Angel network affiliation and business angels' investment practices

This paper provides preliminary evidence on the effects of membership in a business angel network (BAN) on the investment decisions of the members. Using a novel dataset containing qualitative and quantitative information on 810 angel or angel-group backed investments in 619 companies by 330 unique business angels from 2008 to 2014, we show that BAN membership generates valuable information, networking, monitoring, and risk reduction effects, which ultimately affect the share of personal wealth committed by each angel investor and their equity stake in the targeted company. These results extend our knowledge of the investment behavior and characteristics of business angels, a relatively opaque funding source that is rapidly gaining prominence in support of new ventures and the development of the global economy.