What is an Angel Investor? 

What is an angel network?

An Angel Network is a formalised group of Angel Investors that collectively evaluate and invest in entrepreneurial ventures.

Key benefits for members include:

• An increased pool of capital to make larger investments (and hopefully larger returns)
• Greater diversification through smaller investments in several ventures
• Shared costs of due diligence
• Access to dealflow and connections to the best up and coming startups
• Access to expertise of other sophisticated, active angels and angel networks

LaunchVic-funded angel networks

To date, LaunchVic has funded nine angel networks.

These groups have recruited 587 new angel investors and invested a total of $25.9 million in Victorian startups.

Case Study: Archangel

One example is Archangel, an angel network originally established with a 2020 grant from LaunchVic which has now “flipped up” into an early-stage venture capital fund with 150 investors and over $20 million ready to deploy into new deals.

The Archangel team has grown to six people, who have made 85 investments into 55 companies and achieved a handful of exits already.

Archangel Founder Ben Armstrong said angel networks provide a crucial access point for investors new to the startup sector.

“I think it would be fair to say we would never be where we are today if we hadn’t taken the leap to apply for funding from LaunchVic,” Ben adds.

“The funding was a big benefit of course and helped us cover all our formation costs and most of our operational costs. Another benefit was forcing us to be more thoughtful about how we’d go about building the business and hitting milestones.”