A business angel is a private investor in innovative startups in the early stages of development. How a startup can draw the attention of a business angel to his project
School, college, work and home. family and friends, social media and Sunday barbecue in nature. Most people get bogged down in the daily routine, and lose their own brilliant ideas, which in their youth intoxicated with the aroma of hope for a great and bright future. 90% of the reasons for rejecting ideas lie in the area of lack of capital and self-confidence. And only the most stubborn ones are actively looking for ways to overcome obstacles, bypass the three circles of banking hell and, finally, find their angels who finance the project on the most favorable terms.
Business angels- Wealthy people who invest their personal in young projects at the earliest stages of their development. Most often, they come into play at a time when they are far from creating their own products, and it is impossible to secure repayment of loans, and venture capitalists are pointing at the door, considering the plan sketched out on paper as too risky an investment.
Business Angels and Demons
When an idea beckons, and the prospects for its implementation sparkle and shimmer on the horizon, everyone can seem like a benefactor. Meanwhile, in the venture capital market there are at least two categories of persons who are ready to pay for the implementation of a brilliant idea - business angels and venture capitalists. Despite the commonality of interests and areas of activity, their tactics are strikingly different:
Business angels invest exclusively their own, while capitalists manage the fund's collections. Accordingly, the angels make their own decisions, taking all the risk and determining their personal readiness to give out any amount. Venture capitalists are responsible not only to themselves, but also to all fund participants, therefore they are ready to squeeze all the juice out of the project, even if it fails.
Venture capitalists make their funding decisions based on careful analysis and marketing research, do not accept too high a risk, so they enter into work with the company for enough late stages- expansion and development. Business angels, on the contrary, fill the gap in the flow of finances at the most early stages– when drawing up an idea on paper, developing a business plan
Capitalists prefer to keep the company firmly on the hook, for which they put a number of conditions in the contract regarding the issue and sale of shares. They themselves become owners of controlling stakes or preferred securities. Business angels are ready to be content with a "blocking" package.
Venture partners are actively cooperating with the firm and take part in directors' meetings from the moment of entry to the complete withdrawal of capital. The amounts managed by business angels are much more modest and already at the stage of expansion and development of the company do not give a significant role in the composition of directors.
Business angels are representatives of the informal market, single professionals who are able to provide a young company not only with financial support, but also with their own knowledge. The amounts of their investments are usually limited by their own income and willingness to take risks. Only 30-50 thousand dollars is not so much for a manufacturing company or scientific and technical development, so now private investors are actively searching for like-minded people and creating clubs that allow them to invest quite serious capital in the project.
The face of an angel
The contribution of capital at the earliest stages of project development, the financing of interesting and promising ideas make business angels remarkable for society, because it is thanks to their personal finances that many discoveries in the field of high technologies, medicine and genetic engineering have been made, and scientists supported by "angels" periodically receive Nobel Prizes.
Interest in this special class of the rich led extras to sketch a general portrait of a business angel.
Most of them are highly educated and intelligent people those with high incomes. Often, business angels are retired heads of large firms and corporations, highly paid specialists and scientists.
The period of searching for interesting projects falls on the age of maturity - many angels are 38-50 years old. Full of strength and enthusiasm, they are ready to help not only with finances, but with their own participation.
Over 80% of private investors are men
About 60% of angels invest in companies at the seed stage and are ready to bear all the risks, along with a start-up project
Investments of business angels, as a rule, are not large - 30-50 thousand dollars. Such amounts allow you to divide funds between several companies and diversify the risk.
The most famous business angel is now on the list of the richest people according to Forbes magazine. Andy Bechtolsheim was once one of the first investors in Google, whose services are now used by more than half of the world's population.
Angel Capital and Community of Interest
If, when applying to a venture capital, you can only count on an impeccably drawn up plan, novelty of the idea and forecasting high demand for the finished product, then common interests will also help to establish contact with business angels: many of them are ready to invest in areas of activity that have become native to them. . Others are simply looking for an object to lead.
