Summary

Angel investors can provide funding and advice for start-up companies, and incubator managers can play an important role in bringing angels and client companies together. This article offers tips for tapping into your community's angel investors.

Heaven Sent: The client-angel relationship can be a godsend. But you have to make it happen.

by Brian Walker

April 2002

At first glance, angel investors and entrepreneurs appear to be a match made in heaven. A client may tell you, "I just need some capital to get me going. Then I'll hit the big time." Meanwhile, an angel investor may say, "If only you could introduce me to just one good company."

The demand is there on both sides. Each party wants something, and the supply certainly isn't limited. But like finding the right person to marry or even the right apple at the supermarket, selection is the determining factor. It doesn't matter that there are thousands of entrepreneurs looking for capital and thousands of angels looking for investment opportunities. What matters is making a good match.

Increasingly, incubator managers find themselves in the position of matchmaker, introducing the right client to the right angel investor. NBIA Review interviewed managers who have successfully helped clients meet and impress angel investors. From informal introductions to group presentations to complicated databases for tracking angels, there's certainly more than one way to pluck an angel from heaven.

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Keywords: angel investors/network, business financing, capital access, networking activities — client, presentation skills

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