Angel Investment Network Blog

At AIN we believe that promoting female entrepreneurship is central to economic growth and meaningful innovation.

This IWD we wanted to celebrate female entrepreneurs and at the same time, acknowledge the need to boost both the number of female startups and also female investors to ensure we can truly democratise angel investment.

According to research from Pitchbook female-founded companies in Europe have received just 1.3% of VC funding since 2017.

Having more diversity across the whole startup ecosystem would help. Research by Beauhurst and the UKBAA found just 14% of female angel investors are women, but having more women investors could help to shift the dynamic. read more

Becoming an angel investor can be a hugely rewarding way of using your experience and capital to support innovative startups and potentially earn a return on your investment.

As this involves deploying your own personal capital this is of course, not something you want to tackle lightly. We’ve spoken to a series of experienced angel investors and investment experts to give you the low down. Here are their top tips for anyone considering the high octane game of backing early stage startups.

1) Educate yourself

Before going down this path, it is really worth taking the time and effort to learn about the startup ecosystem. Also learn about the different types of investments available, and crucially the characteristics of successful startups. This can include doing online research, reading books, attending conferences, and talking to other investors. It also means really understanding the minutiae of the various Government schemes to support investment like EIS and SEIS and their global equivalents. Particularly given there will be significant changes in April.  read more

In January 2023, AIN hosted a webinar with Anna Gordon from HubSpot on how startups can use a CRM to manage your fundraising process and investor relationships. If you missed it, here are the top takeaways.

Top takeaways

1. View the investor fundraising process as a sales proces
   One common mistake that startups often make is not treating the investor fundraising process as a sales process that needs to be managed.

2. Deal pipelines aren’t just for sales
   Deal Pipelines aren’t just for sales. Indeed you can use a pipeline to track your fundraising process. You can also use a sales dialer software that can provide sales teams with valuable customer data, which can be used to generate more sales and better serve customers.

3. Leverage a CRM to facilitate your outreach
   You can leverage a CRM to facilitate your outreach to investors by using tools such as templates and sequences.

4. Quality investors early
   Similar to sales, you should quality investors early on with Sales Methodologies such as BANT. The questions you need to ask are: Does the investor have budget? Do they have authority to make the decision and are they willing to spend time with you?
   
   
5. Use CRM tools to establish regular email updates with your existing investors.
   Finally, in addition to helping you communicate with your prospective investors, remember to use CRM tools to establish regular email updates with your existing investors. To check and clean up your email list, you can use an email validation by Zerobounce.

Register to watch the recording here

HubSpot is the All-in-One CRM that Scales as Your Startup Grows. If you are a member of Angel Investment Network, you can apply for a discount of 30%- 90% off HubSpot. Learn more and apply here.

Extra resources

Connect your email to HubSpot

Import your data into the HubSpot CRM (can be used to import your investor lists) read more

Burnout is a common issue that affects millions of people around the world. No more so than for entrepreneurs placing everything on the line to launch their businesses. 

This article explores burnout causes and potential solutions from exercise and breathing exercises, to innovative potential solutions like water soluble CBD.

Whether working from home, in an office, or any other work environment, the pressure to perform can quickly lead to exhaustion, cynicism, and a lack of motivation. It’s a vicious cycle that can be hard to escape, but it’s not impossible. read more

For our latest Behind The Raise interview we speak to Moses Rashid, founder of online marketplace for Limited edition Sneakers & Streetwear, The Edit LDN. He reveals how he had his lightbulb moment at a sneaker festival, his huge focus on service and the impressive partnerships and celebrity backers that have helped propel the business forward.

He also reveals his top tips for anyone raising investment for the first time and why he initially thought a call from Harrods wanting to partner with The Edit LDN after just 18 month of operating was a prank… read more

The new year offers everyone a great opportunity to reset and renew. For startups seeking investment this could be the perfect time to evaluate your approach and see if it needs tweaking.

