Granted, it may be pocket change in the grand scheme of things. But, nonetheless, The Alliance of Angels today announced that it set a record for investments last year as the group backed 33 early-stage companies with $10.3 million. The bulk of those deals, 22, were follow-on investments.

Obviously, it would be a good thing to see angel groups backing more first-time investments, something that Alliance of Angels managing director Greg Huey alluded to in today's press release. Still, the fact that investment totals are rising should be viewed as a positive.

In 2009, members of the Seattle angel investment group invested $9.1 million in the region. By contrast, venture capitalists pumped $640 million into Washington companies last year.

"Even as the economy struggles to rebound from the recession, our members continue to support the AoA portfolio with initial and follow-on investments,” said Dan Rosen, chair of the Alliance of Angels. “That is a testament to the quality of our deal flow, the value of our screening and coaching, and the eagerness of our investors to support entrepreneurs with promising ideas."

More startling is the fact that the Alliance of Angels claims that all of the member-funded companies over the past four years are either still operating or have been acquired.

Since 1997, the group have invested $60 million in more than 160 early-stage companies in the Northwest. Those include firms such as BuddyTV, LiquidPlanner, Insitu, Shiftboard, Marketfish and Perlego.