AngelList is a popular platform where investors can make equity investments in startups alongside top VCs. AngelList also allows startups to post job listings to connect with qualified employees whose expertise can help support their growth. Their mission is:
“To create a community where we can set founders and investors up for success.”
AngelList recently released some statistics from 2015 that prove that they are doing just that. Here are some of the highlights, and why they’re so impressive:
Funding
1. AngelList helped raise $160 million online in 2015
Their grand total including all offline funding in 2015 was $163 million. This is $59 million more than the $104 million that AngelList raised online in 2014. AngelList and other equity crowdfunding platforms are having a huge impact on the way that startups are seeking funding, making the process faster and more efficient in many ways.
2. There were 170 active syndicates
A syndicate is where an angel or VC forms a group of investors that agrees to co-invest with the syndicate when they make deals. The lead of a syndicate on AngelList charges a 15% carried interest rate along with a 5% AngelList fee. In return, they use their expertise to make good investments and manage the interests of a group of smaller investors.
3. Syndicates co-invested with top VCs, including: Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, and Spark Capital
Before crowdfunding, small investors (some investing as little as $1,000 in deals on AngelList!) rarely had the access needed to invest in early stage startups with large VCs like these.
Sequoia Capital, for example, has been around since 1972 and has “partnered with the founders of companies that now have an aggregate, public market value of over $1.4 trillion.” Some of these companies include Apple, Airbnb, Dropbox, Google, Instagram … and many others.
Having access to these deals early on means that investors will get better returns if the startups are successful, and they will have better access to future equity if the company decides to raise more to support their growth later on.
4. 40% of rounds were private
In 2015, $89 million was raised privately by 170 startups on AngelList. This means, unlike some equity investment platforms, you have a choice if you don’t want just anyone investing in your startup.
Note: this means you may have to work harder to network with investors ahead of time and decide what private investors you want to take on, but some startups prefer this to having anyone and everyone invest when there is equity involved.
For investors, this means networking with the startup community on AngelList and elsewhere if you want to get invited to participate in these private deals or focusing on startups accepting public investments.
5. Over 40% of funding rounds included institutional funds
To some people, institutional funds are like the ‘Holy Grail’ when it comes to choosing the right investment crowdfunding platform. As a platform, it gives your clients a clear indication that you have a stable source of funding available to support the growing demand from startups. For the more promising startups, it is an opportunity to work with some of the best VCs and angels in the industry.
Jobs
6. 2015 saw 16,000 companies posting jobs on AngelList, with 250,000 active candidates
7. Some of the most in-demand skills on AngelList are: JavaScript, Java, HTML, and CSS
8. Some of the companies hiring are crowdfunding platforms! (Including Patreon, VentureCrowd, SeedInvest, Realty Mogul, and more)
Conclusion
It looks like AngelList had a successful year in 2015 and are on track for a great year in 2016. AngelList has done a good job of building their reputation as a niche platform for startups and investors, and a great place to look for in-demand jobs with growing startups.
