HBAN to Sign Up 75 New Angels in 2019
HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), the all-island organisation responsible for the promotion of business angel investment, and an initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland, has announced that it plans to recruit 75 new business angels in 2019. The new investors will have a combined total of at least €15 million available to invest in start-ups based in the island of Ireland.
The recruitment drive will begin at HBAN’s All-Island Business Angels Conference which takes place on Thursday, 14th February, in Powerscourt Hotel, Co. Wicklow. This year’s conference will focus on diversity and how a varied investment portfolio yields better returns for angel investors. A number of prominent Irish and international entrepreneurs and angel investors will be speaking at the event.
Marianne Hudson, a serial investor and executive director of Angel Capital Association, which is the world’s leading professional association for angel investors with more than 14,000 business angel members and 260 investor syndicates, is one of the keynote speakers. Drawing on her own experience as an investor and former director of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, she will talk about the importance of diversity for investors using data that shows diverse investment processes yield better returns. She will also discuss the latest trends in angel investing in the US market and ideas to help the Irish industry and HBAN meet its goals over the next three to five years.
Jimmy Martin, co-founder and CEO of AMCS, the Irish company that provides software and technology for the waste, recycling and resource industries, will discuss return on investments for business angels and how new secondary markets are emerging that can facilitate this.
Former BT Young Scientist of the Year and Forbes ‘30 under 30’ listee, Shane Curran, the 18-year-old tech entrepreneur who founded QCrypt, a software platform to help companies manage how they process people’s data securely, will participate in a panel discussion on how investors can engage younger entrepreneurs and how start-ups can engage younger investors.
The HBAN All-Island Business Angels Conference is Ireland’s only business angel investment-focused event. As well as existing members, HBAN is also inviting individuals who may be new to angel investing and are looking to create diverse portfolios by utilising the HBAN network to gain access to a funnel of pre-qualified investable start-ups.
There will be representatives from all 15 angel groups at the conference including 10 syndicates MedTech Syndicate, Irrus Investments, Food Syndicate, Bloom Equity, Boole Investments, WxNW Syndicate (West by North West), SEBAN (South East Business Angel Network), the international syndicates, HBAN London, HBAN Singapore and Digital Irish Angels, a New York syndicate HBAN has partnered with and 5 regional networks in operation across the island.
In addition to panel discussions, there will be workshops offering practical advice to both experienced investors and new angels. These will cover the role of a lead angel in investments, the value of syndicates from both a domestic and international perspective, portfolio management, exit strategies and due diligence. There will also be approximately 20 fundraising companies exhibiting at the conference with a number of these companies pitching on the morning of the conference, giving investors plenty of opportunity to connect with potential investee companies.
John Phelan, national director, HBAN, said: “In order to provide a consistent flow of investment for start-ups across the island of Ireland, we plan to recruit 75 new angels with a combined €15 million available for dynamic and innovative start-ups. Our aim is twofold, of course, in that we also want to deliver a quality flow of pre-qualified, high potential investments to our business angels and for the eco-system to function at its maximum capacity ‘We need every player on the Pitch’.”
Angel investing forms an important part of the start-up ecosystem in Ireland. Since HBAN was established in 2007, HBAN angels have invested over €90 million in start-ups on the island.These investments have leveraged a further €150 million from other public and private funds, bringing the total invested to €240 million.
The conference is open to non-HBAN members who want to see how the HBAN network works, connect with HBAN angels and listen to pitches from high-potential start-ups. Tickets for the conference are priced at €50 and are available now. HBAN members can attend for free. For more information about the event and to register, please visit www.hban.org/Conference
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Pictured announcing HBAN’s plans to recruit 75 new angel investors with €15 million in available funds are (L-R): John Phelan, national director; Julian Seymour, syndicate manager; and Niamh Sterling, investment consultant, HBAN.