According to the main reasons for participating in the financing of startups, business angels are classified into groups:
Entrepreneurs. This group of private investors consists of successful businessmen who want to expand their spheres of influence and replenish their portfolio with shares of a young, promising company. From them you can get valuable advice on management, marketing strategies, methods of circumventing competition and finding markets.
Professionals are a relatively small group of business angels, which includes highly paid specialists in various fields. Most often, they accept for consideration projects operating in the same industry or close to it.
Corporate angels – former executives large enterprises that are looking for a new promising position. Often business angels of this group actively impose their management strategy, and sometimes they even head the invested company.
Professional investors- angels who come from investment clubs. Good for young enterprises by providing impressive amounts from the whole "angel choir".
Enthusiasts are wealthy people who want to make the world a better place. Investments for them are more of a hobby, a kind of hobby, rather than a tool for earning. They can get capital for scientific research and experimental production.
Each of the groups of business angels has its own strategies and values, the impact on which largely depends on the receipt of investments. The most prudent and professional are the angels of the first group. They carefully weigh the project, consider and correct miscalculations in it, it is literally impossible to deceive them with false figures - these are businessmen who have been accustomed to making decisions and choosing the best from several options all their lives.
Disadvantages and advantages of angel financing
In the early stages, when the project is only on paper, you don’t have to think and choose: there will simply be nothing to repay monthly, venture capitalists will defiantly turn away from you, and only the option of financing by business angels will remain. This has a number of advantages and disadvantages.
Flaws:
Some business angels actively interfere in the life of the project, impose their vision and management style. Sometimes the power gradually wanders into their hands, and the management of the startup is lost by the original leader.
The capital of private investors is small and often the development of a company requires a second or even a third row of investments, which is most often carried out by already larger market participants - funds.
Metamorphosis from "angel" to "hell" sometimes takes a few minutes. Therefore, there is no need to argue with investors.
There are also many advantages of financing by private investors, first of all, already because they bear all the risks of losses along with a young undertaking, and in case of its collapse, you will not have to take all types of private loans for all relatives in order to return the lost.
Since a private investor has entrusted their capital to you, you can count on further funding: many venture funds, when considering a candidate, also take into account the presence of trust from other market participants.
With angel financing, you can only pay off with a block of common shares, while the capitalists demand control and preference in order to keep the company in a strong economic grip.
Business angels are more flexible in their decisions than capitalists
Business angels are a special class of private investors who finance start-ups at the seed stage, with extremely high risks. Their social role is invaluable, because angels become reliable partners for young and talented entrepreneurs, literally teaching them the first steps and words in the field of business.
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Each person has his own guardian angel. As it turned out, there are angels in the field of commerce too. That's what they're called: business angels. Who are they really, how to find a business angel, and what is their help?
Business angels are usually called private investors who place their capital in newly created companies. In this case, certain conditions must be met. For example, not every novice businessman can receive money from such a businessman. Business angels make investments only in those enterprises that have fundamentally new technological projects in their assets, in other words, they are trying to enter the market with their innovations.
What is the attraction of working with business angels
Like venture funds, these investors invest only in fundamentally new innovative business ideas. The main difference from funds is that business angels invest their own, private funds. Venture funds invest funds of involved (third) parties in projects.
Any financial injection is always carried out with the mutual interest of both parties. A novice entrepreneur receives investments () necessary for further work, a business angel, in turn, claims a return on invested funds and a certain share in the share capital of the enterprise. Most often, an investor receives a blocking stake in a partner company.
As a rule, a business angel invests its own funds in one enterprise. Any investor adheres to the golden rule: do not put all your eggs in one basket. Therefore, each investor of this kind places funds in several projects, that is, diversifies the investment portfolio.
The benefits of working with such a businessman are as follows:
- The main advantage is that business angels do not seek to gain full control over the enterprise.
- As a rule, investments are made not by one investor, but by several. Thus, private investors insure their risks.
- If you were able to find an angel business, be calm. The matter will not be limited to financial injections alone. Businessmen of this kind have extensive experience in entrepreneurship and, in particular, in management activities. The main thing in any investment project is not only to get money, but also to organize the work competently. Therefore, in the course of the work, you can safely count on the support of a business angel in terms of enterprise management.