After all, we are in a very different climate in 2023 and investors are being far more careful with the deployment of their capital. To boost your chances of a successful raise, ensure your strategy is tailored for now, not last year.

So what key resolutions should startups focus on in 2023? 

1) Revisit your elevator pitch

The life of any startup is varied, stressful and relentless, wearing so many hats and juggling so many balls. All the while, trying not to let any drop or run out of cash. However in this maelstrom of activity it remains crucial to not lose sight of the eureka moment that led you to quit the day job and come up with the idea in the first place. The start of the new year offers a great chance to refresh your core pitch for investment as clearly and articulately as you can.  read more

Businesses are missing out on huge commercial opportunities due to a lack of gender diversity in early stage business investment. This is the message from experienced investor Roxane Sanguinetti in our latest Meet the Investor interview. Tackling the gender funding gap was her motivation in joining Alma Angels, which backs female and/ or minority founders. It is now 350 angels strong. As well being an investor with Alma Angels she is co head of the London chapter of Women in ETF’s.

In a wide ranging interview she discusses how to create a more level playing field, why it matters, the sectors that she is drawn toward investing and the common qualities of founding teams she has backed. Why dedication is what you need… read more

For our latest Meet the Investor Interview we chat with Addy Windsor-Clive, an investment manager at Regenerate Ventures. Regenerate Ventures is an EIS VC fund focusing on Early stage AgTech investments. She discusses her motivation in supporting startups tackling the ‘broken’ agri-food supply chain, her desire to see a more diverse set of founders within agriculture and the trends transforming the ag-tech sector.

What led you to investing in start-ups?

I started my career in Venture Capital and that’s where my love for it began and helping startups reach their true potential. read more

‘Founders need to be passionate, driven, and fully committed in the longevity and future of their company.’ These are the words of experienced investor Noel Duigan describing what he expects from entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas. As someone who has personally invested in 12 businesses in the past year his advice is worth its weight in gold.

We are delighted Noel has given his time for our latest Meet The Investor interview. He discusses the reasons he invests, his typical ticket size, the red flags he looks out for, how founders should update investors and top tips for anyone raising for the first time.
read more

 “If you don’t see it, you can’t be it” says inspirational investor and founder Andy Ayim MBE. The quote describes his philosophy in setting up the Angel Investing School with the aim of empowering a new tribe of diverse angel investors for the benefit for the whole startup ecosystem. In our latest interview this game changing investor discusses his motivations, advice to aspiring angel investors, how he finds deals and where the best investment opportunities lie in this tougher climate. read more

Andrew Craissati has had a storied career with over 20 years in senior roles across investment banking, Universal Studios, National Geographic, the David de Rothschild family office and the Virgin Group. Working closely with the country’s most famous entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, Andrew gained remarkable insight of the world of early stage investing. 

 As a founding member of the Bricks, an early-stage investment firm, for the past 12 years he has used his personal experiences in supporting companies. Not just with capital but with constructively designed support and value-additive skills and knowledge. For our latest Meet the Investor interview, he discusses the benefits of angel investing, the most exciting markets for investment at this time and an unorthodox but effective approach for identifying the top performers. read more

Three of Angel Investment Network’s senior team have been named in the 2022 edition of the prestigious Spear’s 500. The index is the definitive market-leading guide to the top private client advisers and service providers for HNW individuals. 

AIN co-founders James Badgett and Mike Lebus were named alongside experienced broker Xavier Ballester who has been with AIN for fifteen years. 

Featured in the publication Lebus commented: “We have now grown to over 1.5 million entrepreneurs and over 300,000 investors across 194 countries worldwide. We’ve tried to never lose touch with our entrepreneurial roots.” read more

David Pattison left school not knowing what he wanted to do. He ‘fell’ into the media side of the advertising industry. With two partners he founded globally renowned advertising business (PHD) and had a successful exit.

