Founding Angels as an Emerging Investment Model in High-Tech Areas

Several hurdles hamper the commercialization of (scientific) knowledge, especially in Europe. Both from a financial and operational perspective, opportunities emerge for new business models to support new technology-based firms' (NTBFs) development, including academic spin-offs (ASOs). This article introduces the founding angels (FA) concept and provides empirical evidence based on expert interviews and survey data collected from key stakeholders to elucidate the potential of this business model. The results suggest FAs could provide more early-stage support for NTBFs and ASOs to complement the support from business angels or venture capitalists. A survey of technology transfer offices indicates that they might see a relevant role for the FA in successfully bringing more technologies to the market. © 2013 Institutional Investor. All Rights Reserved.