- Most often, business angels plan to make a profit (return on investment) 3-5 years after launching a startup (). Those are pretty generous times. In addition, getting financial support from them is much faster and easier than from a venture fund. A business angel decides where to send investments. A venture fund makes decisions collectively, managing the finances of many people.
Where to find business angel
Finding business angels is a personal matter for every entrepreneur. This category of businessmen, pouring their own investments into third-party business projects, (as well as others) does not look out for someone to lend money for promotion. You need to look for them, convince them, prove the novelty of your ideas. Therefore, it will take some effort to search. Here is an example algorithm of actions:
1. If you have an innovative idea, do not try headlong to start looking for business angels. Try to allocate your own capital to work on the project as much as possible. If there is no way out, start searching.
2. Decide how much money you will need before starting your search. Describe in detail the items of expenditure. Write a clear business plan. By the way, many aspiring entrepreneurs did not receive support just because their business plan was written incorrectly. About how to make it right. Ideas should be stated very clearly, without "water". A 3-4 year development forecast is desirable. The main topics that should be included in the investment plan: the sales market, the novelty of the idea, the level of risk (you can make an optimistic and pessimistic option), approximate sales growth rates finished products. Mandatory item, which will set out proposals for cooperation: the share of investing their own investments in the project, its planned profit.
3. You can search for business angels in several directions at once. Never discount personal acquaintances. Remember that in our country there are professional communities of such people who are ready to invest in your business. You can find them both via the Internet and in a company that specializes in the selection of potential investors.
4. Even if you immediately found an investor with tempting offers, get distracted, consider alternative options. Analyze the proposed terms of cooperation.
5. If you have found your business angel, the development plan will certainly play a role. But, no less important is how your personal meeting will go. As a rule, business angels meet with several applicants for financial support at once. For a presentation own idea each of them is given 10-15 minutes. So it's a good idea to make a selection from your business plan, to talk about the most meaningful details and prepare demonstration (handout) material.
When choosing a business angel, you do not need to rely only on the idea of getting money in any way. As a rule, this type of depositors has rich experience in entrepreneurial activities in certain industries. This is what can play a decisive role in the choice, since having received such a guardian angel of your business, you can also acquire an excellent consultant in the field of management of exactly the market segment to which your company belongs.
In case it didn’t work out with business angels, you shouldn’t be upset, because there are also.
"Secret" presents the annual rating of the most active Russian business angels, compiled by Firrma Group with the support of RVC and the National Association of Business Angels (NABA). Participants are private investors, for whom investing in Russian and foreign startups is their main business, not a hobby or patronage. The main criterion that determines the place in the rating is the number of transactions in 2016 that received public confirmation. For a detailed methodology, please refer to
Alexander Rumyantsev
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
A2 Leasing System, CyberGame.tv, My Schedule, Reg.fm, Flashsafe, Maroom, Agroinnovations, Zig-Zag, Little Pirate, MamaDoma.Biz, Teleport
Rumyantsev has been investing in startups for just over a year - and 15 deals at once. The former financier says that he came to the startup industry to earn money. As an investor, he is omnivorous, but he admits that he especially loves fintech, ecology and VR. He invests relatively small amounts - several million rubles. Judging by the handwriting, Rumyantsev acts mathematically: he has his own methodology and even a small team (although usually angels are still single filibusters). It is interesting that he does not communicate very closely with colleagues in the shop (which is rare in this business), and therefore he has no or almost no joint deals, but at the same time he is quite open (this is even rarer): 11 out of 15 deals are confirmed by public sources. Of the interesting transactions - Flash.so, whose founder Alexei Churkin managed to give his "endless flash drive" to Dmitry Medvedev, and the Agroinnovations startup with the Electronic Herd project, which monitors the number, health and quality of care for cows.