For the past decade he has been a hugely successful angel investor, working as a chair, mentor or adviser for a variety of businesses and CEOs. Acting as a ‘wingman’ watching CEOs and companies’ backs and witnessing first-hand the ups and downs of start-up and young company life. read more

The angel investment world is still overwhelmingly male. Data from the UKBAA suggests only 13% of business angel investors in the UK are women and it is a similar picture worldwide. Lack of access is one of the biggest challenges of gender inequity. There is an urgent need for more successful women to speak up and show others the way. One of the key reasons is that more female investors means more female entrepreneurs are likely to receive support. 

One such woman is the incredible Marla Shapiro- CEO of HERmesa – a UK based angel syndicate, 2022 finalist Angel Group of the Year at the UKBAA awards, investing in extraordinary female (co) founded start ups.  We speak about her continually growing portfolio of exceptional women led start-ups, her drive to support female backed business and what she sees as the fundamentals of a founding team. read more

For our latest Behind The Raise interview we speak to Florian Jacques, founder of Midstay, the platform helping companies and individuals work remotely. Florian talks to AIN about his innovative startup catering for ‘digital nomads’ with an all-in-one solution to set up remote working experiences. He discusses the benefits of his platform for both employees and employers, the traction points that won round investors and what Elon Musk has got wrong.

Tell us about Midstay and how you came up with the idea?

The idea for Midstay came from the experiences my co-founder and CTO Magnus and I had as remote workers and travellers. We met each other in Bali while surfing on a flat day. While waiting for a wave, we discussed our common experiences of being a “nomad”. We understood that the current landscape of digital tools was missing the essential tool of helping facilitate the relocation of people taking their work with them while travelling. read more

With a downgrade in some valuations and a more challenging economic outlook, angel investors are increasingly rigorous with the startups they are backing. 

This means that after a few years of future-gazing and hype alone driving some investment rounds, genuine traction is squarely back in the back in the conversation. Early stage startups especially need to be able to demonstrate their potential investability with tangible proof points of momentum.

The Oxford languages dictionary definition of ‘traction’ is ‘the extent to which an idea, product, etc. gains popularity or acceptance’. Investors will be looking for the metrics or KPIs that best demonstrate these are being achieved. read more

For our latest Behind The Raise interview we speak to Jim Mulford, founder of rewards redemption platform for gamers, acQyr eXchange. The serial entrepreneur talk to AIN about his mission to effectively monetise the hugely growing gaming market with relevant rewards and offers, learn about how to get ahead of your competitors. As someone who has led several exits he also offers his top tips for raising investment and reveals the pitfalls to avoid.

Tell us about The acQyr eXchange and how you came up with the idea?

Our mission and QX Offering have a strong foundation of research, development, pilots, partnerships, and IP for the real-time issuance and redemption of digital reward value in markets that effectively apply loyalty rewards to attract, engage, and retain the customers of businesses within each market. read more

For our latest Behind The Raise interview we speak to Linas Pozerskis and Crystal Drury the co-founder of smart-EV and energy storage startup WAU (We Are Universal). They talk to AIN about their mission to transform the electric bike market, top tips for raising investment and why shortening supply chains has improved the startup’s capacity to innovate.

Tell us about WAU bikes and how you both came up with the idea?

The problem we identified was that there was no 2-wheel EV platform on the planet that would take all large 4-wheel EV perks and raw sex appeal and make it portable. Our solution was to provide a powerful/portable alternative to full size Smart EVs such as Polestar, Tesla, Lucid, etc. read more

Almost three-quarters of investors wouldn’t back a company with a problematic workplace culture.  And 66 per cent of potential recruits wouldn’t accept a job with a company known for having a bad culture.  In a recent report (May 2022) by software developer, Culture Shift, these startling statistics reveal that attitudes have significantly shifted – people are simply unwilling to put up with negative or toxic cultures.

This means that when growing your business creating a positive working culture is higher up the priority list for a founder and organisational leaders of small or large enterprises, than it has ever been.  With a natural expectation from investors for a business to be resilient in challenging economic circumstances and still grow, then this culture has to be carefully created and maintained. read more