About angel investing
Angel investors, also called a business angels or informal investors, invest their own money into early-stage startups in exchange for equity. Most of these startups do not yet have a proven business model – they may not even have customers yet. What they do have is an innovative technology with the potential for rapid growth. In other words: high risk, potentially high returns.
Business angels make money when their shares in a startup are sold at a profit, e.g. when they are bought by a new investor, when the startup is acquired or at IPO (less common). The average yearly return for angel investors is 17%. But business angels typically aren’t in it only for the money. They like helping the next generation of entrepreneurs get their startups off the ground.
Many angel investors have founded and grown one or more successful businesses themselves. Most are actively involved in their portfolio startups by providing advice and access to network. Some even like to work in the trenches alongside the founders.
Angel investment deals range in size anywhere from 25K to 2 million, and can be carried by a single angel or split amongst a group. To effectively spread risk over multiple startups, an angel investor needs at least 200K of investment capital that he or she can afford to lose. Some successful Dutch angel investors you might know are Kees Kolen, Janneke Niessen and Simone Brummelhuis.
About Leiden startups
As a leading city of science, it’s no surprise that Leiden has delivered its fair share of highly innovative scale ups. Some success stories of recent years include LeydenJar, Batavia Biosciences, Leyden Labs, Deep Branch, Mimetas, In Ovo and Seranovo.
Many Leiden startups are science-based, specifically in the Life Sciences & Health sector – mostly pharma, diagnostics, biotech and a bit of medtech and e-health. But that’s not all Leiden has to offer. Recently, we have seen an increase in promising non-health related digital and hardware startups.
PLNT is the university-linked (and only) startup incubator in Leiden. It is the home of startups that are on the way to becoming success stories, but aren’t quite there yet. A few of our favourites include Whispp, Doser and MyMicroZoo.
About Leiden Angel Club
Angel networks such as Leiden Angel Club help individual angels find co-investors as well as a curated selection of startups to invest in. They are also a great place to share knowledge and meet like-minded people.
To become a member of the LAC, a person must:
1. Have at least 200K of investment capital that they want to invest in startups and scaleups.
2. Be an active investor – meaning they invest not only their money but also their time and expertise in startups.
3. Intend to be physically present at quarterly member evenings. Each evening will include a short info session relevant to angel investing and a number of startup pitches followed by networking drinks.
Anyone who meets these membership criteria is welcome to join – whether you’ve been an angel for decades or you’re just starting out.