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Alliance of Angels posts record investment totals for 2009
We all know that 2009 was a tough year for startups and venture capitalists, with just one IPO and venture capital totals down by some 40 percent in the state. But the Alliance of Angels, a Seattle angel investment group with more than 100 members, released information today that runs counter to the grim headlines of the past few months.
The group said that its members invested $9.1 million in 29 early-stage companies last year, a record amount in the 12-year history of the group.
“We experienced our strongest year ever in terms of dollars flowing to entrepreneurs, even in the midst of a severe downturn,” said Alliance of Angels Chairman Dan Rosen. “Our members, who have a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as capital, understand that active involvement can create successful companies, especially during slowdowns in economic activity.”
While $8.5 million of the funds came from Alliance of Angels members, the remainder was provided through the organization's new "seed fund" which draws support from Seattle area venture firms.
But there's more to the numbers than meets the eye. Only nine of the 29 companies were new startups, which means that the angel investors (like their VC peers) spent much of the year supporting existing portfolio companies.
A third of the dollars allocated by the Alliance of Angels flowed to companies in the software category, while 28 percent went to clean tech startups and 12 percent went to retail and consumer product companies. Over the past three years, Rosen said that it has invested $19 million and has recorded five successful exits.
The previous investment record occurred in 2005, with $7 million invested in 20 companies.
Greg Huey, managing director of the AoA, said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the results.
"As you point out, venture investing was down, especially locally, and I think that created a vacuum," said Huey. "In particular, angels part of well-organized groups like the AoA, were able to leverage strong infrastructure of staff, volunteer leadership and fellow members to step up and fill the void created by limited venture dollars."
About John Cook
John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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