Roles & People
Angel Investor
A high-net-worth individual who invests their personal capital in early-stage startups, typically at the pre-seed or seed stage.
Angel investors are individuals who use their own money to back startups at the earliest stages, often before institutional VCs are willing to invest. They typically write checks of $10K-$250K, though super angels may write $500K-$1M+ checks. Angels often have operating experience as founders or executives and provide mentorship alongside capital. The term comes from Broadway, where wealthy individuals backed theatrical productions. Notable angel investors include Ron Conway, Naval Ravikant, and Jason Calacanis. Angel investing is high-risk, high-reward — most angel investments go to zero, but a few produce enormous returns.