Apply for Funding - Tech Coast Angels

Our mission is to be the BEST place for the BEST companies to raise their seed, bridge or early A-round funding

If your company has a strong team with a great defensible idea, has early traction and is set to grow, TCA is ready to invest up to several million dollars through our funds, individually or with our syndicate partners. TCA looks at investments in the United States and Canada although most of its investments are from companies in Southern California. Through its treaties with other angel groups and through its participation in the Angel Syndication Network, TCA has the ability to syndicate deals that require more capital.

Are you ready to get started? It’s simple! You will be directed to one of our deal management platforms after you hit the APPLY button. Click on the network to which you are applying as each network has a slightly different focus. If you ae taken to the Spark deal management platform, you will be prompted to create a login and a venture profile. Then you will be able to use this profile. After you hit APPLY you will see your venture profile. Please note you have an option of making the profile public or private on SPARKxyy based on your preference using the toggle switch on the top of your profile. Click on the profile and you will be taken to the TCA application questions. And then you are off and running. If you are taken to the Startup Steroid platform, you will enter your email and pitch deck and follow the instructions to complete the application, and depending on the network to which you apply, you will be asked to answer a few additional questions. Regardless which platform you use, your application will be considered and reviewed. It’s that simple.

Apply Now!

As part of the TCA Venture Group network, companies have access to valuable perks valued at more than $1 million.

AWS
Up to $100,000 in AWS Activate credits to offset your AWS bill.
Google Cloud
Up to $200,000 (up to $350,000 for AI startups) in credits over 2 years, plus technical training and business support.
Microsoft Azure
Up to $150,000 in Azure credits, access to AI models (GPT-4), and expert guidance from Microsoft.
JPMorgan Workplace Solutions (Global Shares)
Free cap table management for up to 100 users supporting your equity management needs.
HubSpot
Up to 90% off the first year for startups with less than $2M in funding, and 50% off for those over $2M.
Ramp
$1,000 in bonus with Ramp’s corporate card and expense management platform.
Clerky
$4,000 off their lifetime package to help manage startup legal paperwork.
Dialpad
10 free seats of Dialpad Talk and Meetings, valued at $5,000.
Brevo
75% off annual marketing plans (up to 1M emails/month).
TriNet
Between 50-79% off monthly HR solutions fees, plus 3 months free for new clients.
Airwallex
Access to Airwallex’s global financial platform to simplify payments and manage global financial operations, first $50,000 of foreign exchange free
TCA VG Social Media Amplification

Join TCA Venture Group and take advantage of these valuable resources to accelerate your startup’s success.

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Investment Criteria:

Mostly US based, CA preference
Strong and resourceful management team with impeccable integrity
Solution to a compelling business problem
Large identified market opportunity
Defensible business model / proprietary technology

Sustainable competitive advantage
Some level of market validation or traction
Ability to attract future funding
Credible exit potential

The majority of our past investments have been in companies located in California. However, we will consider ANY startup, seed stage company, and growth company located in the US or Canada, with traction and a reasonable valuation based on meeting the other criteria.

Ventures That We Seek

A Strong Management Team

We expect the entrepreneur to explain the relevant experience and domain expertise of your team. If the team is incomplete, we expect you to recognize who is needed to round out the team.

Technology that solves pressing needs

TCA defines technology broadly in many industries, including Hardware, Software, Digital Media, Consumer Products and Services, Financial Services, Life Science, CleanTech and Industrial. Regardless of industry, a successful applicant must be able to demonstrate market validation of its technology. Ideally, the company will have revenue and a strong sales pipeline.

Market presence or niche dominance

You must demonstrate that you can achieve significant presence in a well-defined market or niche. The niche can be within an existing market (Curvafix which provides a unique orthopedic screw for bone fractures ); or it can be a new niche (e.g., Green Dot which provides banking for the uninsured).

High growth potential

This must be in either a developing market (e.g., Parcel Pending in the electronic locker space) or in an existing market. You must present a credible plan for achieving that growth, not a Chinese Glove Syndrome (“there are over a billion Chinese, we will sell 1% of them a pair of gloves at $20/pair, which gives us revenues of $200 million”) without supporting data to show how you would sell them

Sustainable competitive advantages

Some examples: a “blocking patent” (that can keep out competition); a vanity number (e.g. 1-800-WEDDING); a domain name (e.g., buy.com); “first-to-scale” advantage (i.e., show you already are the first company to achieve some scale in a new niche). Sustainable advantage can also be achieved by a combination of technology, supply chain lockup, unique processes and partnerships.

