Tech Coast Angels (TCA) today announced that it has invested in its 400th company, reinforcing its standing as one of the world’s most active and successful angel groups.
In addition to achieving this funding milestone, TCA has already experienced several prominent exits so far this year: acquisitions of Parcel Pending (20x), Portfolium (6x), and Salarius Pharmaceuticals (2.6x and now a public company), as well as a liquidity event through a secondary offering of Leaselock (31x).
Membership in TCA has hovered around 300 for years, but in the last two years has surged and now exceeds 400. This expands the breadth and depth of expertise which improves both the quality of due diligence and the angel network’s ability to help its portfolio companies after investment with mentoring and relationship capital. Increased membership also brings more capital to the table and has been a contributor to TCA’s higher funding total.
“Being a part of so many companies’ growth and success showcases how TCA and our members provide so much more than just capital,” said Grant Van Cleve, chairman of Tech Coast Angels. “We offer knowledge and understanding, along with clout and connections, to help accelerate a company’s move from concept and early-stage into market and real-life solutions. It is such a privilege for TCA to be part of nurturing this entrepreneurial engine of growth over the past 21 years, and it is an honor to reach our 400th funded company milestone.”
The angel network’s landmark investment was made in Grolltex, Inc., an innovative company that has developed a sustainable and industrialized method to make graphene, a base electronic material that is desirable for its strength, flexibility and conductive properties.
“We are thrilled to be Tech Coast Angels’ 400th investment,” said Jeff Draa, CEO of Grolltex. “The mechanics of the funding round were very smooth, and TCA brings more than funding; they provide expertise in our field, along with strong managerial and counseling resources to help build out startups. TCA has such a wide network of strong contacts who have the skills and experience early-stage companies need to succeed. We look forward to TCA helping us take our company even further.”
Since TCA’s inception in 1997, an equal investment in every one of the 182 companies in TCA’s portfolio with outcomes would return 4.9 times the investment – significantly higher than the average of the approximate 2.5x cited in most studies of angel returns. TCA’s Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 23%, slightly higher than the average for angels. While 103 companies were total write-downs and comprised 57% of the funded deals with outcomes, 79 companies (43%) provided some return to investors: 58 returned at least 100% of the investor’s capital and of those, 20 returned between 5x and 264x. TCA’s home runs include Mindbody (264x), Green Dot (235x) and Sandpiper Networks (139x).
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