On Thursday 9th June as part of our Breakfast Session event series, we invited Wired Sussex Member companies in to The FuseBox to learn about funding a business idea via Angel Investment.
An angel investor or angel (also known as a business angel, informal investor,angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.
At this event we heard from Steve Kingswell, COO/FD at Every1mobile (Brighton), Simon Labhan is the Fund Executive, The FSE Group and Mike Herd, Executive Director Sussex Innovation Centre, who shared their experience and expertise with Wired Sussex Members.
There are three main types of Angel Investment.
- Friends and family
- Business acquaintances
- Official angel networks
What do Angel Investors Look For?
- Great team
- Innovative proposition
- Scale-able business model
- Identifiable exit route/strategy
How do you maximise money?
- Make use of grants
- It's wise to seek funding from other sources i.e. crowdfunding / grants before approaching angel investment
- Gauge audience interest to ensure that your product is attractive to potential investors
There are three main risks surrounding angel investment:
- Market risk
- Product risk
- Execution risk
Looking internally, does your management team have the ability to delivery your product?
- Think laterally about elements of execution for your business so that you can convince investors that they're in safe hands.
- What conversations have you had in the customer market.
- Demonstrate demand, growth and sustainability.
In summary, key things to remember when looking for/approaching Angel Investment:
- Leverage is key
- Think like an investor
- Make your proposition attractive and interesting
- For most projects, think and then think again about what you are asking for!
(thanks MI Scribe for the Sketchnotes)
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The Wired Sussex Breakfast Sessions share best practice on subjects ranging from marketing and branding, to intellectual property and investment opportunities; check out our upcoming events to find out more and register to come along.