3 Things You Absolutely Need To Know About Angel Investing

Interconnectedness of angels & venture capital, angel group syndicates, and venture trends over time.

This is the third post of my study notes from the Insider’s Guide to Silicon Valley Investing program with Stanford University and 500 Startups. This part was taught by Mike Lyons and Pedram Mokrian.

Interconnectedness of Angels & Venture Capital

You would think that angel investment is only a small fraction compared to the amount of venture capital checks. According to the research done by Center for Venture Research, PwC and MoneyTree, angel investment already represented over $20 billion in funding in 2010, only slightly less than venture capital ($21.97 billion). Angel investors engaged in significantly more deals (61,900) than venture capital (2,750). Among these deals, 67% of angel investment went into early and growth stage startups, whereas 68% of venture capital funded later or growth stage companies.

Angel Group Syndicates: Co-Investment with Angel Groups

From the chart below, you will see that about 60–70% angels co-invest in groups.