Alexander Borodich
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
GetShop.TV (twice), GrowFood, Inverse, WiMark System, Buklya, TicketsCloud, MingIvision
Boris Zhilin
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
100 000–200 000
UberChef, BoomStarter, ParkApp, Done
Zhilin lives in Lausanne, but at the same time, a significant part of his transactions are with partners from Russia (for example, with another well-known angel Alexei Menn and VTB24 top manager Nadia Cherkasova). In general, Zhilin is one of the few Russians who invest in domestic companies from abroad. And he does it very actively: 13 transactions per year (four are confirmed by sources), and 12 of them are in Russia, which is rare for a "foreigner". Zhilin is called a flexible investor, and he confirms this: “I believe in maximum flexibility and I am ready to consider investments both at the very early stage of development (a team with an idea) and at later stages when growth funding is required.” The average check is quite high - $ 100-200,000. From the interesting in the portfolio: Zhilin, together with Alexei Menn, invested 20 million rubles in the apartment renovation service Made by Ilya Oskolkov-Tsentsiper, co-founder of Afisha and the Strelka Institute. Other notable projects include food delivery services FoodFox and Elementaree, as well as a cook-to-home service called UberChef.
Bogdan Yarovoy
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
Style Consierge, MasterZen, WiMark System, HiConversion
Yarovoy from Kaliningrad is one of the few active business angels living in Russia and not in Moscow. The former chairman of the board of European Bank began investing in venture not very long ago, but rather quickly turned this occupation into a conscious process. He organized the SmartHub venture company, which combines the functions of the club of angels (Yarovaya and the team are developing it as a platform for co-investment) and an accelerator. In communication, Yarovaya is corporately restrained, but nevertheless he invests recklessly: 16 companies in two years, five in the last year (public sources confirm four transactions). He plans to close “one or two more deals” before the New Year. The average check is quite high - $50–70,000. The stages are classic for seed and pre-seed angels. Among the interesting companies in the portfolio are the Russian-British photo marketplace Lobster (deal in 2015), TicketsCloud, AppFollow application monitoring service (the first release of IIDF in the history).
Julius Zegelman
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
AirCall, AllSet, Rolith
Prosperous Owner legal practice in California, Zegelman has been investing in startups for years. At the same time, while living in America, he also looks at Russian or Ukrainian projects, although, of course, there are more American ones in his portfolio. Zegelman's investment speed is mesmerizing. According to him, this year he alone and with partners invested in 19 projects (only one from Russia). Three deals have been confirmed publicly. In addition, this angel manages to make exits, which, of course, is the highest class for an investor. The technological focus of Zegelman's investments is wide: cloud technologies, fintech, devices, Internet of things, e-commerce and new materials. Stages - from pre-seed to series A. Here is a typical investor transaction in 2016. Paris-based help desk start-up Aircall, an $8 million round (that's a solid European Stage A), which, in addition to Zegelman, involved several large and medium-sized investors, including Balderton Capital and FJLabs.
Oleg Cheltsov
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
Doctrine, Giroptic, 90 seconds (all - France)
Venture partner of Runa Capital and creator of the Fotolia photobank, a Frenchman with Russian roots, Cheltsov was once music producer and is known for discovering Russian singer Patricia Kaas. Since the early 2000s, he has invested in more than 50 companies and made about ten successful exits. Cheltsov is still investing a lot. Mostly in France (the local venture capital market is considered quite vigorous). It is difficult to determine the average check, because this angel is usually invested as part of a syndicate. As a rule, this is a strong stage A (which is not very typical for an angel). In 2016, Cheltsov made three deals, all of them “French”.
Sergey Solonin
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
YouDo, Arena Marketing, Instamart
The co-founder of Qiwi, one of the main "blue chips" of Runet, has been investing in technology projects of various sizes for a long time - as an LP (limited partner), through the Qiwi corporate fund, and also individually. The focus of Qiwi is everything related to payment and financial technologies, but the focus of Corned beef is more difficult to understand. His portfolio includes the Arena-Marketing sports ticket distribution service, YouDo, and the Instamart grocery delivery service (by the way, Albert Sagiryan, managing director of Sberbank CIB, participated in this transaction). It is only clear that the investor Solonin prefers to invest at stage A or higher, and that he is interested in fintech in any case, so he headed the FinNet working group of the National Technology Initiative (NTI).
