Business Angels & Family Offices

Business Angels are financially independent and generally invest between 50,000 and 500,000 euros. The investments are normally less in comparison to those of venture capital companies (VCs). In this way, financing via Business Angels can generally – above all for high-tech companies – often only be an initial start-up financing. Business Angels also receive a shareholder stake in recompense for their investments and claim similar rights as VCs for this. Good business angels have many years of professional and management experience or have successfully built up a company. They are sometimes organized into business angel networks or investor communities so as to facilitate contact with companies. Like in any good partnership, a good relation between founders and business angels is an essential prerequisite for a viable collaboration.

Very wealthy entrepreneurial families have also bundled and institutionalized part of their capital in family offices. This usually involves large sums, with the result that a fund management is normally entrusted with their administration and management. The family offices think and act (almost) like VCs, but are not subject to the fund regulations and exit time pressure that VCs are.

How do you find a good business angel or family office?

Unfortunately, even good business angels are not in the phone book and tend to be reserved in public. They often invest via personal contacts.

Helpful contacts include:

 

Max Planck Innovation has worked with both Business Angels as well as Family Offices in the past.

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