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AngelList

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AngelList
AngelList's logo
Screenshot
File:AngelList screenshot.jpg
Screenshot of AngelList
Type of site
Entrepreneurship, Startups, Investments, Recruitment
Available inEnglish
OwnerNaval Ravikant and Babak Nivi
Venture Hacks, Inc.
SubsidiariesProduct Hunt, Republic, CoinList
URLangel.co
CommercialYes
LaunchedApril 22, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-04-22) in San Francisco, CA
AngelList co-founder, Naval Ravikant

AngelList is a U.S. website for startups, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups.[1][2] Created in 2010, the platform has a mission to democratize the investment process and to help startups with their challenges in fundraising and talent.[3][4] It started as an online introduction board for tech startups that needed seed funding.[5] Since 2015, the site allows startups to raise money from angel investors free of charge.[5][6]

History

AngelList

AngelList was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi. Using the traction from the Venture Hack blog on entrepreneur financing, Naval and Babak started a list of 25 investors with whom they would share interesting companies to invest in.[1] They announced the list as “AngelList” in 2010, with the subscription of 50 angel investors who intended to invest USD $80 million that year.[7]

Born in India, Ravikant moved to New York City with his family at the age of 9.[8] After graduating from Stuyvesant, he went on to Dartmouth where he studied computer science and economics.[9][10] He later co-founded Epinions, a consumer review site; and Vast, a classified-ad marketplace. During his brief work with Benchmark Capital and August Capital, a complaint was filed regarding Epinions’ financial affairs. This inspired him to start the “Venture Hack” blog in 2007 with Babak Nivi.[11][7][9]

Mission & Operations

AngelList aims to democratize the investment process. Business Insider dubbed AngelList the “Match.com for investors and startups”.[12] In a recent interview, Naval Ravikant wants more “innovation on [the] infrastructure for innovation itself” by helping startups with money, talent, and customers.[13]

AngelList's Syndicate facilitates startup financing with accredited investors. AngelList Jobs connect talents with startups, with over 20,000 recruiting companies, more than 750,000 candidates and 5 million registered users.[14] AngelList's acquisition of Product Hunt will allow more support for startups with customer generation and product launch.[15][16][14] AngelList Syndicates allow startups to raise money from accredited investors investing alongside prominent angel investors.[17][18][19][20][21]

History

AngelList launched Jobs - its recruiting portal in 2012.[22][23]

In late 2012, AngelList launched a portal for accelerators and incubators to accept and manage applications from startups to their programs.[24] At opening, AngelList accepted applications for 500 Startups, TechStars Boston, and AngelPad. Other accelerators, like Rock Health, accept applications exclusively through AngelList.[1][25][26]

In 2013, AngelList received a no-action letter from the SEC, allowing the operations of its Syndicates platform. FundersClub also received such a letter in the same period.[27][28] AngelList Syndicates was noted as one of the most important innovations in the venture capital and angel investment industries, getting momentum with several well-known figures in the tech community creating syndicates, including Jason Calacanis, Scott Banister, Tim Ferriss, Gil Penchina, Scott and Cyan Banister, Fabrice Grinda, Elad Gil and more.[29][30] In 2017, AngelList had 4,400 investors operating across 165 syndicates.

In March 2014, AngelList launched Maiden Lane, a first online venture fund for investing in syndicated deals.[29] It was launched with more than $25 million in funding from a variety of investors.[31][32][33]

In October 2015, AngelList announced a deal with a Chinese third-largest private equity firm CSC (China Science & Merchants Investment Management Group) for establishing a new $400 million fund for early-stage startup investments.[34][35] According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal became the “largest single pool of funds devoted to early-stage startups — ever,” and also the “largest-ever single investment by a Chinese private-equity firm in a U.S. fund.”[34][35]

Prior to the deal, according to TWSJ, AngelList "had raised $205 million from all sources, including $43 million from institutional investors."[35]

In July 2016, AngelList launched Republic - a spinoff addressing the democratization of startup equity crowdfunding with non-accredited investors.[36][13]

In November 2016, AngelList acquired Product Hunt for $20 million.[15][16][14] Naval plans to build Product Hunt further in “helping companies find their early customers.”[13]

In October 2017, CoinList - initial coin offering services for startups and accredited investors - spun off from AngelList.[37] At the end of 2017 AngelList had profiles of over 70,000 startups.[38]

