Angellist Ruv Simplifies Capital Raising for Startups

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Posted Oct 31, 2024

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Green sticky notes with startup goals on a wooden desk with pens.
Credit: pexels.com, Green sticky notes with startup goals on a wooden desk with pens.

Angellist Ruv is a game-changer for startups looking to raise capital. It streamlines the process, making it easier and faster for entrepreneurs to connect with investors.

By leveraging technology, Angellist Ruv reduces the complexity and time-consuming nature of traditional fundraising methods. This allows startups to focus on what matters most - growing their business.

With Angellist Ruv, startups can create a digital profile, showcase their pitch, and connect with a network of investors. This access to capital is a huge advantage for startups that might not have otherwise been able to secure funding.

LPs/Investors

Angellist Ruv is a platform that offers a range of benefits to Limited Partners (LPs) and investors.

As an LP, you can access a diversified portfolio of startups, reducing the risk associated with individual investments. Angellist Ruv allows you to invest in a curated selection of startups, ensuring that your portfolio is well-balanced and diversified.

With Angellist Ruv, you can also enjoy tax benefits, as the platform is designed to optimize tax efficiency for LPs. This means you can minimize your tax liability while still achieving your investment goals.

Credit: youtube.com, Todd & Rahul's Rolling Fund | AngelList Venture

Angellist Ruv provides a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to manage your investments, track your portfolio, and receive regular updates on your investments' performance. You can also access a comprehensive dashboard that provides real-time insights into your investments.

By investing through Angellist Ruv, you can gain access to a network of experienced investors and industry experts who can provide valuable insights and guidance. This can be particularly useful for LPs who are new to investing in startups.

Investor Dynamics

AngelList's platform has made it easy for individual investors to invest in GP funds, with over $1 billion invested in deals in 2021. This is a significant source of investment for GPs beyond traditional VC funds or direct checks.

AngelList's Syndicates have seen over $1.2 billion invested, with ~61% of it coming from AngelList LPs. Syndicates allow an individual LP to invest alongside an experienced lead investor (GP) on a deal.

GPs can create a Syndicate on AngelList's platform, making it discoverable to AngelList LPs. This was AngelList Venture's first LP <> GP product.

LPs vs GPs

Credit: youtube.com, [Webinar] What do LPs want to hear from GPs?​

LPs and GPs have distinct roles in the investment process. LPs, or Limited Partners, are individual investors who put their money into funds managed by General Partners, or GPs.

AngelList Venture has made it easier for LPs to invest in GPs by listing GP funds on its platform. This allows LPs to invest through AngelList, rather than through traditional VC funds or writing checks directly.

LPs invested over $1 billion in deals through AngelList in 2021, making it a significant source of investment for GPs. This is a testament to the growing popularity of AngelList as an investment platform.

LPs can also invest in Syndicates, which are SPVs that allow an individual LP to invest alongside an experienced lead investor (GP) on a deal. Over $1.2 billion has been invested in Syndicates by LPs, with 61% of it coming from AngelList LPs.

Here's a breakdown of the fund flow for AngelList Syndicates:

GPs typically charge LPs a management fee that is 1-2% of the total fund size. This fee is calculated for a fund duration of 10 years and paid to GPs over the first 4 years.

Secondary Sales Market

Credit: youtube.com, Dynamics in the private capital secondary market - webinar

RUVs are a great option for startups seeking an early round of venture capital, especially when planning to raise another round in the future.

Companies like CartaX and Pulley are already providing cap table management products to unlock the cap table as leverage for founders to attract talent and provide liquidity to employees/investors.

AngelList is catching up in this space with its ability to spin up SPVs and wrap them into different products rapidly, allowing startups to offer liquidity to their employees regularly.

AngelList creates an SPV at regular intervals that acquire shares from employees, making the process of executing multiple agreements between buyers and sellers much simpler for founders.

Founder Tools and Resources

AngelList has developed various founder tools to support startups, including Stack, which competes with existing tools like Stripe Atlas, Mercury, Carta/Pulley, and Fairmint.

Ravikant believes that incentives drive everything, and he's willing to spin out successful experiments to better align them. This allows teams to focus on a narrower problem and be directly rewarded for their efforts.

