Demystifying Startup Funding in Las Vegas — Part 2: Angel Investors
“Demystifying Startup Funding in Las Vegas” is a three part series that will evaluate several sources of startup funding in Las Vegas and Stefan Colovic’s experiences with them.
Part 1: VC Funds | Part 2: Angel Investors | Part 3: Alternative Sources
Vegas Valley Angels
Who are they?
The Vegas Valley Angels (“VVA”) are a group of accredited investors dedicated to providing equity capital to early and mid-stage entrepreneurial companies. They focus on Southern Nevada companies, but other locations will be considered.
Why choose them?
The 50+ angel investors in this group are very experienced and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They’ve invested approximately $12M in the past couple of years, and every entrepreneur seeking funding from the VVA should be able to identify at least one angel who can add great value to her company.
Stefan’s experiences with them:
Several investors of the VVA were members of the Management Board of the Rebel Venture Fund during my tenure as CEO, including Bill Payne, Bill Botts, and Mark Brennan. The three aforementioned gentlemen have mentored me for over a year, and I’m confident they can help your company succeed.
I heard a rumor that the VVA aren’t meeting regularly right now as an angel group; however, the majority of the angel investors of the VVA should still be assessing investment opportunities on their own. It may be best to contact them directly once you identify potential fits for your company.
NVAngels
Who are they?
NVAngels is a new angel group in Las Vegas, which sprouted from the collaboration of Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (“LVGEA”), Originate, and Switch.
Why choose them?
Despite the “Nevadans funding Nevadans” slogan, numerous NVAngels members fly in from out-of-state to attend meetings if I recall correctly. Their network seems to have a wide reach; combined with the partnerships of LVGEA, Originate, and Switch, the opportunities are endless.
Stefan’s experiences with them:
I almost took a job with the NVAngels when they were first formed. Being a relatively new angel group, I believe they are still working out the logistics of when/how often they will meet and how due diligence will be performed.
Also, I attended their first meeting where they had two companies (both from outside of Las Vegas) pitch to the investors. Both companies had quality founders, products, and early success, so expect this group to have high expectations.
Individual Angel Investors
There is a plethora of angel investors in Las Vegas that do not invest as a part of an angel group. Some of them are kind of in “stealth mode” (it’s not just for startups).
Sometimes, these individual angel investors can be difficult to locate. Luckily, the advanced search feature of Angel List can help:
Next up in the series is Part 3, which will discuss alternative sources of startup funding in Las Vegas.
