How do I join the Syndicate?

You must be a member of the ELC Angels community and an accredited investor to join the syndicate. If you don’t have an AngelList account, you must sign up for one first (click Back Syndicate button on the syndicate page, then follow the instruction to create your account). After you are approved on AngelList, you can apply to join ELC Angels here. If you encounter any issues joining the syndicate, please contact [email protected].

Why are we starting this group?

As engineers, we all have worked and/or cross-pathed with many amazing founders and hyper growth startups. Due to various constraints, we could not invest into these startups and missed out on the opportunities to participate in the success of these companies early. We built the angel community to make early-stage investment more accessible to community members. We leverage our community to source, evaluate and win deals, and help startups succeed with engineering leadership support and our network of engineering leaders. Founders that we have talked to would be very excited to be supported by ELC Angels because of our robust community.

What is the community syndicate structure?

We use AngelList to manage our syndicate: https://angel.co/syndicates/for-leads. The main difference between a syndicate and a fund is that a fund collects capital from LPs upfront and GPs of the fund make the ultimate investment decisions. In contrast, a syndicate invests on a deal by deal basis, and LPs get to decide which deals they would like to participate in, or pass on.

How do the ELC Angels syndicate get deal flow?

We prioritize companies led by ELC members, or ELC members’ network. GPs of the syndicate will also actively sourcing deals from their own network, and follower investing opportunities from partner venture capital funds and syndicates.

Is there a management fee?

No, we do not charge a management fee. We want to create an active community where folks genuinely want to help out and everyone’s long-term interests are aligned. For each syndicate deal, AngelList charges a flat $8k fee to create the SPV structure and include future maintenance costs. The $8k fee will be split pro rata among all investors who participate in the particular deal.

What is the carry?

Standard 20% carry. The carry will be rewarded to ELC Organization, GPs, deal sourcers, and LPs with strong contributions to the deal, and AngelList platform. LPs’ contribution includes but is not limited to sourcing the deal, providing long-term advising service to the deal, and introducing key customers to the company.

How do I refer a deal to a syndicate?

If you found an interesting deal and can help secure at least a $100k investment allocation, you could first complete this form, together you could also send over the founders’ memo, one-pager or pitch deck to ECL Angel syndicate leads [email protected]. If the leads think the deal matches our investment thesis, we will ask for an intro and set up a video call with the founder to learn more about the startup. We expect you or other community members who are experts in the same area to help with due diligence of the deal. Together with other syndicate leads, we will make an investment decision. If we decide to move forward, we will create an AngelList syndicate page and invite our LPs to invest together.