Igor Matsanyuk
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
One of the most closed IT entrepreneurs and investors has completely gone into the shadows in recent years. He lives mainly in Vilnius, where he actively participates in the life of the local technopark. His main brainchild, Game Insight, a major global developer of mobile games, also moved there. Previously, Matsanyuk invested in dozens of startups - first himself, then through his own IMI.VC fund and indirectly as an LP in several Russian funds (which, however, is not documented anywhere). Now little is known about Matsanyuk's investments, and there is a feeling that he was somewhat disappointed by the startup topic. On the other hand, this year he joined the board of trustees of the GenerationS accelerator. Matsanyuk's relatively recent investments include TicketsCloud, a new technopark in Vilnius, and an unnamed medical project.
Oleg Evseenkov
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
RollCon, Green Investments
Evseenkov invests a lot - in a year, according to him, he invested in 18 startups (however, only two were found). Basically, they invest at the preseed and seed stages in an area that is far from being the most popular among angels - "industrial technology". However, for the former top manager of Rosnano and RAO UES, as well as the Minister of Industry of the Ryazan Region, this is a completely logical choice. In addition, Evseenkov preach an unusual investment model. “My business model is less about exits and more about dividend yields,” he says. The average check is $50 thousand.
Edward Fiyaksel
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
50 000–150 000
no data
Perhaps one of the most successful Russian business angels. It was Eduard Fiyaksel who made several bright angel exits in the history of Russian venture, and immediately sold the projects to a strategist. So, in 2014, he sold the broadband Internet access operator Megamax and Internet Lab to companies from the Virgin group of Richard Branson. The multiplier for transactions, according to the investor, exceeded 28. This investor loves areas that are not very popular among angels: telecom, the Internet of things, medical devices. Invests from $50-150,000 at the seed and start-up stages - that is, on average, a little more than most angels. This year, Fiyaksel has invested in eight startups (public sources point to two). Fiyaksel is the Head of the Department of Venture Management at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. Permanently living in the native Nizhny Novgorod, he leads the local association of business angels "Starting Investments".
Sergei Dashkov
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
Whatshelp, hellobaby
Dashkov is a member of the Venture Club, one of the most active angel groups. The range of investment interests is very wide: Big Data, fintech, new energy, VR, Internet of Things, biotech, etc. The portfolio includes projects such as Veeroute and Minglvion. Dashkov says he closed eight deals this year, but open sources There is information about only two. The first is a customer support service via Whatshelp messengers (an $80,000 round, which also involved Pavel Cherkashin, a veteran of the angelic movement, and several other private investors). Second - baby app hellobaby. Dashkov invested in it together with the production center Riki Group (the owner of Smeshariki, Fixiki and Malysharikov) and several members of the Venture Club.
Andrey Golovin
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
Golovin, a veteran of the angel movement, began investing in the 1990s. At the same time, he does not really like the publicity and partying that is inherent in the angel market (Golovin is one of the few who does not make joint deals, and this is generally rare), so it is not so easy to meet him. He invests not only in venture capital, but also in infrastructure - for example, this year he invested in coworking in Spain. Geography, like all experienced angels, goes beyond the borders of the country: for Golovin, these are the Baltic states and Spain. There are also many topics of interest to him: platforms for developing bots and business communications through messengers, cross-border e-commerce, distributed online business systems, new interface technologies, etc. The main criterion for selecting projects is the quality of the team. “We need people not only with bright eyes, but with good experience and a professional background,” he explains. “I even had to make early exits because I began to doubt the competence of project leaders.”