Involvement in the JOBS Act

In mid-2012, Naval Ravikant and Kevin Laws, AngelList's chief operating officer,[39] were active in Washington in his support for the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), a law that eased many of the United States' securities regulations with the aim of making it easier for companies to either go public or to remain private longer while continuing to raise capital.[11][7][40] He was in discussion with “Senate and Congressional staffers, Steve Case, and influential Congressmen who would listen.”[41] During the same period, he organized an online petition that attracted 5,000 signatures on a letter to Senate leaders in support of the Act.[7][42] Later in 2013, Naval Ravikant wrote a letter to the SEC to object changes in the JOBS Act that he believed "could create disastrous unintended consequences for the startup community."[43]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Davidson, Andrew (May 17, 2013). "Follow the money: AngelList has blown open early-stage investments". WIRED. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  2. ^ Stone, Brad (January 17, 2014). "AngelList, the Social Network for Startups". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  3. ^ Empson, Rip (April 21, 2012). "The Power Of AngelList Revealed In Its New Look: 978 Deals, 48 Acquisitions – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  4. ^ Rao, Leena (December 15, 2012). "AngelList Raising A Big Round, To Be Valued at $150 Million Or More – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ a b Primack, Dan (November 13, 2014). "A disruptor shakes up angel investing". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  6. ^ Hardy, Quentin (March 31, 2015). "Angel Investors Lend Expertise as Well as Cash". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  7. ^ a b c d Halperin, Alex (March 24, 2014). "Silicon Valley's Avenging Angel". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  8. ^ Algar, Selim (2018-05-09). "This Silicon Valley big wants Stuyvesant HS to stay exclusive". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  9. ^ a b Carter, Stinson (October 25, 2016). "A Day in the Life of Naval Ravikant". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  10. ^ Cohan, Peter. "AngelList: How A Silicon Valley Mogul Found His Passion". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  11. ^ a b Timoner, Ondi (October 7, 2013). "How Naval Ravikant Risked It All To Pull The Veil Back on Venture Capital". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel (November 2, 2011). "The Way Companies Are Getting Financed Is Completely Changing". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  13. ^ a b c Loizos, Connie (May 19, 2017). "Naval Ravikant hints at future plans for Product Hunt and adding secondary trading to AngelList – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  14. ^ a b c Konrad, Alex (December 1, 2016). "AngelList Acquires Popular Tech Discovery Site Product Hunt To Go After Startup Jobs Search". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  15. ^ a b Geron, Tomio (December 19, 2016). "Angels Muscling In on VC Turf". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  16. ^ a b Wagner, Kurt (December 1, 2016). "AngelList has acquired Product Hunt for around $20 million". Recode. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  17. ^ Eldon, Eric (July 28, 2013). "Angels Get Carry For Helping A Startup Raise Money With AngelList Syndicates – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  18. ^ Carlson, Nicholas (September 30, 2013). "The Startup Investing World Got Turned On Its Head Over The Weekend, And VCs Are Freaking Out". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  19. ^ Willis, Tyler (June 29, 2014). "An angel investor's ultimate guide to AngelList Syndicates". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  20. ^ Baehr, Evan (Jan 23, 2016). "Profit From A Profile On AngelList – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  21. ^ Shin, Laura (January 27, 2016). "Blockchain Capital Closes $13M Second Fund; Offers $1,000 Investments In Syndicate". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  22. ^ Sloan, Paul (September 5, 2012). "AngelList attacks another startup pain point: Legal fees". CNET. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  23. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (August 16, 2012). "AngelList launches talent recruiting portal". CNET. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  24. ^ Griffith, Erin (November 16, 2012). "AngelList now powering applications for incubators like TechStars Boston, AngelPad". Pando. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  25. ^ Rao, Leena (February 26, 2013). "Startup Accelerator Rock Health Now Accepts Applications Exclusively Through AngelList – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  26. ^ Hoque, Faisal (January 15, 2016). "Do Accelerators And Incubators Serve Themselves Better Than Startups?". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  27. ^ Lawler, Ryan (March 31, 2013). "As Crowdfunding Takes Off, SEC Greenlights AngelList's Investment Platform – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  28. ^ Doyle, Dentons-Rani (April 19, 2013). "FundersClub: what does the SEC's no-action relief really mean? | Lexology". Lexology. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  29. ^ a b "Moneyball for AngelList Syndicates". CB Insights Research. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  30. ^ "Ranking the Top Angel and Venture Capital Fund Managers (Part 1)". Financial Poise. 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  31. ^ "Here's Proof That Crowdfunding Pays Off". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  32. ^ "AngelList Unveils Maiden Lane, A $25 Million Fund For AngelList Deals". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  33. ^ "Angel List shakes up startup funding again with a new $25 million fund". SmartCompany. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  34. ^ a b "AngelList gets $400M from China's CSC Venture Capital for early-stage startup investments". VentureBeat. 2015-10-12. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  35. ^ a b c Mims, Christopher (2015-10-12). "Coming Soon From China: A $400 Million Bonanza for U.S. Startups". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  36. ^ Dodson, Claire; Richardson, Nikita (August 8, 2016). "Updates From Our Most Innovative Companies". Fast Company. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  37. ^ Kokalitcheva, Kia (October 10, 2017). "CoinList spins out of AngelList". Axios. Retrieved 2018-05-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  38. ^ Kauflin, Jeff. "12 Websites To Jump-Start Your Career In 2018". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  39. ^ "AngelList Unveils Maiden Lane, A $25 Million Fund For AngelList Deals". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  40. ^ Coren, Michael J. (May 16, 2017). "AngelList is funding the minor leagues of venture capital (and giving founders $500,000 to start)". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  41. ^ Khazan, Olga (2012-03-27). "With passage of JOBS Act, Steve Case, AngelList founder and others look forward to a less-regulated start-up world". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  42. ^ Khazan, Olga (April 1, 2012). "JOBS Act aims to simplify start-up fundraising". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  43. ^ Constine, Josh (August 17, 2013). "AngelList Tells SEC New Fundraising Rules Will Kill Startups – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-05-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)