12.8: Angel Investors

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Angel investors are very early participants in funding start-ups. When the amount of financing required is <$1 million, then the start-up should probably approach angel investors. The angel investors are usually not involved in managing the start-up. Angel investments range from $100K to $500K. Angel investors usually look for a 20–40% return on their investment after 3 years or somewhere between two and three times their original investment. For example, a $500K investment would return about $1M–$1.5M in three to 4 years with a 25% return. Not all of the investments by angel investors are successful (about 50%). A small percentage of the investments carry the load and subsidize the marginal and failed businesses.Applegate et al. (2010).