How to Become an Angel Investor: An Intro for Startup Founders (April 6, 2023)
Virtual · ZoomFor many tech founders, angel investing is the next logical step in the startup journey.
Angel investing remains a lucrative endeavor with one study finding a median return rate of 2.7 times the investment.
The past few years have also given rise to angel investment syndicates with 80% of angel investments being syndicated with other investors.
And despite the overall slowdown in startup funding, 2022 was a record year for angel investors. Last year saw 4,679 angel or seed deals worth a combined total of $36.2 billion, an increase from 4,422 in 2021.
But making the transition from founder to funder means understanding the other side of the deal table. On April 6, Founders Network will host the first in a series of events on angel investing to provide insights on how to become an angel investor and the benefits for startup founders.
This event series will answer basic questions like:
- What is an angel investor
- How does angel investing work
- How much do angel investors invest
It will also delve into angel investing concepts like:
- Which investment options angel investors should consider
- Angel investing in a down market
- How to structure deals
About the Speakers
Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Domingo Guerra moved to the US at 18 to pursue his passion for technology. After working as an engineer at Applied Materials and a program manager at Brocade, he pursued his lifelong dream of starting a company. In 2011, he co-founded Appthority, a mobile cybersecurity startup which became the market leader in app security. Domingo served as President until 2018 when Appthority was acquired by Symantec. Domingo then led the go-to-market strategy for Symantec’s Endpoint Security division. Today, Domingo is the EVP of Trust at Incode, and continues to work with technology startups, as an advisor, investor, and board member.
Domingo holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He’s been granted 15 patents across the semiconductor, robotics, and cybersecurity industries.
Andrew Jacobson currently serves as president of Navio Networks, Inc., president at Tensormark, Inc., and advisor at Gammite Ventures, and is an active angel investor in technology and start-ups. Andrew was a board member at Xoom (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Eventbrite (NYSE: EB), is a board member at Navio Networks and representative angel investments include Eventbrite, Paypal, Xoom, ChowNow, Gyft, Extreme Networks, Bridg, Weev, Silicon Spice, Air Media, Stream, and Therma.
Andrew graduated from Pomona College, and then went on to Boston University where he was awarded a JD/MBA. After practicing as a corporate securities attorney at Gray Cary (now DLA Piper) in Silicon Valley, Mr. Jacobson joined NBC Internet, Inc. as an executive. Upon completing NBC Internet’s acquisition by NBC/GE, Mr. Jacobson when on to hold operational and legal executive positions Clearant, Inc., j2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM), Universal Sports (acquired by NBC), 360Candidate and Regent Equity. Throughout his career Mr. Jacobson has completed equity, debt and merger transactions well in excess of $2.5 billion.
Jeff leads the Partnerships Team at Forecastr — a leading FP&A software company that helps startups create great financial models to impress investors, confidently raise capital, and effectively run their businesses better.
Jeff serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies and is an active angel investor. He's passionate about startups and enjoys working with founders and mentoring entrepreneurs.
He is an experienced entrepreneur and was the founder and CEO of a successful consumer goods company that he rapidly grew from $1M in sales its first year to over $40M in annual revenue in its fourth year of operations and was ranked #138 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.
Prior to founding his own company, Jeff was a partner at Beanstalk Partners where he led the sales and business development activities. He also served as the National Sales Director for a venture-backed tech startup where he generated over $45M in client contracts and developed the company’s channel partner program.
Heather is the vice president of strategy and operations for Women Executive Channel Advisory Network. She is an entrepreneur, board member, angel investor, and high-tech transformation thought leader. She has successfully created, launched, and sold three businesses in her career in high-tech and has been a trusted advisor to some of the most innovative tech companies in the world.
Heather is passionate about innovation, cloud economics, enterprise channel strategy, and helping women and entrepreneurs succeed. She has been in high tech for more than 20 developing strategies and executing business plans that drive revenue growth and profitability for companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Meta, Workplace from Facebook, VMware, Oculus, M12 Venture Capital, Vulcan Ventures, Red Hat, IBM, Cisco, HP, Poly, Caterpillar, HealthNet, and Citrix.
Confidentiality Policy:
All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.
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