Angelsoft on Tuesday announced that it has officially launched version 3.0 of its angel funding platform, which will connect entrepreneurs to over 400 angel investment groups and 11,000 investors across the world.
According to the company, the new Angelsoft 3.0 offers three new features that make it easier for startups to find the right venture funding. First, the company built a search engine that exposes the 400 angel investment groups to entrepreneurs. But because Angelsoft gets 2,000 startup applications each month, the company was concerned that investors would stop looking at all the applications due to sheer volume. To funnel the applications more efficiently, Angelsoft will let entrepreneurs “push” their idea to three investment groups at a time so more startups can be matched with the right investors.
More importantly, Angelsoft 3.0 also added a Digg-like feature, which lets investors rate their existing portfolio companies based on the success of each startup. Based on the rating, the most viable startups should rise to the top, letting other investors know that it’s worthwhile investing in the firm when entrepreneurs look to increase funding. Unfortunately, startups cannot rate investors so the rating is really just a one-way street.
Angelsoft’s home page also offers a Google Maps mashup, which provides real-time information on what’s going on in the community.
For all the tools on the site, it doesn’t seem like money is changing hands too often. According to the company’s statistics, just 1.32 percent of startups have been funded and just 24.72 percent have been screened.
Regardless, Angelsoft 3.0 looks like a fine offering for both investors and startups alike. And with the help of some of its new features, the 11,000 investors and thousands of entrepreneurs should find each other much easier.
Any idea of success rate those guys have? We are looking for A-Round for http://www.umapper.com, this might be a good opportunity. Has anyone used them?
A very good idea indeed, another place for start-ups to try out their luck? See you AngelSoft in Jan/Feb…
I’m actually curious to check it out, even if my particular startup is past Angel phase of funding. When we were looking for angel funds, I found the available online resources to be god awful…there’s def an urgent need for their product in the market!
Thanks for the post Don. I just wanted to clarify the statistics you sited from our site. It’s true that about 1.3% of applicants to angel groups using out system actually get funded, but this in NO way means that there isn’t a lot of money changing hands. This is the first real statistic ever for how tough getting a first round of financing actually is. Although our stats are only for groups that use Angelsoft, given we have about 80% market penetration, I’d suggest this is probably a good gauge industry-wide.
I also want to make it clear that Angelsoft is just a technology company. Angel groups and early-stage VCs have been standardizing our platform for 4 years now, be WE don’t do any investing.
What we have done with our 3.0 product is to bring some level of transparency to an industry that has been living in the shadows. The investment groups and VCs on our system have taken a bold step putting themselves out in the public like this. They should be commended and I hope the community will respect this opportunity. We believe this new era of openness will benefit entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Ryan Janssen
COO, Angelsoft, LLC
Congrats to AngelSoft. This just shows: go get the investors on board and the entrepreneurs will follow. The AngelSoft team is winning this game because they made a tool which makes the lives of thousands investors better.
Also, to Don’s point about the stats… this is actually VERY reflective of the overall market… though perhaps MORE deals are screened on AngelSoft than in the real world (do you really think 1/4 of deals you blindly send to investors get looked at?).
Anyway, this is all very cool stuff.
The way to look at it in term of angelsoft is that at least one member of the group reviewed the deal. If you have a large group and members are active, some angel groups should review all the deals.
Just tried to use their site to fill out an application. Created an account just fine, but step two is to fill out data on my company. Site tries to autosave on approximately a 30 second no activity cycle… and crashes if you are not finished… no way can provide thoughtful answers VC’s want to read in real time.
My company builds software… no way this should have got by pre-production testing / Q&A.
Brian,
You likely have your application open in two different windows. The one in the background is auto-saving a blank document and wiping out your answers. Please direct further tech-support issues to community@angelsoft.net.
Jason Schwartz
Entrepreneur Community Manager, Anglesoft, LLC
I have a very similar issue. My session expires right away with only a single open window.
I just spoke with our development team and our servers are straining under this influx of traffic, which is why your session expired. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Not sure about the product, but the video is great. I just watched the entire thing. So kudos on getting the message across effectively.
Its about time!
I couldn’t sign up, does anyone know what information about your company you need to qualify to sign up?
@moses where are you trying to sign-up? If you’re trying to submit your company idea as an entrepreneur there should be no requirements other than registering.
Let me know where you’re having the question, and we’ll get it straightened out.
I’m with Angelsoft, and do Biz Dev on the west coast on the investor side of things.
Cheers,
Evan
What is the cost to investors or angel groups?
Thank you Evan, can you tell me what a company needs to qualifiy?
