According to the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, last year 66,230 ventures received angel funding.
Compare that to the only 3,673 ventures that raised venture capital, and you quickly see that nearly TWENTY TIMES more companies raise angel funding than venture capital.
Importantly, the Center for Venture Research found that the number of angel investors providing the funding last year was 318,480 individuals. That’s a lot of angel investors.
So, the question that entrepreneurs always ask me is “how do I find these angel investors.” The good and bad news is that there’s no directory of angel investors. This is bad because if there was, it would be easy to find them. On the other hand it’s good, since if these angel investors were easy to find, they would be bombarded with deals; and thus raising capital from them would be harder.
The best way to find these angel investors is through networking. The first part of networking is asking everyone you know (e.g., friends, colleagues, family, advisors like consultants, lawyers and accountants, etc. ) who they might know. And you should definitely do that.
The other part of networking is meeting new people. In many cases you should target individual angel investors directly. For instance, you may realize that a certain executive in your industry would be perfect, in which case you should call them and/or seek an introduction from a mutual acquaintance. (Note that business owners, executives and others with high paying jobs comprise the majority of angel investors).
In other cases, you should “get out there” and meet them at different venues. Here are the 7 best venues I’ve found for meeting angel investors.
1. Local Business & Networking Events
Every city has local events that attract business owners and entrepreneurs (note that other business owners and entrepreneurs are often angel investors and/or can introduce you to angels).
You can find out about these events on sites like Meetup, Eventful and EventBrite.
For example, if you go to Meetup and type in “entrepreneur,” you’ll find lots of local events.
2. Industry Conferences & Trade Shows
Industry Conferences & Trade Shows are great places to meet angel investors. These events are crawling with successful people who have the means and often interest in funding a company like yours. And, based on the fact that they are attending such a conference, they know your industry. This makes educating them on your venture easier, and also often gives them the ability to give you valuable strategic advice.
3. Alumni Events
Particularly at college alumni events you’ll find lots of successful people. Many of whom would be very interested in funding your company as an angel investor. You already have a connection with these individuals since you share the same alma mater. So go to these events and meet them.
4. Chamber of Commerce Meetings
There’s probably no better place to meet a large concentration of business owners (and potential angel investors) than local Chamber of Commerce meetings. So attend these meetings.
5. Continuing Education Classes
In most communities there local colleges that teach continuing education classes. Some of these classes will attract successful business owners and others who might consider investing in your venture. A class teaching “bread baking” may not be the best fit. But a class teaching “online marketing for your business” might be a perfect way to meet angel investors.
6. Volunteer at Local Organizations & Charities and/or Attend Charity Events
As a general rule, you should volunteer to give back to people less fortunate than you. But as a bonus, when volunteering you’ll often meet very successful people, including large donors to the cause. These individuals might also be interested in funding your company.
7. Online Forums
While there are lots of offline places to meet angel investors as specified above, don’t forget about online venues. There are plenty of online communities that you can join. Ones filled with business owners. And ones filled with people who are experts in or are passionate about your industry. Likewise there are LinkedIn and Facebook groups. Go online and join the right groups, and use them to connect with prospective angels.
Armed with this knowledge, go out there and network. There are hundreds of thousands of angel investors out there. It’s up to you to find them and tell them about your venture.
Suggested Resource: In our Angel Funding Formula program, you’ll learn exactly how to find and contact angel investors, exactly what information to convey to them and how, and how to secure your financing check. This page explains more.
How To Raise Funding from Angel Investors
If you want to raise your first $100,000 (or more), click below to learn my battle-tested, 6-step funding formula for raising funding from angel investors
