09.10.2009 18:22:50

Investors Network Team

Once the business plan has been finalised, the first stop considered by most new businesses when looking for Business Start-up Capital (banks), Angel finance will normally be the next port of call. Despite this fact, few entrepreneurs really understand what Angel investors look for and expect from businesses in which they potentially may invest. The fund raising process is becoming ever more competitive and being able to meet investor requirements the first time around will increase your likelihood of raising the capital you need.

After a recent Bos Beraad, mostly attended by angel investors, the issue of what Angel Investors look for in companies that they fund and what the various processes they go through when assessing entrepreneurs was discussed.

Most of the investors present agreed that the recent economic down turn resulted in them re-assessing the way they both look for and asses the businesses they get involved with. This does not mean that they are not still very actively looking for investable businesses. As also discussed in a number of previous meetings it was obvious that most investors seem to have a clear goal of how much they wanted to invest each year and what the returns were that they expected from their investments.

Angel Investors typically invest anywhere from R200,000 to R2 million, preferably in a first or second round funding, for which they normally will acquire around 15-30% of the company depending on the structure of the deal. The Angel Investors are often successful entrepreneurs themselves who are able to offer significant strategic value to the company in addition to the financial capital that they are providing. All the panellists agreed strongly that the strategic value that they can provide is often times more important than just the financial capital.


What do they look for?

business funding | angel investors | Business Start-up Capital