As many of our loyal readers will know, I started AngelNews back in 2003. Since then, it has been bringing you news and comment from across the early stage funding and angel investing market - that's at least 25,000 news stories.
We have covered everything from start-up fundraising announcements to exit success stories and all stages in between. The angel investment market has undergone huge changes since AngelNews started, but one thing I know for sure; there are more angels than ever needing to know what is going on and even greater numbers of entrepreneurs wanting to understand what makes angel investors tick.
Since we founded AngelNews 18 years ago, my team and I have been publishing the important stories and comment that matters to angel investors and those who want to understand them. Whether it's news on who's who, who's doing what, funding, exits or just plain commercial updates about angel-backed companies, this news is hard to find elsewhere. Yet that news matters. It helps to make everyone to be better informed and make better decisions.
We are passionate about the angel world. Without angels many of the all-time greatest companies would never have got off the ground. Through the risks they and the entrepreneurs they back take, humanity and the world advances. We remain dedicated to bringing that news to the world and have exciting ambitions for our own growth, including the launch of more editorial and investigative journalism that will add greater value to the ecosystem. In short, we want our work to help angels get better returns and for entrepreneurs to succeed better and faster.
Until now AngelNews has relied on the team making money elsewhere to fund its operations. Before Covid19, that largely meant running conferences, an opportunity that died under Coronavirus regimes.
We have steadfastly kept the website free to use and because we have been restricted in our resources, we have not been able to do as much as we would like. We want to be able to keep the website free of a paywall so that everyone (especially the most disadvantaged entrepreneurs and the most innocent angels) can continue to take advantage of what they uncover on our website. We believe that this is the least we can do to encourage innovation and growth in our critical ecosystem.
We also want to improve and grow AngelNews in a sustainable way. We want to add to our team with the first step being to give a great young entrepreneurially-minded journalist a proper paid job so they can have a regular income. With your support they will be able to cover more stories and provide a new perspective on the angel community around the UK and even further afield as the world begins to open up.
AngelNews sets its own tone and agenda. We decide what we publish and have our own opinions. Now is the time to ask you to help us expand our boundaries. Owner managed and team run, we are beholden to no-one. This matters in a world where so many people are dependent on the largesse of big business or government.
We speak the truth based on what we know and understand. With your support we can learn more, interpret more and give you more context on the angel world. This will, in turn, help you to achieve more yourself.
We have chosen a model that means we can stay true to our values and continue to help others who are behind us on the knowledge curve, funded by our readers. This support safeguards our independence and invigorates us to shine spotlights on what matters and challenge the pack.
AngelNews is read by thousands of people every week - we must keep building. Whether you can make a small or a large contribution, we promise it will be spent on publishing, exploring, investigating and educating readers about angel investing and the angel ecosystem relevant to our time. And it only takes a minute.