Spring/summer is bringing some good news from the perspective of some interesting tools and resources. We had earlier blogged about a new website that would make the process of registering your LLP firm easy and fast. Now, there is another tool for startups to filter and find angel funding for their new business.
Angelsoft, an Internet software company that provides the investment management platform has launched the software service that allows you to narrow down on potential angel investors based on location and expertise stage. The filters help startups adjust their sorting results by how much an investment firm usually invests, what terms they typically offer, as well as by company-based criteria such as industry, location and stage. VC and angel firm profiles include a snapshot of the fund, industry expertise, prior investments, executive profiles and links to the LinkedIn profiles of investors. It also identifies your location automatically thus making the filtering nifty.
Perhaps due to the lack of enough angels in India or just a lack of data I couldn’t find any from India, however I did find a few from Singapore and the UAE in a very basic search. This makes me think the best advantage of this tool can be taken by tech or digital startups as they are more likely to get receptive angel ears. In the WATBlog panel in Mumbai last month Mahesh Murthy pointed out that the VC and angel culture is still finding its feet in India. That most angels might get skeptical about funding because unlike startups in USA most Indian ones don’t have 2 or 3 rounds of funding and the only exit for an early investor usually is an IPO. In such a scenario it is difficult to find early stage investors except for high potential startups whose market isn’t global, which will then attract international funds attention.
Angelsoft was launched in 2004 by David S. Rose, Chairman of the New York Angels, and Ryan Janssen. And according to their data around 2.6 percent of the startups applicants get funded. Its services are currently used by around 450 VC and angel funds.
