Being a business angel offers the opportunity of a high return of your investment, however the main scope for the involvement in a Company (usually as non-executive or part-time) is to use your experience to help the company to develop its business. Personal involvement is not mandatory and has to be negotiated with the founders, but being active as a non executive director can be very stimulating and help the company achieve its potential.

No, members have a range of experiences in the Life Science sector, including executive and non executive roles in mature or early stage companies, venture capital funds, R&D positions both in companies as well as in academia, legal or financial advisors for transactions in the life science sector.

The IAB as a group is not offering any advice. More than half of angel investments lose money and you should be willing also to accept losing money. You should learn as much about early stage investing as you can before thinking to apply to become a member. Angel investments should be made in companies in which you understand the product, the market and the industry.

Networking with talented people, high quality investment opportunities in the life science sector, diversification of investments, share due diligence with industry experts and a chance to promote growth in our Country, among others.

Angels look for innovative startups that can grow quickly in value, creating jobs and soon attracting deep pocket investors to help maturing the business. Members of the IAB like to invest in companies located in their communities and in the life science sectors in which they have experience or understanding.

Members are asked to attend our elevator pitch events approximately every three months, to help with the selection process by contributing with their own specific expertise when matching with specifics of the submitted proposal. If a member decides to invest in a company introduced by IAB he or she is expected to provide mentoring support to the company.

It depends on the person, but thinking through your risk tolerance up front is important.  Because more than half of angel investments lose money, you should be willing to lose the money you set aside for angel investment.  For many experienced angels, this amounts to 5 to 10 percent of their overall investment portfolio.  The most sophisticated angels make at least ten investments over several years for a better chance to make a return on their investment, counting on one or two to provide nearly all of their return.

At the moment there is no limitation. The IAB is the first and only Business Angel club in Italy focused in Life Sciences, therefore it is unlikely that other clubs may offer as many opportunities in the sector as we do. However the IAB is assessing on a case by case the curriculum and backgrounds of each member prior to authorizing him/her to join.

Individual angels are joining together with other angels to evaluate and invest in startups.  The angels can pool their capital to make larger investments.

There is no limit in principle. The amount depends on stage of the proposal and on how many angels are investing together. Most investments by individuals are between $5,000 and $100,000 per company round.

The process may vary on a case-by-case basis. Usually includes:  screening of an executive summary of a business plan, meeting with the entrepreneur and submission of a business plan, presentation by the entrepreneur of the plan with a Q&A period, due diligence on the company and its management team, negotiation of a term sheet and legal documents, and post-investment support, including service on the company’s board of directors, monitoring reports, and providing mentoring and advice.

Venture Capitalists provide capital they have raised from other investors to later-stage businesses for growth while Angels generally invest their own money in start-ups and very early stage companies.

By joining the IAB there is the expectation that you will invest at least 100,000 euro in startup opportunities over a period of 5 years. You will have the opportunity to attend IAB group meetings, where apart from actually seeing the companies pitch and having the opportunity to meet them afterwards with other investors, the IAB will ask, subject to always seeing the right opportunity, your investment intentions, expectations and level of activity.

We have heard many different answers to this question, ranging from “I can make money”; I love working with other entrepreneurs”, “it’s fun” to “I get to help create great new companies in my country” among others.

Basic requirements are: management team expertise, level of innovation, growth stage, industry sector expertise, growth potential, competitive advantages, and high return on investment.

We are planning to organize 3-4 pitch events per year. At each event 3 companies will be invited to present. The selection of companies to present is made by the Board who may consult with other members of the IAB in case they have specific expertise to help with the review of one or more of the proposal received. This process will allow the screen of all the applications to guarantee the best investment opportunities will be invited for the pitch event to the angel community. The Board cannot guarantee that the selected opportunities are investible but that they represent the best out of the applications. However, each member is expected to be capable of making independent investment decision.