Past – Present and Future of Angel Investing – EAIS24 Summary

EAIS24 set the stage once again for exemplary innovation and insights in angel investing. In this article we will be taking a look at a key forum, whose subject is close to many of us. “Past – Present and Future of Angel Investing” was one of the forums that took place during the summit, where collective learnings and reflections on our angel investing journey were brought forward.

The forum began with the discussion on ways we can be making angel investing more mainstream. Speakers featured: Karin Künnapas of EstBAN and Juan Roure of IESE BAN with moderator Jacopo Losso. Karin and Juan first took a moment to give a brief introduction along with their current state of their BANs, proceeding to then engage amongst themselves and the audience in a structured debate. The speakers brought forward personal experiences and learnings gathered from years of angel investing with agreed outcomes such as the need for: Increased education about angel investing, more supportive structures that allow novel angel investors to enter the scene, and finding ways to incentivize trust towards angel investors were brought forward.

The following panel retained the structured debate format and focused on the topic on the role the governments play in helping nurture angel investing ecosystems.

Panellists Dusan Todorovic of Austria Wirtschaftsservice, Rita Anson of NorBAN, Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen of FiBAN, Claudio Rojas of NACO Canada and moderator Ricardo Luz of CIVITTA and Vice President of EBAN, exchanged their outlooks and view points on  the topic of angel networks being crucial not just for funding but for mentorship, expertise, and social capital. Emphasis was put on the fact that such benefits are something that public funding cannot replicate, a crucial factor that governments often misunderstand. Related to the previous point, a central theme of discussion was the misunderstanding among some governments that angel investors are self-serving. The panelists explained that angel investing is about supporting entrepreneurs by taking on high-risk investments where VCs and institutional investors are often reluctant to engage, stating that returns for angel investors are not just financial, but additionally largely value the satisfaction of helping startups succeed. The panelists urged governments to recognize the long-term value of supporting angel investors and to focus less on short-term returns, allowing for broader societal benefits.

Shortly after this session, we had the first four of our of ten pitching startups for the day, namely: Your Easy AI, GenowAI, Aurel&Axel and Mentessa, who shared their visions and goals to an engaged audience.

The last session focused on “Syndicating and Doing Deals with the Community”. Speakers: Dr Rui Falcao of CORE Angels,  Marius Istrate of TechAngels, Ivar Siimar of Trind VC and moderator Charles Sidman of ECS Capital Partners, LLC, highlighted the importance of creating and maintaining strong community ties along with engagement for the long term success of deals. Panellists agreed that strong interest and belief towards invested startups is crucial to help with eventual exits. The session highlighted different ways investors could co-invest with local angel networks and communities, working towards shared due diligence, increased risk mitigation, and pooling of resources and expertise. Further discussion ensued regarding best practices for the formation of syndicates and cross-border collaboration, with a notable remark from Marius Istrate, that this cannot always be a top priority for all networks, as sometimes, due to reduced interest in investing in certain countries, a necessary shift and focus towards inner networks might be required prior to cross boarder collaboration. The session underscored the role of syndication in fostering a collaborative European startup ecosystem and provided the consensus that it is overall beneficial.

Closing the day off, we had the chance to hear the pitches of the six remaining startups: Magnotherm, HCPSense, MixnMatch, FinQBit, EatBeat, Sidekick. Congratulations once again to Mentessa for the winning pitch. Our day ended with a taste of innovation, reminding us of what angel investing seeks to retain and support. The “Past-Present and Future of Angel Investing” forum serves as a guide for everyone in the angel investing landscape on how to continue spreading the word, create learnings from past failures and cherish current successes while maintaining future outlooks.