Angel Academe we support businesses that are looking to attract “smart” investment, ie money from a small group of individuals who can add value to their business. Our angels have an amazing variety and depth of expertise and contacts and we use these to identify opportunities to invest in and then support them post-investment, often taking an NED or observer position and always staying involved with the business. We also invest in people first. Founding teams that we’ve met and got to know and who we believe can deliver on their promises. We understand them and how we can complement them, we’re aligned on valuation and strategy, we’re in it for the long term.
Crowdfunding has obviously been hugely successful in attracting thousands of new investors into the market who invest small amounts in businesses they’ll never meet or be able to negotiate investment terms with. But, as with most things, investing isn’t a one-size-fits-all activity so don’t write us groups off just yet!
See the full article here (NB subscription required).
Angel Academe 