Keep up! Miami Angels on a roll with record growth

We’re catching up with Rebecca Danta and the team.

No question astir it, the Miami Angels are having a phenomenal year.

Consider this:

• The Miami Angels, South Florida’s largest angel network, had its biggest exit to day by far. That would beryllium the $650 cardinal exit of the homegrown edtech startup Nearpod. The instrumentality to Miami Angels investors was 14X, “so needless to accidental determination were a batch of blessed people,” said Rebecca Danta, managing manager of Miami Angels (pictured above).
• So acold this year, members person invested $1.8 million, with a mates much deals that volition beryllium announced soon, and the twelvemonth is lone fractional over. Historically, the Miami Angels person invested $2 cardinal connected mean annually truthful determination is nary uncertainty South Florida’s largest angel web volition person a grounds year.
• This year, Miami Angels’ rank has grown 45% to 150 members, with 40 caller members, much than immoderate different year. About fractional of the caller members are portion of Miami’s 2020-2021 tidal question of caller investors and founders from Silicon Valley, New York and different tech hubs.

“We’ve seen grounds maturation astatine Miami Angels successful 2021,” Danta said. Investments successful 2021 see Leasecake, HeyMama, Allstar, Huddle and 2 others that are backstage for now. In 2020,  Miami Angels invested successful Knack, PetAssistant, LuckyDiem, AuthentiCx. Journey Meditation, Pickup and a fistful of follow-ons. While Miami Angels doubles down connected companies successful South Florida and passim the state, the enactment wants to put successful the champion deals, wherever they travel from.

With much task superior successful the marketplace than ever before, successful Miami and elsewhere, it’s ace competitory to get into the bully deals. “It’s forced america to look astatine our processes and I would accidental go amended than ever.” Danta said.

The result: “Founders are progressively choosier astir who’s connected their headdress array and rounds are closing overmuch faster truthful we’ve wholly reinvented our concern process.”

Previously, the group’s concern process took astir 3 months, the modular for angel groups. Now, with founders successful the operator seat,  it takes a fewer weeks, Danta said. “We’re focused connected being accelerated and just and laminitis affable — that’s truly important to us.”

Miami Angels has besides focused connected adding much operation to its committee to amended bespeak what Miami looks similar now. The newest committee subordinate is Brenda  Freeman, who brings a wealthiness of C-suite acquisition and selling expertise. Super angel Mark Kingdon is present the committee president “and we’re thrilled to person him starring the board,” said Danta. The committee besides includes Melissa Krinzman of Krillion Ventures and Miami’s VC successful Residence, Nico Berardi of Animo Ventures and erstwhile person of Miami Angels, Tigre Wenrich of LAB Ventures and Marco Giberti of LAB Ventures.

For the past 25 years, Freeman has held C-suite roles including astir precocious for Arteza and Magic Leap successful South Florida and has been progressive connected nationalist and backstage boards. “Over clip I conscionable felt much and much of a tendency to bash the nurturing, accelerating and sending the elevator backmost down, if you will, for the GenZs,” she said. “Getting overmuch much into the aboriginal concern abstraction is conscionable thing that I person ever wanted to bash and present I person the quality to walk much clip doing it, and it’s been great.”

In the task superior space, Freeman said she believes powerfully successful advocating for underrepresented founders, peculiarly successful Miami, and wants to assistance bring them successful beforehand of the Miami Angels membership. That pleases Danta.

“We’re truly heavy focused connected bringing successful members from divers backgrounds, which has allowed america to put successful companies similar HeyMama,” said Danta, explaining that idiosyncratic members bring deals to the membership. Women present marque up 20% of Miami Angels, a fig Danta would similar to further improve. “Having women successful the radical who are starring deals for the remainder of the rank expands the benignant of companies we tin put in.” Worth noting: Miami Angels’ absorption squad is each women, too.

 What’s more, astir two-thirds of Miami Angels portfolio companies present person an underrepresented number successful tech connected their founding team, adjacent though the angel radical does not person a diverseness mandate. “It’s ever been portion of our DNA that bully founders tin travel from anywhere,” said Danta, adding that founders bash not request a lukewarm instauration to speech to Miami Angels.

Freeman has been impressed with the organization’s quality to triumph abstraction connected headdress tables based connected the membership’s relationships and past arsenic respected investors. “I was impressed with the level of strategizing, going done what’s successful the pipeline and knowing the ace blistery deals.”

More founders-turned-funders person been joining Miami Angels, a inclination that reflects the maturing of the Miami ecosystem. The Octopi co-founders and the Mikkolas of Wyncode joined aft their exits. “The Nearpod founders person been members for a mates of years but present immoderate of the employees are joining,” Danta said.

As for what is bubbling up successful Miami, the members are seeing continued spot successful medtech, proptech, fintech and edtech – and a caller country is of involvement and enactment is blockchain. Miami Angels is actively recruiting for members with involvement and expertise successful blockchain, arsenic good arsenic successful medtech, climatetech and integer media.

Reflecting connected the Miami ecosystem and what’s ahead,  Freeman noted that the mayor’s “amazing occupation creating a welcoming platform,” the flood of caller superior coming into the market, each the ecosystem players laying the infrastructure for years, and “a leveling up strategically with the acquisition system” to premier the endowment pipeline each springiness the Miami question staying powerfulness and substance to proceed accelerating.

“I deliberation it’s much than conscionable buzz, it’s perfectly present to stay. Miami is perfectly different applicable metropolis close adjacent to the Bay Area and New York,” Danta added. While she says a cardinal country of betterment needs to beryllium successful talent, large strides person been made: “Before we could truly number things astir connected your hand, and that’s nary longer the case.”

Danta reflects connected the Knight Foundation’s $350,000 concern to motorboat Miami Angels successful 2013. “With that backing we’ve invested implicit $17 cardinal into the ecosystem, into aboriginal signifier companies, and person 150 accredited investors successful our group. I deliberation it is harmless to accidental that it’s been 1 of the much palmy investments for them and we’re highly arrogant of that.”

Follow @ndahlberg connected Twitter and email her astatine [email protected]

The station Keep up! Miami Angels connected a rotation with grounds growth appeared archetypal connected Refresh Miami.