Oleksandr Chernyak
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
300,000–2 million
Instacarro (Brazil), Mobalytics (USA)
Chernyak is a big angel who invests up to stage B inclusive (and this is definitely the domain of adult venture funds) up to $2 million. Mostly in his native Ukraine, but manages to watch good projects in Russia and even in Brazil, where Chernyak, he says, already has one project. Interested in e-commerce, food tech, fintech, smart consumption and travel services. Perhaps one of the most stellar (at least among the known) transactions for an investor was an investment in CarPrice. Today it is one of the most promising young technology companies - you can’t even call it a startup anymore. Now such giants as, for example, Baring Vostok sit in it, but Chernyak was one of the first investors. Yak was one of the first investors.
Igor Shoifot
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
250,000–1 million
Sixa (USA), California in Ukraine (Ukraine)
This angel makes deals in the amount of $250,000 to $1 million - in fact, in the venture funds zone. Shoifot has lived in the US since the 1990s, but regularly invests in Russia and other countries former USSR(especially often in Ukraine). In America, he is also known as the founder of such companies as Epsylon Games, Fotki.Com, vInternship. Choifot is located in friendly relations with the RBC founders' fund - TMT Investments. The investor is interested in several topics: marketplaces, e-commerce, clouds, Big Data, media. Of the latest interesting transactions - the Sixa project. Shoyfot is also known for regularly making good exits - for example, he sold Kanvas to the giant AOL.
Alexey Menn
public data
personal data
Invested startups
Average bill, $
25 000–400 000
Done, Elementaree
Menn has been an active player in the market for about three years now. In addition, he founded his own venture fund Sun Capital, through which he also makes deals. How an angel invests $200-400,000 in a startup. Menn differs from many other participants in the rating in that he loves not only classic venture deals. “Traditional industries that haven't had technological changes for a long time are interesting,” he explains. “Retail, construction, food tech, e-sports, various b2b services are especially interesting.” At least one of his portfolio companies is known to many young Muscovites - this is the "food designer" Elementaree.
Igor Kaloshin
public data
Many aspiring entrepreneurs are on their way to becoming own business are looking for potential investors. And they do it clumsily, often turning to relatives, friends and acquaintances. But few of them know about the existence of such a universal project as "Business Angels". Reviews about this company make you think about changing the search field. It is here that every businessman can find financing for his developing project. What are its features? And how useful is this project?
General characteristics of the project
The unique project "Business Angels" is a special program designed for start-up entrepreneurs. Its author is Yury Vladimirovich Matrosov (pictured below). According to him, the goal of the project was to create a virtual platform where one could find free cash with further investment in them. In other words, the author has created a large information and search portal that helps novice businessmen find investors.
This is a kind of catalog of all kinds of financiers and entrepreneurs who are ready to provide financial support to newcomers. The company presenting the project itself is a non-profit organization that acts as an intermediary between business professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and potential investors.
What is the algorithm of the project?
Before starting work on the project, entrepreneurs and investors - "business angels" (this is what the common people call people who invest in startups) - must register. During this process, you should indicate whether you are an “investor” or a “specialist”. In addition, registration short description your business idea. It is noteworthy that on this portal you can place not only a plan for developing your own business, but also publish your resume. This option is suitable for people who are looking for work.
After filling out the appropriate form, the profile of a new project participant is sent for moderation, which takes 24 hours. And then all that remains is to log in with your credentials and select the “idea”, “specialist” or “investor” that interests you.
What can be involved in the project?
"Business Angels" (reviews about this project can be found in this article) is a project that opens up prospects for innovators, entrepreneurs looking for a business idea and investors. According to the developer of the web resource, after the publication of the project, ideas or summaries, all interested users can familiarize themselves with them.
The main advantage of the portal is the creation of a kind of service market, where everyone can offer or find a specialist, an idea for a business. It is noteworthy that to participate in the project it is not at all necessary to leave your main job, for example, if you want to offer your services.
According to numerous expert reviews, thanks to the capabilities of the site, thousands of users have already found their investor or employer. Among the most sought-after specialists participating in the project, the following experts can be distinguished:
- employees of design and scientific bureaus;
- employees of projection and statistical services;
- economists;
- copywriters and others.
Investors participating in the Business Angel project can invest in any startup they like. This will help not only open up new prospects for earning money, but also expand your sphere of influence.
