Angel Insights Blog

This is Part 1 of a two-part examination of the state of the startup capital market during the past two years. Part 2 will explore the transition to an Equity Buyer’s Market in 2022. 2021 was an unusual year. Investors participated in record returns, capital raises, valuations, and founder-friendly deals, the most “exuberant” year for startup financing in two decades. What are the lessons we can learn about investing during and after startup capital market bubbles?

The ACA has announced a partnership with Dealum, a leading angel investing and angel group collaboration platform. With an overall goal of educating and supporting angel investors in their need for greater connectivity and collaboration, the ACA and Dealum have forged a new 12-month partnership jointly believed to be of great benefit to the angel investment community.

It is important to have realistic expectations on returns and timing when one begins the journey known as Angel Investing. One of those expectations is timing – shutdowns tend to come early and exits tend to come later. This was covered in an earlier ACA Data Insights.

The Angel Capital Association (ACA) has announced a partnership with Linqto, a leading global private markets investment platform that provides accredited investors with access to some of the world’s most sought-after, privately-held companies.

The Angel Investor Foundation (AIF) is pleased to announce a $300,000 pledge to its Seed the Future capital campaign from the Payne Family, a name synonymous with angel investing. This is the second significant pledge from the Paynes and it brings their campaign contributions to more than half a million dollars.

"Simply put, if we don't support the ACA and campaigns like Seed the Future, who will?" - Ted Capossela.

Crunchbase recently published a report indicating that as of the end of the third quarter, 2022 late-stage venture capital and private equity funding to VC backed companies was down 40% quarter over quarter and 63% year over year. Early-stage venture funding also saw a 25% decline quarter over quarter and a 39% decline year over year.

This newly-created, volunteer position will provide the opportunity to give back to the field of angel investing while also providing unparalleled insights and influence over the evolution of angel investing education around the world.

As angels, we often ask ourselves whether returns in one industry are likely to be better than other industries. In recent years, TCA has invested about 35-40% each year in Life Sciences. Since TCA’s founding in 1997, we have invested in more than 500 companies and 123 (32%) of these have been in Life Sciences. Of the total investment, 25% has been in Life Sciences. Therefore, the dataset is large enough to perhaps develop some observations and conclusions comparing Life Sciences to all other verticals combined.

Member Engagement Increases Throughput and Expertise Applied in Due Diligence.