Evan, since you work for the company can you tell me what my company needs to qualify to get on your site? Can it be nothing more than an idea ? Also do you have an agreement with the V.C.s so that people who go around your limit of 3 groups can be stoped and not just go direct?
mmm I don’t like lame excuses
I used angel soft in March – slow and auto save crashes
I used angel soft today- slow and auto save crashes
Very annoying!
Simon
http://www.type...cle-of-six.com/
That low percentage of funded companies is just a fact of life – most deals pitched to investors are just not appropriate for private equity investment. Most entrepreneurs have fundamental gaps in their understanding of the investment process, and in my experience, few take the time to learn. The good ones do.
Better than 1% is really not too bad when you consider that any hack with an idea can ask for money. The percentage of qualified companies that get money is much higher. (These are the ones who know that investors need an exit, can show a competitive advantage, understand term sheets and the current investment market, can show steady progress, and are asking for money at the appropriate time.)
The requirements for submitting to us are going to be the same “requirements” for seeking funding. Every group has their own investment criteria, so if you are submitting directly to an investment group I would really recommend doing some back ground research into what types of deals they do, and what types of traction they want to see in their investments first.
We’ve also got some posts on our blog about what a “fundable” deal is. Aka, scalable business, execution rather than just an idea, etc. Definitely check these out before applying to the Angelsoft Community.
@Damon is spot on. In the scheme of things there are a ton of ideas out there, and very few get funded. You can increase your chances greatly by learning more about your investors, and what types of investments they like to make.
Knowing that you are an appropriate candidate for venture funding, and that you have a fundable idea is really a big part of the equation.
Thank you Evan. So to sum things up your company does not offer any set standards for companies to follow other than to tell me to do my own homework on over 400 V.C.s on what they require, correct ? I think your funding ratios would go much higher if you had a something in place to narrow the field, but that would bring your 2100 applications a month down dramatically and at $250 a pop maybe your business would be in jeopardy. Who does this really benefit ? I like the concept but am not sold on the idea yet.
Moses,
We provide a very clear standard for what makes a company fundable. It is the common application that all 400 groups use to evaluate companies. An entrepreneur should be able to fill out every section of that application flawlessly. If that is difficult, there is a very good chance that the business is not ready for funding.
In terms of doing your homework on the groups you apply to, yes, that is a highly recommend step of the funding process. We have made that process easier for you by bringing the groups together in a searchable format, and giving you a common application to apply to them. Picking the right group to apply to is still up to the entrepreneur.
Jason Schwartz
Angelsoft Community Manager
The real value to Angel Soft is NOT the syndication of “angel deals” to other investors around the world. I don’t understand why any experienced / savvy entrepreneur would see value in the promotion of having 11,000 investors and 400 angel groups. The core value of the Angel Software is the Work Flow Management tools for investors to manage due diligence. Angel investing is a very local or domain expertise related exercise and rarely are nationally syndicated angel deals worth investing in. I would love to see a software company similar to Angel Soft build work flow management tools for VC firms to use.
many software companies have built work flow mgmt tools for professional investors. there are old school offerings like lotus notes and slightly newer school offerings like deal dynamo, but i agree, no one has really gotten it right just yet. also, i have heard that some more technically savvy vcs actually build their own custom solutions to manage deal flow. in any case, i have yet to encounter the killer app for vc work/deal flow management.
Jeff,
Interesting post. A few comments:
1. We have and continue to build out the Work Flow Management piece for VCs. We have over 25 VCs using the software already, and they can testify as to how much the platform helps. If you’re working with a VC, please contact us to get a demo and see if it might be right for you.
2. I agree that the first place most entrepreneurs should apply is to their local groups. That’s why we provide a group finder and actually encourage that. Often these groups will then post the deal to the Investor Community to complete a round of financing, as it is a little known fact that most groups can’t take on a full round themselves.
3. As to your point about “nationally syndicated” angel deals, your referring to an “old-school” national deal that other “investor networks” have purported to do. They are indeed worthless. Ours are deals lead by a local group who can keep an eye on the entrepreneur, with national and international money (and specific expertise) brought in. It really is the best of both worlds.
4. Finally, if I were an entrepreneur and KNEW I had the goods, I would absolutely post to the Investor Community first. Good companies get moderated up by the community and these hot companies have the opportunity to define appropriately favorable terms because there is legitimate and transparent competition. That’s something that has never existed for entrepreneurs before.
Ryan Janssen
COO, Angelsoft
Wow, this looks like an awesome site. Wish you the best of luck, seriously!
“1.32 percent of startups have been funded”
The issue is that the funding process is not something that you can start and complete in a matter of days. Angels will have due-diligence to go through and as the industry matures, the entrepreneurs will get more savvy as to what Angel Investors are actually looking for hence the success rate of Angel Soft and Angel Investment Networks in general will improve.