The Southeast has a new regionally-focused angel investment network.
Last week the NO/LA Angel Network (NO/LAAN) rebranded as the Gulf South Angels (GSA) and announced its geographic expansion across the Gulf South. The New Orleans-based angel investment group will now look at deals from eastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle to southern Arkansas to Tennessee and west of Atlanta, according to a press release.
GSA’s expansion allows for the group to look at an expanding number of industries, Board Chairman Mike Eckert told Hypepotamus. He pointed to Georgia as a hub for life sciences, fintech, and SaaS. New Orleans has become known for shipping, logistics, hospitality, and aerospace, while coastal areas have “a number of opportunities related to alternative energy and coastal regeneration and restoration,” he added.
“Our mission is to aggregate capital from early-stage investors in the Gulf South region and focus that capital on companies throughout the region. Part of this involves aggregating capital from smaller individual investors and entities throughout the region such that we can better support early-stage businesses in the Gulf South region, and in turn put the region on the map.”
Putting Gulf South Angels On The Tech Map
Even before the regional expansion, the group made a large impact on the local startup scene. NO/LAAN grew to 120 members over the last decade, and invested close to $20 million into 51 early-stage companies. The average check size was $400,000 per company. The group can fill out funding rounds via its syndication partnerships and two sidecar funds.
Members represent nine states across the Southeast region. The network was recognized as in the top ten percent of active angel groups in North America by the Angel Capital Association.
Portfolio companies include smart home startup Ome, Raleigh’s fintech WalletFi, and other healthcare-focused startups.
Angel investment groups are popular outlets for accredited investors to get access to more startup deal flow. They are also often a first step for new investors.
Eckert says the geographic expansion can help bring more local investors into the regional startup landscape.
“Our mission is to aggregate capital from early-stage investors in the Gulf South region and focus that capital on companies throughout the region. Part of this involves aggregating capital from smaller individual investors and entities throughout the region such that we can better support early-stage businesses in the Gulf South region, and in turn put the region on the map.
We also curate national investment opportunities for our members through our national syndication relationships, and also can attract capital from outside of the region into the region to help fill-out funding rounds through these national syndication relationships,” Eckert added. “New members can expect to be a part of an investing organization with a regional member base that invests locally, regionally and nationally, supported by a sophisticated investment curation process, a strong back-office, member education, and post-investment stewardship and tracking. The camaraderie and wealth of knowledge among our accomplished members help to instill confidence in investment decisions for members.”
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Featured photo from Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
