?? Reflecting on the "Past - Present and Future of Angel Investing" forum that took place during #EAIS24, the collaborative efforts from everyone during the sessions provided us with considerable insights towards future.
Beginning the forum, we started with the ”Making Angel Investing More Main stream” session featuring: Karin Künnapas of Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN), Juan Roure of IESE BAN and moderator Jacopo Losso of EBAN, who shared their insights and discussed on different ways that we can be making angel investing more accessible. Key points brought forward included: increased education on the subject of angel investing, creating support structures for startups and new angel investors, fostering trust, and working on expanding current angel networks to extend their reach.
The next session during the day explored "The Role of Government in Angel Investing Ecosystems" with speakers: Dusan Todorovic of Austria Wirtschaftsservice, Rita Anson of NorBAN, Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen of Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN), Claudio Rojas of NACO Canada and moderator Ricardo Luz of Civitta, who emphasized that angel networks offer unique benefits such as mentorship, social capital and investment in high risk ventures, factors that public funding does not participate in. They called on governments to recognize the value that angel investors bring to the table and to consider long term impact over short term gains.
Following this, we had the opportunity to look at four innovative startups pitch, namely: Your Easy AI GmbH, GenowAI, Aurel&Axel, and Mentessa - Learning as a culture, who each shared their mission and visions to an engaged audience.
The final session of the forum looked at "Syndicating and Doing Deals with the Community" and featured speakers: Dr. Rui Falcao of CORE Angels, Marius Istrate of TechAngels Romania , Ivar Siimar of Trind VC, and session moderator Charles Sidman of ECS Capital Partners, LLC. The discussion highlighted the benefits of syndication for risk mitigation, pooling expertise, and fostering a collaborative investment ecosystem. Speakers emphasized on the importance of being active in the community and the deal process, mentioning that with syndication and networks working together, the possibility of expanding investment reach ensures for a cohesive European startup landscape. ??
Closing the forum with six more pitches prior to our closing words, we had a chance to listen to pitches from Magnotherm, HCPSense, MixnMatch, FinQBit, EatBeat, and Sidekick. Congratulations once again Mentessa for taking home the winning pitch! This forum was a building block towards our current work effort towards spreading awareness about the transformative potential of angel investing and we look toward a bright future of continued collaboration to pave the way for the angel investors and startups of tomorrow.
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