Benefits
Joining an organized angel group offers many advantages over making angel investments alone. Benefits include:
Screening – Maple Leaf Angels has a full-time managing director who reviews applications by companies and screens out all but the best few that present at our meetings. This allows members to concentrate on the quality deals and not be inundated.
Due diligence – If group members express interest in a company that has presented, they may form a due diligence team. Our members collectively possess a wealth of experience and contacts that allow them to evaluate a potential deal from all angles. By participating in a group due diligence effort, angels can be more confident when investing in industries they are not personally familiar with, as it is likely that somebody on the team will have the industry-specific experience needed to form a sound judgment.
Syndication – Investing as part of a group (each of our deals typically involve between 5 and 10 of our angels) allows our members to diversify across a portfolio of companies. Instead of making big bets on one or two companies, members’ capital can be spread across 8 to 12 deals to reduce risk.
Co-investment – Maple Leaf Angels participates in co-investment deals with other angel groups in Canada. This allows our investors to participate in follow-on financing of other groups’ portfolio companies (and vice versa), taking advantage of their accumulated due diligence and knowledge.