Angel investors, whether an individual or a member of a group, typically invest in startups as a way to leverage their success and expertise. On some occasions, an angel investor may have a personal connection with the founder or an affinity for the product being developed. Less common, but possibly of greater importance, some angel investors and venture capitalists make investments that support their local entrepreneurial ecosystem with the goal of spurring economic growth.
But, in almost every case, angel investors want to make money, leverage a tax position or optimize their investment portfolio. To meet those goals, angel investors want to see a continual stream of opportunities to invest in high growth startups. That is why many investors look to angel investor groups as a source of quality deal flow.
In addition to bringing an investor more deal opportunities, some angel groups have in place a well-defined filtering process to identify the startups with the greatest investment potential. Also, they may focus on particular silos such as Life Science, women founders or a geographic region. In all cases, an angel investor group is able to amplify the voice of the company to all of its members.
Howard Lubert heads two regions of the national accredited investor network Keiretsu Forum: Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East. Each region has multiple angel investor group chapters which serve to connect angels with fundable startups. The two regions have a well-known reputation for quality deals which is reflected in the groups’ record-breaking deal flow and investments made in 2020 ($9.5M) and again in 2021 ($13.1).
Each year these two angel investor group regions receive over 350 unsolicited presentation applications and each group’s management team evaluates every application—and then presents 120 or more to the membership for further screening. Typically, 40 or more are approved to proceed to the Forum for presentation to full membership.
“Because we have pulled together the critical elements of finding and funding top startups and early stage companies which is reflected in our successful deal flow, our angel group is now a magnet for both top entrepreneurs and angel investors,” explains Lubert.
Entrepreneurs relish the chance to present their pitch decks to angel groups—optimizing their fund raising time and efforts. They specifically seek out Keiretsu Forum where its members have funded 80% of the deals presented and/or completed due diligence. That high funding number is a beacon to active investors, creating a powerful entrepreneur to investor connection that yields high quality deals.
Keiretsu Forum has an eclectic investor membership base that leverages their members’ diverse experiences, enabling the angel groups to consider the full range of business silos that entrepreneurs present to them. This is a win-win for both investors and entrepreneurs because there is a greater chance of the entrepreneur receiving funding when they are pitching to angels who are familiar with their industry and business model.
In addition, members are very accomplished in almost every business discipline, come from diverse cultures, have a broad age range and represent cities within and outside of the two regions’ footprint. They are the fastest-growing regions in the Keiretsu global network that has over 3,000 accredited angel investor members in 56 chapters on four continents.
Keiretsu Forum’s national network is considered the world’s largest and most successful accredited investor organization, having invested over $1 Billion in 2,400+ different companies since its founding in 2001. Investments were made in a wide range of industries, including software, telecommunications, health/life sciences, biotech, real estate, mobile applications, Internet, consumer products, and other high growth areas.
The angel group’s name, Keiretsu, is the Japanese word for a family of affiliated companies that form a tight-knit alliance and work toward each other’s mutual success.
“That is exactly who we are and what we do,” says Lubert. “Our Keiretsu Forum regions, Mid-Atlantic and South-East, have achieved success because there is an established strong and symbiotic relationship among accredited investor members, sponsors, partners, and of course, the entrepreneurs”.
All members participate in a Mindshare process that was pioneered by Keiretsu Forum. “In any given Forum meeting, we may have 30 to 100 accredited investors in the room. We watch and hear the same presentation, yet we process it slightly differently,” says Lubert. “The mindshare process enables all members to benefit from the collective insights and experience of the group.”
Members collaboratively evaluate opportunities, complete due diligence, and counsel one another on investment decisions.
Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East’s signature program is its Investor Academy that serves investors at all stages of investing, as well as those interested in specific areas of investing. They are given access to a carefully curated curriculum of articles, videos, webinars, and in-person training intended to bring the newest angel investors up to speed quickly, while enhancing the knowledge base of experienced investors. The curriculum is delivered by leaders in angel investing and private equity from inside and outside of Keiretsu Forum membership.
Lubert is well-known as an industry expert in valuations and a renowned architect of term sheets with over 3 decades of experience in angel investing and private equity. He has reviewed over 10,000 company pitches, negotiated hundreds of term sheets, and is sought after as a keynote and panel speaker.
Under his leadership, the Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East regions successfully navigated the pandemic and continue to grow. The angel group has an excellent reputation for onboarding new angels, setting itself apart from other groups through its diverse membership, Investor Academy, robust deal flow, rigorous due diligence, and renowned term sheets and investment packages.
“The best way for an investor to evaluate an angel group is to attend a meeting. I invite any accredited investor to be my guest at a monthly Forum meeting,” Lubert says. “You will immediately see and hear the difference of our group. We give them a foundation that enables them to be active and ready for the deals they most value.”
The Forum runs monthly events in which angel investors are invited to attend so they may meet group members. Register by visiting https://bit.ly/K4EVENTS
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