What are the benefits of registering on the portal?
According to the majority of users who managed to register on the portal, participation in the project is completely free. It is believed that web service managers prefer to earn not from their users, but from advertisers. And this is a definite plus of this project.
Second important point, which is described by portal users, is a live communication between a potential investor and an innovator. It can be seen from the reviews that thanks to this service, the investor has full control over the entire investment process. First, he studies the business plan, project or idea in detail, clarifying various details, then finds out how profitable this offer will be for him. Then he discusses all the subtleties of cooperation. And then controls the entire course of work.
And finally, each innovator has a unique opportunity to seek help from experienced professionals, for example, in order to calculate the “prospects” of his project. The investor also has the right to consult with experts who help to choose the most profitable source of financing.
How does the project start?
Work in the Business Angels project (reviews about this resource can be heard from both beginners and quite experienced entrepreneurs) begins with a well-thought-out presentation.
According to the head of the web resource, the main task of an innovator is to find an investor. Therefore, he needs not only to distinguish himself from other participants, but also to present his idea as an ultra-modern know-how. This presentation must be placed on the site after a simple registration procedure.
Finding investors: the next step
At the second stage, each innovator can either wait until investors are interested in his proposal, or come to grips with the search for a suitable candidate. And then all that remains is to send out your presentation to the addresses of the selected financiers. This is how the virtual project “Business Angels” works. Reviews about it will allow you to get to know the company better. We will talk about the opinions of users and a large catalog of experts, innovators and financiers further.
What feedback can you hear about the portal?
Since its appearance on the network, the project has caused a flurry of emotions and criticism. Some people liked it, and some didn't. Consider the most common opinions about the service. For example, some project participants write that they are satisfied not only with the service, but also with high-quality information support. And also thank you for your help in finding the funding they need.
Others did not find an investor on the portal, but received a lot of useful advice on how to improve their presentation. According to them, now they know exactly how to make the idea “sellable”.
Still others admire the huge base of ideas for investments. They also like the fact that the service is free. The fourth describe the project itself as a user-friendly site with a presentable design and an accessible menu. In addition, they are satisfied with the regular mailing of new ideas and proposals for investment. In a word, you don’t need to look for anything, everything is “served on a silver platter”.
Satisfied with this project and specialists. According to them, the resource opens up unlimited opportunities for creativity for them, which is so often lacking at their main place of work. Moreover, it helps in finding a part-time job, and also provides an opportunity to make new mutually beneficial acquaintances. Financial experts, analysts, and business representatives also speak positively about the service. They themselves often give advice to beginners and share their invaluable experience. However, this promising project should not be confused with another resource with the same name. Let's talk about it in more detail.
"Business Angel": reviews (Ltd), or Difficulties in identification
Often on the network you can find negative reviews regarding the company "Business Angels". But in this case, we are not talking about the aforementioned project, but about a new financial pyramid - Business Angels Inc Ltd (Limited). The company, which started its work in May this year, offers investors a universal deposit program.
She promises compensation within 4% per day and 100% per month. The minimum deposit amount is $10. But is the company actively paying?
Here's what one review says about the "Business Angels" hype. It follows from this that initially the company worked flawlessly. In just 28 days, it was possible to return the investment and earn some extra money. However, now the resource works only for depositing money, but not for withdrawing. According to the investor, no matter where he turned, he has not been able to return the finances invested by him, including the interest earned, for several months now.
Others write that this is all that is likely to burst soon. Naturally, with all the money of naive investors. Others say that they regularly withdraw money with interest and are happy with everything so far. Experts, however, argue that when accessing such resources, it is recommended to invest a small amount, which will be uncritical to lose if something happens.
What other projects can help innovators?
Another company that can help in finding a potential investor is the Business Angels Association called "Seed Investments". This is a non-commercial project that has been operating since 2006 in Nizhny Novgorod.
The company is not an intermediary between innovators and investors, but provides a kind of platform for like-minded people to communicate. Anyone can become a member of the Association.
