Angel investment networks tend to stick to metropolitan cities on the East Coast and West Coast. Why? Most angels see themselves as philanthropic investors and want to invest locally. Startups tend to sprout in places that encourage entrepreneurship and reward it. Traditionally, that has been in cities on the coasts but that is beginning to change.
A recent Kauffman Foundation report on entrepreneurial activity included places like Montana and New Mexico.
A new national angel group wants to capitalize on the growth of angel investment by providing a more inclusive investment framework.
David Freschman, an angel and venture investor and conference organizer who wears several hats in the investment community, talked about FP Angels in an interview with MedCity News. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, he co-founded FP Angels with Joe Rubin, the director and co-founder of FundingPost, which organizes networking events for investors and entrepreneurs, and Stephen Silver, the founder of SproutStart and a partner in MAVN Funding Advisors.
“Angel investing is picking up the void that’s been created at the early stages because of venture funds moving upstream,” Freschman said.
The focus is technology companies, including healthcare IT and medical devices. It expects to make investments of $50,000 to $500,000 and favors companies with pre-money valuations of $5 million to $7 million. Freschman explained that every deal would have a local sponsor to monitor and review companies and do due diligence on behalf of the group.
Members get to see curated, screened and vetted deals, and make their own investment decisions. Among the criteria for investors are $2,400 in annual membership fees and a willingness to invest at least $25,000 in FP Angel deals per year. It outlines the application process for entrepreneurs here.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The idea is to identify opportunities from a broader spectrum of accredited investors. It could be good news for life sciences and healthcare entrepreneurs, especially with angel investor geography becoming more diverse. The southwest became the biggest source of angel funding, according to the Halo Report published today.
[Photo credit: illustrated map of the USA from BigStock Photos]
