Angel Investor

An angel investor is a high net worth individual who provides financing to early-stage startups in exchange for equity ownership. Angel investing provides startups with seed funding to get off the ground before seeking larger rounds of venture capital. Angels are often entrepreneurs themselves and invest not just money but expertise to the startups they fund. They typically invest $25K to $100K in a company, filling a critical gap between founder funding and venture capital. Prominent startups like Facebook, Google, and Amazon got initial funding from angel investors. Angels take on high risk investing in untested ideas and teams, but can realize huge returns if a startup succeeds. Their investment horizons are 5-7 years before seeking liquidity. Many angel investors form angel investor networks or angel groups to pool capital and share deal flow before passing the most promising startups onto venture capital firms.