What is the best way to find Angel Investors in NYC?

Comments

1. imisidro says:

   May 15, 2010 at 6:44 pm

   You may want to go and pitch your ideas where investors gather. Here are some places where angel investors come and those looking for funding can come and pitch their business plans. Be sure to have a strong business plan and describe what makes your business idea stand apart:

   Angel Capital Association http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org
   Angel’s Forum http://www.angelsforum.com
   Band of Angels http://www.bandangels.com
   Common Angels http://www.commonangels.com
   Keiretsu Forum http://www.k4forum.com
   Launchpad Venture Group http://www.launchpadventuregroup.com
   New World Angels http://www.newworldangels.com
   New York Angels http://www.newyorkangels.com
   Prairie Angels http://www.prairieangels.org (charges $125 to submit idea)
   Robin Hood Ventures http://www.robinhoodventures.com (charges $250)
2. angelinvestor says:

   May 15, 2010 at 7:41 pm

   The list provided by the previous answerer is not a bad one. The first link is to the Angel Capital Association, which is the not-for-profit trade association of angel groups. While the ACA itself does not provide funding for anyone, if you go to their site and click on the Directory button (the second link below) you will find links to over 100 angel groups around the country.

   The specific answer to your question is two fold: THE place for angel investors in New York is, not surprisingly, New York Angels (the first link below). NYA is comprised of almost 70 active angels, including many of the biggest names in the field. The group has invested over $14 million in early stage companies over the past three years, almost half of them in New York. You can submit your application directly online (there’s a $150 application fee to cover expenses) and they meet monthly to review plans.

   The second part, however, is the part you’re not going to want to hear: angel investments, like venture capital investments, are highly competitive and increasingly highly professionalized. Investors like NYA look for companies that are well past ’seed stage’, and that have already had money invested in them by the founders, or their friends and family. What’s important isn’t how much money has gone in, but what you’ve been able to do with it. Neither NYA nor most angel investors will put any money into just ‘a really good idea’. They (we) want to see a solid, well-thought-out business plan, an experienced management team, and a company that can scale very quickly to very large numbers, returning perhas 10 times their investment within three to five years.

   One excellent resource for new entrepreneurs is the eVenturing web site developed by the Kauffman Foundation (see the third link below), which can provide you with all sorts of resources about writing business plans, raising funds, and managing a startup company.

   Good luck!