Angel Investing fills the gap between the necessary seed capital at the birth stage of a startup and the stage where the startup needs capital to grow and accelerate. At this latter stage, depending on the power of the business idea and the startup’s performance, the early stage growth or risk capital required may be less than £ 1–2 million or more than that figure. When the capital required is more than £ 1–2 million we have traditional Angel Funds stepping in who conduct due diligence before investing the money. But if the capital required is lesser than the requisite figure then a single angel investor or a group invests in the startup. This investment may be in the form of upfront equity or convertible debt which is later converted into equity. Few angel investors from angel groups or angel networks who then start taking collective investment decisions. Few others invest online through equity Crowdfunding. Professional venture capitalists generally raise the capital they invest in startups and companies. Unlike them, angel investors invest their own money. Partially due to this compulsion angel investors play a much more active and hands-on role in the startups they invest in. Some of these Angel Investors are people who have been founders of startups earlier and have made good exits previously. By virtue of having that experience, they possess a depth of expertise and deep connections in the professional community. Newly found startups can leverage this to grow and gain a competitive advantage amongst other benefits. If the angel investment is large then the investor may even take up the role of a director or top advisor in the startup.
A startup needs both capital and capability for its eventual success. Another way of looking at this is the right mix of smart capital and patient capital which the startup needs. The smart capital is actually the angel’s capability in the form of expertise, professional network, and other similar assets. This can accelerate the growth of the startup. But ultimate success for the startup takes time and in most cases is a journey, a progression. The role of angels as long term investors patiently backing a startup is a crucial asset and a critical success factor for most of them to achieve their full potential.
Recently HR Tech has seen a lot of momentum in angel funding. CB Insights has pointed out that barring 2016 and 2017 angel funding has seen a consistent growth of 15% for the past few years. Angel funding has also seen a sharp upward swing since 2014 and had touched $2.9 Billion at the end of 2018. Generally, two-thirds of all funding deals have happened in the early stage of a startup covering angel, seed or Series A roundups.
The London based HR Tech Partnership is an investment venture in the People Tech space with most of its stakeholders being senior corporate directors.
It is an early stage investor and focuses on companies which leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. It believes that advancements in the latest technology can be useful for disrupting conventional people practices and enhancing productivity.
To know more about angel funding and how the HR TECH Partnership works visit http://www.hrtechpartnership.com/
