Reflections from the Angel Capital Association Annual Meeting – April 2025

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak at the Angel Capital Association’s Annual Meeting in Denver. As always, the room was full of experience, intelligence, and passion for early-stage investing. The panel underscored what I’ve heard from others in the community: there remains some hesitation among traditional angels when it comes to investment crowdfunding.

For many traditional angels, crowdfunding remains suspect—deals are too promotional, valuations are too high,and due diligence is too thin. I understand the skepticism. But I believe many are missing the broader shift happening in the private markets.

We are in the middle of a structural transformation in how startups raise capital—and how investors can and should participate. Three movements are driving this shift:

1. Regulation Has Expanded Access

With the passage of the JOBS Act and the creation of Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) and Rule 506(c), companies now have legal avenues to publicly solicit investment from both accredited and retail investors. These tools have made capital formation more inclusive—and more transparent.

2. Technology Has Rewired the Capital Stack

Entrepreneurs are increasingly turning to online investment platforms as their first stop for raising capital. These platforms enable broader outreach, faster investor commitments, and rich data streams. For investors, this means easier access—but also a new set of filters to apply.

3. Traditional Capital Is Moving Later-Stage

We’re seeing a pullback from venture capital and traditional angels at the earliest stages. The risk appetite has narrowed. This has created a funding gap that is being filled by retail investors—over $3 billion to date—through regulated online platforms.

These changes are not theoretical. They are happening now. Every week, thousands of investors are committing capital to startups online—many of which would never have passed through a traditional syndicate.

Seeing the Wheat Through the Chaff

The common critique of investment crowdfunding is that it’s full of noise. And that’s true—there are many deals that aren’t investor-ready. But let’s be honest: traditional deal flow has the same issue. We all pass on deals that turn out to be winners. The crowd does, too.

The real shift is that we now have new tools to separate signal from noise—and they’re improving every day.

The Data Advantage

For the first time in early-stage investing, we have access to real-time, trackable data on deal performance, investor behavior, and market sentiment. Through platforms like CCLEAR, we can monitor:

• Capital flow and investor participation across offerings

• Momentum indicators like time-to-close and number of checks written

• Follow-on activity and issuer performance over time

These are not just new metrics—they’re new ways to build conviction.

A Practical Path Forward

Investment crowdfunding doesn’t replace traditional angel investing—it enhances it. As angels, we have sector knowledge, pattern recognition, and networks that retail investors don’t. But the crowd brings data, scale, and community.

When we blend the two, we create a more robust, informed investing model. One that’s better suited for today’s decentralized, digital-first startup economy.

Angel investing is evolving. The companies we want to support are raising differently. The next generation of winning deals may not come through a warm intro or a pitch dinner—they may come through a platform, with traction already proven by a hundred small checks.

The train has left the station. The question isn’t whether to get on board—it’s how far behind you want to be.