By adjusting incentives, AngelList has seen positive results. For instance, when Republic was still in its early life, AngelList owned roughly 70% of the company, but gave up a large portion of their stake to make room for new capital.

Align Incentives

Credit: youtube.com, Founders Need to Manage Incentives | YEC Member - Dr Steven Lee

Aligning incentives is crucial for driving success in your startup. Incentives play a pivotal role in how companies conceive of their associated businesses.

Ravikant's company, AngelList, spins out its most successful experiments to align incentives. This structure allows teams to focus on a narrower problem and be directly rewarded for their efforts.

Having a team jointly running multiple businesses can be inefficient. AngelList's approach of starting fresh with incentives suited to the task at hand is a better way to move quickly.

Adjusting incentives can be essential when circumstances demand. AngelList gave up a large portion of their stake in Republic, making room for new capital and aligning incentives for the founding team.

This maneuver had a significant impact on Republic's performance. The company seemed to operate much more effectively after the incentive structure was adjusted.

Founder Tools

AngelList has been expanding its offerings to support founders with various tools. It launched Stack, a tool that competes with other platforms like Stripe Atlas and Mercury for wallet share.

Credit: youtube.com, 10 Tools That Every Startup Founder Needs to Know About

Founders can use Stack to streamline their cap tables and fundraising processes. AngelList also offers a feature called Roll Up Vehicles (RUVs) that allows founders to consolidate allocations from up to 249 investors into a single line item on their cap table.

RUVs simplify the cap table and make it easier to manage, especially for second-time founders who have experienced complex cap tables in the past. This feature is free for Delaware-based startups and charges $2500 for non-Delaware-based startups or those requiring customizations.

AngelList Venture has traditionally focused on LPs, but the introduction of RUVs shows its commitment to supporting founders. RUVs are a loss leader product designed to attract founders who can bring new potential LPs to AngelList, and founders can even become LPs in the future.

Bootstrapping Capital Supply

AngelList has a clever approach to increasing the value of its platform by bootstrapping capital supply. This involves creating venture vehicles of its own to invest in startups on the platform.

Credit: youtube.com, Bootstrapped vs Funding: Which Is Better for Your Startup? 🤔

In 2014, the company launched Maiden Lane, a $25 million vehicle designed to invest in syndicates. This was the beginning of a repeated tactic by AngelList to increase the value of its platform.

AngelList partnered with CSC Venture Capital in 2015, committing to invest $400 million in early-stage deals on the platform. This sum was referred to as "the largest single pool of funds devoted to early-stage startups–ever."

AngelList's team created SAX Capital, a registered investment advisor, in 2016. SAX initially seemed to be used to purchase secondary shares on the platform.

SAX Capital has taken on another role, serving as an "advisor" to vehicles that wish to focus on "non-qualifying" investments. This has enabled firms to invest in other funds or buy secondary shares, cryptocurrencies, or debt instruments.

AngelList's Access Fund, launched in 2020, backs investors on the platform. It's effectively a fund of funds, allowing users to create a startup index with a single check.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between SPV and RUV?

SPV and RUV are both investment vehicles, but a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is a general term, while a Roll-Up Vehicle (RUV) is a specific type of SPV designed for founders and angel investors to pool investments

How much does the RUV cost?

The RUV costs approximately $8,000, making it a cost-effective option for founders and investors alike.

Sources

  1. AngelList Venture revenue, valuation & growth rate | Sacra (sacra.com)
  2. suggested (mercurynews.com)
  3. recruiting (cnet.com)
  4. launched (techcrunch.com)
  5. DST Global (generalist.com)
  6. Introducing Roll Up Vehicles (angellist.com)
  7. Roll Up Vehicle (RUV): Definition and Benefits (fincent.com)
  8. requirement (angel.co)

Caroline Cruickshank

Senior Writer

Caroline Cruickshank is a skilled writer with a diverse portfolio of articles across various categories. Her expertise spans topics such as living individuals, business leaders, and notable figures in the venture capital industry. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Caroline crafts engaging and informative content that captivates her readers.