Innovators and investors will also be interested in the AddVenture business angel fund, which has been operating in the business services market for more than 8 years. This organization assists in financing the most outstanding entrepreneurs and organizations.
In a word, if you wish and have free time, you can find not only an idea for investment, but also the investor himself.
TOP-15 most active angels in Russia. With the support of RVC, NABA and business newspaper RBC daily
There is no single definition of business angels, which in itself creates difficulties in understanding who is ultimately an angel and who is not. The point is that enough a large number of people invests in the projects of technology entrepreneurs. Making the TOP-15, we proceeded from next definition: business angels (or angels) are professional lone venture investors, for whom the support of innovative companies is one of the main activities and whose goal is to make a profit. Thus, business angels should not be put on a par with investing entrepreneurs who are not focused on supporting start-up businesses, but do it from time to time. It is also necessary to separate angels and private investors who invest not only in hi-tech, but also in many other assets, as well as non-professional investors who invest chaotically, inconsistently and without a certain logic. In our understanding, a business angel is, in fact, a venture fund of one person (it is interesting that some well-known angels are now forming their own funds, starting their projects there).
Important comments for the correct reading of the TOP-15.
1. TOP is by no means a rating of the best angels (such a wording is not correct in itself). This is a selection of the most active in the public sphere for the specified period (that is, two years), an attempt to show the most active market participants with the aim, among other things, of popularizing venture capital investment.
2. The Top 15 is a media product, not a scientific study, so we ask you to treat it that way.
3. The criterion according to which we built the list is the number of invested projects over the past two years. We understand that this is a very conditional metric of angel activity (the main one is, of course, return on investment), but this is the most transparent and explicit indicator, and in this case it is used only to add internal logic to the list. At the same time, we give as much information as possible for each of the investors so that the reader can independently evaluate the most important criteria.
4. We understand that all the information we have collected and verified has assumptions: not all transactions become public, not all angels are ready to share this information (according to the Evaluation of EU Member State Business Angel Markets and Policies-2012 report, the share of business angels in various European countries ranges from 4-5% to 100% of the real number of investors). In the same way, they can overestimate or, on the contrary, underestimate the size of their investments. Thus, we understand that information from any source cannot save the picture of the Russian business angel investment market from distortion. Of course, we tried to minimize these risks and based both on research and public information *, and on data received from the angels themselves (while their answers were carefully checked).
5. For the sake of purity of the study, we excluded the so-called private investors and investing entrepreneurs, who for the most part do not consider themselves angels (for example, Igor Ashmanov, the founder of Ashmanov and Partners, who is quite actively investing in new projects). It is interesting, by the way, that many private investors who, according to formal criteria, could be classified as angels, do not consider themselves to be such (for example, the well-known entrepreneur Natalya Kasperskaya).
6. We understand that the assessment of investors working in different industries is not entirely correct (investments in complex, knowledge-intensive industries are much less frequent and the process of studying potential portfolio companies and financing them is much longer than in IT and the Internet). At the same time, the Russian venture capital market (as well as the world market) has a clear bias towards IT and the Internet, and most venture investors work in these segments.
7. At the same time, the compiled TOP is not a random selection of business angels, but the result of market research, open research, and public information about transactions. In addition, almost all TOP participants were surveyed (there were, however, those who refused, but they were in the minority).
8. Based on the analysis of the angel investment market, we can definitely conclude that the number of angels is growing, including due to the active work of specialized associations and associations. Thus, several potentially very active business angels were not included in the TOP-15 on formal grounds: Pavel Glushenkov , Oleg Mikhalsky, Alexey Prudnikov and others. On the other hand, it is obvious that the ranks of angels will be replenished with successful entrepreneurs coming out of the businesses they have already built - this is exactly the path that many of today's experienced angels have done in their time - Alexei Basov, Arkady Moreinis and many other. Another interesting conclusion may be the emergence of a class of “superangels”, which already go beyond the scope of angelic activity and actually turn into venture funds named after themselves - Igor Ryabenky with Altair, Igor Matsanyuk with IMI.VC, Pavel Cherkashin with VESTOR.IN.
