TechAngels, the largest network of individual investors, saw a 20% increase in the total number of members in Q1 2021 vs. the end of 2020. The association now has 91 active members.

The funds invested by TechAngels members in Q1 amounted to more than EUR 1 million, according to an in-house analysis. This figure indicates an investment pace at least equal to 2020, when TechAngels helped develop approximately 60 startups by investing EUR 4 million. The average ticket was EUR 20,000. About one third of the investors chose to put off the investment decision for the next quarters.

36 start-ups have participated in the pitches so far, coming both from Romania and from South-Eastern Europe. For 25% of those, the investors’ interest materialized immediately through syndication, while the intent to further observe was indicated for another 30% of the attending startups. The remaining 45% were guided towards different new phases of development/acceleration. The targeted industries were diverse, as usual, but more solutions have been developed lately addressing healthcare services, business productivity enhancement and various retail services.

“I have noticed three trends lately. The first one is about the investors’ expectations for the solutions they back to be quickly scalable for larger markets – and, to that end, the TechAngels investors draw on their experience and personal network to provide assistance. The second one concerns the growing interest in tech startups and the Romanian market, as investors everywhere like successful stories. The third is the appetite for partnering up and syndication. TechAngels is a group of entrepreneurs and professionals who are highly experienced in all business segments and interested in private investments in tech start-ups. In other words, successful people, with connections and capital, have gathered under the same umbrella,” says Malin Iulian Stefanescu, President, TechAngels.

Starting March 2020, TechAngels has moved all pitch sessions online and tripled the number of their activities and meetings dedicated to startups. TechAngels is a member of Business Angels Europe.