Exceptional return on investment.

Because TCA members assume a great deal of risk by investing in early-stage companies, applicants should be able to make a compelling case for a 10x or better return on investment within a defined period. Investments that are expected to require no more funding than the current round are especially valued as are those that were able to use grant capital and other non-dilutive funding.

Use of Funds

TCA members look for opportunities where the capital sought will take the company to the next level, and materially increase its valuation. TCA investments often bridge the gap between proof of concept to a larger angel or VC round. A company must be able to demonstrate how it will use members’ investment to complete at least some of the following:

Proof of Concept
Prototype of its product or technology
Patent filing (for broad patent)
Product development
Market research
Product launch
Major contract or customers
Management team
Reduce other investment risks

Screening And Evaluation

Screening is an important part of the TCA funding experience. Each year, members of TCA look at and evaluate more than 1000 companies. Many of those companies then apply online to our screening process. Approximately 25 percent of these companies make it to the screening process and 25 percent make it into due diligence. Although each year varies, we typically fund 30-40 new ventures per year plus a similar number of existing portfolio companies which are seeking additional growth capital.

1.

Web Application

The first step in entering the TCA funding process is our online application. This process includes filling out an application with an overview of your company, including a summary of your financials. You’ll also upload an investor PowerPoint presentation.

2.

Initial Review

TCA staff and industry-specific investor panels perform an initial screening of the application to ensure it is within our scope of interest. If you pass the initial review stage, you will be invited to present at a pre-screening.

3.

Pre-Screen Presentation

Each panel’s prescreening process varies, but the general concept is an elevator pitch between 8 and 15 minutes, followed by Q&A. The prescreen presentation is given to a small group of TCA members who have domain expertise in your technology or market on a web conference call or at a separate meeting. The purpose of this pre-screening meeting is to determine if you are ready to present to the larger group, and give you constructive feedback to improve your presentation. You’ll receive feedback, and if you pass the pre-screen, you’ll be invited to present at a screening session. Of note is that TCA has both general prescreens as well as specialized medtech prescreens.

4.

Screening Presentation

Typically three to four companies present at a bi-monthly screening sessions. This consists of fifteen minutes PowerPoint presentation and fifteen minutes of questions and answers. After each presentation, TCA members discuss whether there is interest to move forward into due diligence. The entrepreneur is given feedback regardless of outcome. Presentations are usually videotaped so that members who are not present can participate later online on our member-only secure website. The goal of a screening session is to get significant interest from TCA members and attract a “deal lead”, who will coordinate the due diligence and be your point of contact throughout the due diligence and funding process. Funding can be through one of the TCA Funds as well as individual side car investments

5.

Due Dilligence

A due diligence team is formed based on the number of interested members who signed up during the screening. A deal lead coordinates the due diligence activities. Due diligence consists of verifying representations by the entrepreneur, speaking with customers, reviewing agreements and patents (if any), checking references, backgrounds, etc. The results of the due diligence process are posted on the TCA website (in the members-only section), and if the results are positive, the venture moves forward to funding through one of the funds and/or through side car investments.

6.

Monthly Lunch/Dinner Meeting (optional)

Companies that pass due diligence may present at monthly lunch/dinner meetings at most of the networks, introduced by the “deal lead”, who led the due diligence team. This enables the entrepreneurs to present to members who may not have seen their initial presentation. This is the final opportunity for entrepreneurs to garner enough interest from members to secure funding. Typically a signed term sheet is available when a company presents at this stage. Generally TCA members’ terms of investment follow “standard” terms for financings developed over the years by VCs and other sophisticated investors.

7.

Funding

Funding occurs after there has been enough interest generated and communication from the entrepreneur and deal lead. Members invest in deals through our funds and/or individually; however, everyone invests based upon the same term sheet. Typically, the minimum individual TCA member’s investment amount is $25,000. TCA funds typically invest a minimum of $100,000 per company.