As much as Startups look starry-eyed at the VCs & literally worship the ground they walk on, there is a reason they are not called angels! That term is reserved for someone else.

Originally a term used to describe investors in Broadway shows, “angel” now refers to anyone who invests his or her money in an entrepreneurial company (unlike venture capitalists, who invest other people’s money). Angel Investment has soared in recent years as a growing number of individuals seek better returns on their money than they can get from traditional investment vehicles. And by the way, just to put one myth to rest – Contrary to popular belief, most angels are not millionaires. They are middle-class people like us but they understand & appreciate the shift that is so visibly & so dramatically taking place in front of us. And they want to be involved in this dramatic shift, as a mentor/investor. They understand that world has changed more in last ten years than it did in last ten decades and they can’t be an idle bystander watching all this action from the side-lines.

Please don’t get me wrong – this article isn’t about choosing between VCs or AIs. VCs are super critical to grow and scale up the startups. Without them, no angel investor is gonna make any money. Think of a Startup journey as a relay race. VCs would be running the final laps of this race while Angel Investors would be more at the starting laps. And both are critical if the Startup has to win the race. But the critical point to appreciate is that if there aren’t any angel investments done upfront, the startup funnel would be pretty bare & empty for VCs to dip in. What would they be running with if there is no baton to be passed?

So it is fair to say that it is the Angel Investors who are the key, without whom the whole innovation machine never gets started. Pick any major successful startup and we can show you the Angel Investor behind it. Andy Bechtolsheim gave the cheque to Larry Page and Sergey Brin; David Lee invested in Dropbox & Twitter, Mike Markkula put money in Apple, YC had Jessica & Paul Graham to thank for while Peter Thiel minted billions because of his initial investment in Facebook & PayPal. Back home we have our own success stories with the likes of Rajan Anandan, Sanjay Mehta & thousands of others who are now slowly realising that – Done the right way, startup investments isn’t a gamble but a proven method to multiply investments. Of course there is a reason, a few words in the above sentence are in bold/italics. This is where IA comes into picture, what we do with startups & how we do is a story for another day.

We are in this unique moment in time when companies leveraging new technologies – cloud, mobile, AI & ML etc. are poised to disrupt every industry. The world is going to be flipped on its head two or three more times in our lifetime (we are already witnessing this sitting through this Lock down). There is no return to the past normal. A perfect storm of black swans is coming, so we better get used to it. Let’s connect on how to access, engage & profit from the wealth creation opportunities all around us, unfolding before our eyes. Technology innovation is a Gold Rush of our time & there has to be way for all of us to participate in & benefit from this wealth creation. We will be happy to share our experience and understanding of the Industry in finding ways to create wealth together.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us [email protected] if you are thinking of investing in this asset class or exploring investment opportunities. We invite you to get engaged & invest in this future because it is inevitable and we sincerely believe you can help accelerate the efforts of founders & innovators. And of course, you can make a great deal of money along the way. This moment gives all of us a chance to look back proudly and know that we helped propel some of the changes that made our lives better.  Lets make the most of it. Happy investing & Stay safe!