‍For this campaign 30 of Europe's most active business angels and angel VCs gathered to share unique paths into investing, talk about the current state of the nation, and discuss the future of venture capital. This is to inspire even more diversity of thought in backing and building startups to solidify Europe’s contribution to the global tech landscape.

‍

Today highlighting ✨Vera Elizabeth Baker✨ born in San Francisco, lived and worked in Washington DC, and New York City, and now resides in Paris. Vera has more than 15+ years of experience in operations, strategic communications, content creation, and fundraising. She is an active Atomico angel with an investment portfolio of 30+ impact startups. Her prior experience includes working as a Venture Partner for a European early-stage venture fund, two years investing in early-stage African startups, Director at Founders Institute Paris Accelerator, and working as an Operator in several venture-backed startups. Before moving to France, Vera spent eight years on Capitol Hill where she had congressional and campaign roles as a Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Political Director, and National Finance Director for some of the most followed political campaigns in the US. She also spent two years on Wall Street working in Public Finance.

‍

Being asked about the current state and future of angel investing that is what she replied.

‍

What makes a great angel investor?

‍A great angel investor is someone that is an ardent early believer and evangelist for the startup and the founding team. In addition to writing high conviction first checks they also provide constant mentorship and guidance. I believe a great angel adds value in a tangible way.  This can be done by simply making introductions to other angels, potential customers, and even early hires. If you are responsive to the founder, and you regularly read investor updates and respond to founder “asks” then you are already providing more value that most of the others on the cap table.

‍

What is your superpower to support entrepreneurs?

‍I’m big on networking and connecting like-minded individuals. There is not a week that goes by that I am not making introductions to my portfolio companies to someone in my network, or introducing operators and investors to someone in the broader ecosystem. I have an uncanny ability to memorize very specific details about people, conversations, or events so I’m constantly connecting the dots so that I can help people do business together.

‍

What would you tell someone starting to angel invest today, based on your experience?

1. Start small.  Don’t rush into writing large checks. Learn what it means to build conviction first and foremost.
2. Try and put your thoughts on paper. Get into the habit of writing down what it was that got you to a yes in the first place beyond just your gut. Write down what some of your concerns are and what the risks are in making this investment and how the team will mitigate those.
3. I’d also say you should find a way to track your investments in one place. Each investment will take 5-10 years or longer before returning your capital so you need to have a way to track analytics and performance.There are many ways to do this but you can start by creating a simple google sheet. This document should include investment amount, percentage ownership, round size, date of investment, valuation, how you sourced the deal, other funds and angels involved, and eventually the return on investment. This will come in handy later when asked about your track record from other angels, VCs, and founders.

‍

How do you collaborate with other (angel) investors?

‍I belong to a variety of syndicates, operator networks, and angel groups. I also work closely with lots of VCs and rely on them for deal flow, especially in geographical areas outside of France. It’s impossible to see everything but you can have multiple ears and eyes on the ground helping you out.  I also believe that you also have to be a giver and share deal flow with these same individuals. You will also have founders looking to raise follow-on capital and it helps to have cultivated a “giving and receiving” relationship with other investors.

‍

What have you learned from your Anti-Portfolio?

‍Find a good system to help you manage your deal flow prospects and follow-up all the way until you get a firms yes or no. Early on, I had a hard time managing all of the inbound coming to me from other investors, operator groups, and founders. Add that to all of the outbound I was sending as I did my initial research on the deals, I was interested in following, and I was totally overwhelmed. I wasn’t always able to follow up with everyone and looking back now, I missed out on some really good deals that I had early insights about.

‍

What is missing in France to bring the angel scene to the next level?

‍The French ecosystem is relatively closed. When you look at the lists that are produced about angel investors in France, it’s largely the same names that keep appearing. If you don’t know the right people, it’s almost impossible to get into the right deals. Being a part of the right networks in France means everything. From this, we can also draw the conclusion that France has an extreme lack of diversity when it comes to the angel community. In other European countries, founders (and investors) are having conversations about creating a more diverse cap table and actively making space for those voices. In France, I’m often one of the only female angels on a cap table and if you add in the fact that I am also a woman of color, I can say with certainty that having another woman with my background on a cap table is almost rarer than spotting a white rhino.

‍

Thank you, Vera, for a sneak peek into your angel world and the incredible work you do.

‍

My name is Julia Dous, and I am passionate about diversifying cap tables. I accomplish this through angel investing, advising VCs on talent acquisition, and running the Evangelistas, a vibrant community of +350 seasoned angel investors backing exceptional founders with big ideas.

This campaign is our joint contribution for more diversity of thought in European venture capital. The 30 angel and angel VCs who gathered have invested into various startups (and funds) across Europe. All bring amazing super power to support founders - and a long track record. We know there are more great angels. This is to start – and inspire more women to check-writing and to building.

‍