Aligning funding needs to investment goals

Angels

image The start-up sector today promises investment opportunities for a wide range of investors. Start up success stories are in abundance that has led to a flow of investments across sectors. Founders and promoters have realised the importance of investment in the growth of their enterprises and are demonstrating responsibility and accountability for equity based funding. Start ups have also been able to attract executive talent from more established companies which in turn has made them introduce and adopt systems and processes which are making these new age companies more predictable in terms of revenue and growth. The success stories have convinced several government bodies to introduce policies that on one hand encourage a more start up friendly environment and on the other more directly help start ups through their funding stages.

Most of us are aware of these developments and admire the tenacity and hard work the entrepreneurs continue to put in while building up their organisations. We also know the crucial role of initial funding that complemented the efforts of these entrepreneurs to make the start ups successfully scale up. Most of the initial equity funders better known as Angels built up trust not only on the founders but also had built up confidence on the business they were leading.

As an investor in various other instruments like stocks, real estate, mutual funds and even alternate investment like arts it is important to build up confidence on the business that you are investing in. However start up investing is of ”sterner stuff” that distinguishes itself from all other investments in your portfolio – the reason is the reward versus the risk. And this model of high risks and higher rewards cannot be evaluated or predicted by the conventional metrics.

For this we need to delve a bit into how the start-up investing looks like:

image

Identifying investment opportunities

It is to do with a lot of research as we said building up confidence on the business before you invest, quite similar to conventional investment, but there is a catch. While you can access a plethora of research material on public equities, stocks and real estate opportunities already available in the public domain, for start ups you still have to rely on your own research and interactions with founders, their accountants and customers, in order to come to an informed decision. Now this is an expensive and time consuming exercise that you may not be able to afford and you would probably think this is more suited for those who are full time investment professionals – the VCs and PEs.

We at AngelEx offer you those very insights – we provide you customised research on start ups – the founders, businesses they are in, markets they operate and the growth potential - everything that will help you in taking an informed decision. To top it, you don’t need to hit the street trying to access these information – it is all available with us as long as you let us know your investment criteria. We believe that start up investing can be done by anyone who has the appetite for the risk and reward this field entails.

image

Continued tracking

Investing in start ups is also to do with a lot of study while you are vested. It is not like participating in the kick off and then applauding from the sidelines – it is not a bird’s eye view but having an ear to the ground tracking your portfolio, negotiating strategic divestment all with a view to maximising your ROI. Now that’s the place where most wannabe investors get the butterflies and react in the most natural way – retract. After all it is difficult to keep a track on ground level for the investment you made – so you just limit that to a minimum. You tend to close yourself from new opportunities in the start up space.

What if you could track the companies you invest in – know how they are performing, how their customers perceive them, what is their fund raising plans and how do institutional investors see their growth? These would certainly help you getting more confidence in diversifying your portfolio and adding more companies so as to maximise your investments.

We at AngelEx track your investments and investee companies – their growth, new customer acquisition, how they are faring in the competition, their fund raising plans and valuations. And we do these through objective analysis offering you with actionable insights and helping you take decisions of staying invested or negotiating strategic divestments.

image

Quantum of individual investment

We have started AngelEx based on our firm belief that start up investing can be done by anyone and not confined to a few. We believe that while start up investments are risky, the rewards far outweigh the risks if your portfolio is adequately diversified. Now risk perception is highly individualistic and you need to take your own decision on the exposure levels in your start up portfolio. You are welcome to discuss with us for our opinion. AngelEx encourages only matured and experienced persons who have either been in key positions in enterprises, ventures or have been investors themselves. We recommend that first timers be very cautious in investing and should seek qualified advice before investing. While the quantum of your individual investment could be in the range of tens of thousands of US Dollars at the lower side, it would be based completely on your risk appetite how much you want to expose on the higher side in this portfolio

MARKET INSIGHTS

Understanding the market is as important to the investor perhaps as much ....

Read More

SECTORAL ANALYSIS

While market research is essential for investment decisions, sectoral....

Read More

BESPOKE DEAL SOURCING

Even start up investors are not a homogenous group and rightly so....

Read More

DEAL FLOW MANAGEMENT

AngelEx aggregates fund requirements of start ups operating in....

Read More

DIVESTMENT AND LIQUIDITY

Divestment decisions are more important than investment decisions....

Read More