Welcome to Business Angel Investors
What is a Business Angel?
A business angel is a private investor who typically invests from around £50,000 to £200,000 in companies that are starting up or at an early stage in their development.
It is a personal way of investing in that the investor will be putting in their own money, you will deal directly with the investor, and they will take some kind of active role in your business.
Business angels are often entrepreneurs themselves and most will have run their own businesses in the past. Along with money they also bring expertise, useful business contacts and their time to input into the companies in which they invest.
What is the difference between a Business Angel Investor and a Venture Capitalist (VC)?
- Business angels invest their own money in companies as opposed to institutional funds.
- Business angels will take on more risky investments than other funding sources, from venture capitalists or banks for example, and will invest at an earlier stage in the business.
- They prefer smaller size investments than VCs, and are therefore more suited to small to medium sized businesses.
- They usually contribute their skills, expertise, contacts and time, as well as their money. VCs will normally not take such as active role.
- Business angels can bring their own prestige making your firm more attractive to other sources of capital.
- They usually have run their own businesses or have a proven track record of being involved in other businesses similar to the ones in which they plan to invest.
- Business angel investors are motivated by the fun of getting involved in the business, whereas VCs may take a less hands-on approach and their primary motivation is their return on invested capital.