How angels invest
Investment sizes, stages and preferences, as indicated by angel investors in Norway.
If you are putting a round together, this is the shape of the money you are approaching.
The Ticket size decides how many angels your round needs
| Type of angel | Ticket sizes | What they do in a round |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Angel | 30–500 kNOK | The majority of Norwegian Angels. They complete a round others have shaped; often passive, and often operators with a day job. |
| Core Angel | 0.5–2 MNOK | You need at least one to lead or anchor a pre-seed round. Can be a sparring partner alongside the ticket; rarely takes a board seat. |
| Super Angel | 2–5 MNOK or more | Professional investors that can carry a round substantially alone. Usually requires regular follow up and close collaboration. |
Typical sizes of investment tickets by angels are such that small “round-filler” tickets have a median value of about 100 000 NOK, while the larger tickets have a median value of about 1 million NOK.
A pre-seed round is therefore typically assembled from several of these angels rather than closed by just one. A normal first or second round commonly includes 4 to 6 angels, depending on size. The angels that can anchor or lead a round is roughly one in six, and barely a handful can carry one alone. Plan your approach accordingly: find the anchor first, then fill the round.
How long does it take
An angel investment round typically takes 2–4 months to close, although the process can be much shorter for a well-prepared company with strong investor interest or considerably longer when the round is difficult to fill or core documentation is missing. The process usually starts with preparing the investment case and identifying suitable angels, followed by introductions, meetings, due diligence and negotiation of terms. Once an investor decides to invest, legal documentation and completion of the transaction can often happen relatively quickly, some investors are even able transfer the money just a few days after an agreement has been reached. This however is rare, and founders should generally plan for several months from the first investor conversations to having the full investment secured, rather than assuming that a funding round can be completed in a few weeks.
Most invest early, and most cannot follow on
Nearly all angels prefer to invest at a pre-seed level, and few will invest any later than a seed round. Less than a third of angels will consider investing at Series A, and also only about a third have capacity make follow on investments in later rounds.
Plan your next round on the assumption that most of your current angels will not be in it. At best their money is round-completing rather than round-sustaining, so expect that you have to land new core investors for each of your investment rounds.
Networks, investment companies and syndicates can give access to a materially larger combined amount than their members reach individually, so this is worth considering to anchor a round.
What arrives besides the money
Angels will commonly want to to assist you with their own competencies and network, so choose some of your angels based on what competency they can offer in addition to the capital.
The most common skills that angels can bring are technology and product, then operator experience as a founder or through an exit, then commercial and go-to-market, then finance and fundraising.
A majority of angels have no sector preference, and will invest in anything they find interesting. Among those with a stated focus, B2B SaaS and software dominate, followed by property technology. Domain specialists in the Norwegian market cluster primarily in four environments — construction and property, energy and climate, ocean and industry, and health.
A board seat is usually not the ask
Most angels indicate that they can accept both an active and a passive role, depending on the company — and it is rare for an investor to be cleanly either hands-on or hands-off.
Only about one in five investors require a board seat, and this is not connected to the ticket size.
Ready to talk to investors?
Startups looking for investment can be published directly to investors in the NorBAN network through our digital channels.
Submissions are evaluated for relevance before publication. NorBAN does not invest and makes no investment decisions – each angel decides for themselves, individually or together with other angels.
About these figures
The numbers above are compiled from NorBAN’s experience with the norwegian startup ecosystem across our investor database and ecosystem programs over the past decade. The numbers do not represent a formal study, and should only be considered rough estimates based on our experience with the ecosystem and self-reporting from angels in various capacities.