New business angel investor group launches in Brighton
South East Angels today announced the launch of their Brighton investor group, set to be the most active angel network in the local area. With a focus on providing value as well as funding to startups, the group is made up of High Net Worth Individuals with entrepreneurial backgrounds who are interested in investing in early-stage startups.
After managing a startup accelerator in Brighton over the last 4 years, Kristina Pereckaite, Managing Director at South East Angels, noticed the disparity between how many innovative startups were launching in Brighton yet how few of them ended up raising funding locally, or at all. She says: “The startup ecosystem here has been developing rapidly in the last decade but investors are only now starting to realise the opportunity in the region. With no investment hub for investors and entrepreneurs to connect, people tend to go elsewhere to do deals and I found myself having to constantly tap into my London network to support founders.”
The newly formed group provides a local community for investors to discuss opportunities, share best practice, and to co-invest in the most exciting local startups that have global growth potential.
With fundraising being one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Brighton, the initiative will help to break down barriers by supporting founders with getting investment ready and facilitating introductions.
Linking in with the local ecosystem, South East Angels will act as an investment partner for Brighton’s top incubator programmes such as the FuseBox, where the majority of the cities tech startups are born.
“Often it has been challenging for local startups to find local investors, so the launch of South East Angels, with a specific focus on the region, is very welcome.” says Alex Cowell, Non-Exec Director at Wired Sussex. “We know of several businesses who are looking to raise in the near future who will benefit from the expertise and capital of the network. Wired Sussex is excited to see the impact South East Angels will make.”
A local source for early stage funding has been long-awaited here in Brighton and the group have already had an influx of startups approaching them for funding, showcasing the local demand.