In this video, SaaS District host Akhil Jabbar, an investment director at Horizon Capital, explains how early‑stage founders can raise an angel round instead of relying solely on personal savings or bank loans. He first outlines the typical profile of a SaaS‑focused angel investor—high‑income, net‑worth over $1 M, often aged 35‑60, with prior entrepreneurial exits and industry expertise—and the usual check sizes ($50k‑$150k) either as a single investment or via a syndicate. He then presents four practical avenues for locating such angels: (1) tapping friends, family, and local acquaintances who already have capital and relevant industry ties; (2) attending business and startup networking events, including local angel pitch nights and groups like Valhalla Angels; (3) joining formal angel groups or clubs in the founder’s city; and (4) using online platforms such as AngelList, SeedInvest, and LifeScienceAngels, while emphasizing the need to filter for geographic and sector fit. Throughout, he stresses the importance of targeting investors who can add mentorship value and align with the founder’s long‑term vision. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to share their ideas and seek potential introductions.
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When people think of starting their own business, the first thing they think about is, where am I gonna get the money from? So the first thing they look at is going to the bank, they get all their savings put together, and they put everything all in, go it all in into their business. Now, another route that many people don't consider is going out and raising an angel investment round. And that's what I'm gonna talk about on today's video. Hey guys, my name is Akhil Jabbar and welcome back to another video of SaaS District. I'm the investment director and general partner at Horizon Capital where we invest and acquire SaaS companies doing over $1 million in ARR. Now on today's episode, what I want to talk about is telling you 4 different ways in which you can go out and start finding angel investors to help you grow your own first company. Now, before you go out there and start raising capital, I want you to understand, really understand what you're looking for. Now, people think when they're going out there and raising money that anybody who's out there who has some capital, who has some savings, is the right investor for them. But you need to understand that there is typically the right profile of people you want to target before you go out and talk to them about your business plan. So with that in mind, think of this as a profile of somebody who you want to reach out to. Okay? They're typically making at least a 6-figure income in terms of their salary or their business. Uh, they're generally between, you know, say 35 to 60 years old. We're starting to see a lot younger entrepreneurs who've exited from their business and have that cash who are now going back and investing their capital into angel rounds. They typically have a net worth maybe of over $1 million. Where they feel comfortable to be able to write those bigger checks. And when you think of an angel entrepreneur, angel investor specifically, maybe in the SaaS business, they've maybe already had an exit. They have some experience in this space and they have some capital available and they're willing to invest and bet on these people, willing to know that in 5 to 7 years that that investment is going to pay off. And that's what angel investment is all about, is that they understand that this is a long-term process. This is a long-term investment. But they're believing in the person upfront. They're believing in you and what you're capable of doing, of your business idea and how you're going to execute it on and how they're going to get their return in the long term. So with that being said, typically an angel will like to invest in industries or types of businesses that they're very familiar with. If you come to them with this big idea and they really just don't understand it, you know, they have no idea what you're talking about, they're probably not the right fit because they actually want to get involved in your business, that you have to look at them as like a mentor of your business, somebody who, who wants to give you advice, who's successful, and that they're actually going to add value beyond just the money. Because if you just need the money, there's a lot of other ways you can do that. And like I said, if you have the wrong investor on your business, you're actually going to create a lot more problems down the road. So just be really, really careful on who you're targeting and make sure they're a good fit that you see yourself working with for the next 5 to 7 years. Now in terms of how much an angel investor will typically invest, there's kind of 2 ways they'll invest depending on the type of business. But a SaaS company, you're looking at anywhere between say $50 grand to $150 grand for that first check just to get you going to build your, your build your first prototype or, you know, validate your business model, maybe get your first few clients. Other ways is through a syndicate. So some angel investors don't like to be looking at deal by deal. They'll go to an actual angel club where they're part of a syndicate group and everybody's writing checks for maybe $10,000, maybe $5,000, and combined they go out and write a check to a founder for another $100,000 or $150,000. Now, so let's get to the main topic of this video. Where do you go? You're ready to— you've decided you're ready to raise an angel round. You know the business model, you're ready to execute, and now you're ready to go out there and say, okay, where can I find these angel investors? Obviously, number one, the easiest way, Look close to home. Look to people who are around you. Look at your people, maybe that's friends, maybe that's families, maybe that's people you know, that rich uncle, doctor, lawyers, people in your network who are familiar with the business model. Maybe they're already working in that space. Maybe they're CEO of a company that could be a client of yours and talk to them. Say, look, I'm looking to build this business. This is my business plan. This is what I plan to execute upon. And you're an expert in this field. I know you've got some capital. Would you be willing to invest? For some percentage of the business. And if you're able to find the right person within your own city, maybe your own neighborhood or town, that's probably the best way where you want to get started. And so if you don't have that, so you don't have anybody in your network, you don't have anybody in your friends or your close group of friends or families who can help you and point you to the right direction, the next place I would look is at networking events. And what I mean for is not just angel investment events, but also business networking events. Startup events in your city or even close by. Go to other neighboring cities if you're in a small town. And generally there's always these— there's people there who are looking for business opportunities to invest in, who have capital, who are there to support entrepreneurs. There's all kinds of entrepreneur events all over the world at all times. Go to them, visit them, make yourself a known presence. Let people know, speak about your idea as much as possible. You just never know who's going to be listening and might be interested. It might be the right match for you. So there's angel investment groups who actually form formalized groups and events in every city. So they're, for example, like I know in Canada I'm part of a group where I've been invited a couple of times called Valhalla Angels. So that's an example of a group where there's angels who come, there's a bunch of investors who come, they pitch their ideas on these pitch nights. You usually have about 5 or 6 people who go up. You can present your idea and there's going to be a group of at least, you know, 30, 40, 50 investors in that room who are ready to make a decision right there if they like what you're ready to pitch. So that's obviously one way. Look at those active angel investment communities of where you live. There's a bunch of other resources. I'm sure, you know, an entrepreneurs group in your area also can refer you to those type of programs available. Now finally, if you can't find somebody, you know, from your friends and family, can't find them from your networking events, you can't find them from angel groups within, you know, close proximity to you, the next place is obviously to look online, which is where there's a bunch of other resources. People are online looking for deals at all points and looking to invest in businesses. And I'll name a few websites that I really like and I suggest you guys check out yourself. Number 1, AngelList is a big one. That's obviously where people go. There's actually— that's a syndicate. There's syndicated investors who invest and also individual investors. You can actually source them directly, message them, find their LinkedIn, contact them, and reach out to them directly and let them know what you're working on. So angel.co is a big one. Second one is SeedInvest. So that's typically maybe a little bit later on at the seed stage. That's another website I would check out, seedinvest.com. One other one, I'll say a third one, is maybe Life Science Angels. So you go lifescienceangels.com. They're investing in types of business models. The thing is what you got to be careful with any of these websites, you can search, is you want to be— look for angels who are specifically investing in your geographical location, who are open to invest in your country or your city. And then second, in your type of industry. I think those are the 2 biggest things that what they're looking for is, you know, they feel comfortable investing in maybe in their own city. And then also they have to understand your business model. And that's how you can go out there and raise your angel round for your new company. I hope that was helpful. If you guys enjoyed this, obviously subscribe to our channel, like the video, and comment below. I want to hear from you. What is your breakthrough idea? I want to hear all about your business. Maybe there's an angel investor that I know that I can connect you guys with. And if I love your idea, let me know below and I'd love to hear more about you guys' business. And good luck guys, and we'll see you guys on the next video.
