angel funding

Some of the most successful start-ups that began with Angel funding

Photo by Jiroe on Unsplash

During our angel investor blog series, we have been giving you the lowdown on angel investors: how to find them, what they are looking for in your startup and how to make the most of your relationship with an angel investor. We hope this will help you to determine if seeking angel investment for your startup is the best way to go.

Last week we talked about what to do once you have your angel investor, and now in our final week of the angel investor series, we look at a selection of successful companies that started with angel investment. We are picking a few to show just how far you can go with a great idea and the right angel investor on your side. 

 

Google – the most successful angel investment ever made

 

The meteoric rise of Google started back in the late 90s when those familiar ding ding ding of the dial up and a 20 minute wait was how we accessed the internet. Now, Google holds nearly 90 per cent market share of searches and has indexed over a trillion pages on the internet! But, what started as a project by a couple of grad students who were trying to determine how to efficiently index relevant information from massive amounts of data stored on computers and return relevant results to search queries, was identified as a huge opportunity by early angel investors Andy Bechtolsheim Ram Shriram, who supported Google in its development to gaining $25m VC investment in 1999. Interestingly, both Yahoo and Altavista (the key search engines at the time) had no interest in engaging with Google, and paid the price later down the line. Today, Google stock is worth over $1,700 and the original angel investor success story goes from strength to strength.

 

Zoom – a new unicorn delivering excellence

 

Zoom gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when it became a vital way to communicate for work and personal meet-ups. For many, Zoom came out of nowhere, but Founder Eric Yuan, identified a gap in the market and worked with early angel investor Dan Sheinman to deliver what was needed. Many thought other competitors such as Skype were meeting their needs, but after using Zoom, it’s a class above the rest. With a focus on their customers, and free options for shorter calls, Zoom is being used by massive companies and tiny startups alike with great success. Yuan built a strong team – a key to a successful startup, and it comes as no surprise Zoom was awarded Glassdoor’s 2019 Employees’ Choice Awards as the best place to work

 

Monzo – a trailblazer in FinTech that started with the fastest Crowdfunder in history 

 

They’re everywhere: neon Monzo cards and that familiar app sound which you can use for easy bill splitting, savings and more. Having launched in 2016, Monzo is a fintech dream success story, climbing from prepaid card to full bank status in just a few years.

The company gained some excellent PR when it successfully raised £1m in its crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube in 2016 and since then has sought investment from a variety of sources, including angel investors and VC companies. Its extensive contacts from past ventures put them in good stead to gain further investment and development opportunities.

It’s not all positive though – the FT reported Monzo has had a 40 percent drop in its valuation due to the economic effects of Covid this year, and has had to seek further funding this year to help it weather the economic storm predicted for the coming months. But its continued growth to over 5 million customers means it looks set for further success going forward.

With the right angel investors, and their support and guidance, what is a wonderful idea, with the right timing and your work, can develop into a hugely successful company.

Next year, we will be starting our next blog series on Venture Capital investors and delving into the complex and high risk world of VCs. 

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