Angel investors pour $228 million into startups in 2019; drive almost $2 billion in startup investments

Angel investors (also known as a business angels, informal investors, angel funders, private investors, or seed investors), are affluent individuals who provide capital for a business startup, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Angel investors are the life blood that nourishes startups before venture capitalists (VCs) step in.

In fact, angels provide 90% of early equity capital. Yet there are few detailed, verified data reports available on angel investments. The Angel Capital Association (ACA), the world’s largest angel investor association, is working to change this. The 2019 Angel Funders Report is the largest source of verified angel investment data available. This report is part of the ACA Data Initiative designed to build a comprehensive and actionable database to help angels make smarter investments.

Founded in 2005, The Angel Capital Association (ACA) is the North American trade association of angel groups and private investors that invest in high growth, early-stage ventures. Its mission is to fuel the success of angel groups and private investors that invest in high growth, early-stage ventures. ACA provides professional development and delivers services and benefits to support the success of ACA members. We also serve as the promotional voice for the North American angel community and the public policy voice for the US professional angel community.

ACA membership includes more than 170 angel groups and 20 affiliate organizations from across North America. Our members represent more than 14,000 accredited investors, who invest individually or through its 250+ angel groups. To date, the ACA has funded more 5,000 portfolio companies.

The 2019 report analyses data on over 1,150 deals representing investments valued at $228M from 68 major angel groups. With access to the leading angel groups in North America, the database is rapidly growing. The goal is to have over 200 groups reporting in the next twelve months.

The Angel Capital Association, the leading angel investor association in the world with over 14,000 members and 250+ angel groups, is working to fuel the success of the accredited angel investor community through data reporting, advocacy, education and connection building. To drive these initiatives, longtime association management expert, Patrick Gouhin joined ACA as CEO in May. His leadership skills and experience will take ACA to the next stage of its lifecycle by executing new initiatives that will benefit members and further ACA’s vision.

As Pat puts it, “The angel investing community has a critical need for meaningful and accurate data and through ACA’s Data Analytics effort, which includes the release of the Angel Funders Report, we are beginning to provide this information. Analyzing timely and relevant data is a strategic imperative of ACA and over time will lead to new investments and growth that can enhance the startup community and improve returns for our members. The economy needs this data.”

Angel investments are a significant source of economic development and job growth. While VC investments attract a great deal of attention, many high-growth superstars were originally funded by angels, including Pinterest, Facebook, Carbonite, Google, Zipcar and Clarisonic. To continue to grow angel investment, better data and more analysis is needed. That is why ACA has launched the Angel Funders Report. The Angel Funders Report is the only official report from ACA for angel investment data in North America. Quality and accuracy are verified by collecting information directly from our member groups and then validated through the efforts of our data partner, Hockeystick, ensuring the most reliable information in the market today.

This report delivers the knowledge and key findings for angels and accredited investors to make smart investments based on experience and fact. Over time the impact and insights of these reports will grow.

Access the full report at https://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/angel-funders-report/. The 2019 Angel Funders Report is the second in an ongoing series from the Angel Capital Association developed to provide in-depth data on angel investment activities.