Consumer Web Collaboration at Open Angel Forum Boston

Last Friday evening I participated in the inaugural Open Angel Forum Boston at Polaris’ Dogpatch Labs. Hosted by Jason Calacanis, the event was another demonstration of the refreshing evolution of perspectives towards the consumer web from our region’s angel investment leaders.

Jason created Open Angel Forum as a mechanism for providing emerging entrepreneurs free access to angel capital and guidance. As many of the participants pointed out, the vast majority of organized angel groups in New England have never charged access fees to entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, investor attendees including my friend Lee Hower found the format unique given its small, intimate nature and the types of entrepreneurs selected to present.

Each startup was given 5 minutes of presentation time followed by 5 minutes of Q&A, which included not only questions but also guidance on market focus, product roadmap and distribution strategy. The discussions amongst the diverse group of startups and investors was highly collaborative. The entrepreneurs selected by Jason and his team, many of which were new to investors and all of which touched the consumer web, elicited an engaged conversation from the audience.

Investors at the event ranged from individual angels, to leaders of angel groups and seed funds. Based on the overall conversation, local investors are clearly excited about the emergence of desktop and mobile web-based consumer opportunities in the region. When investors were asked to introduce themselves, a few consumer web services, such as Ziad Sultan and David Opolon’s Marginize, were mentioned. One angel even lamented the inability to join the recent Marginize round given how rapidly it was raised.

Some experienced angel investors at the event inferred that the relative lack of angel funding for consumer web models has been driven in part by the backgrounds of the local investor base. Many leading VCs have come out of traditional software businesses and thus have less comfort with the consumer web. This dynamic is even more pronounced amongst angel groups, which rely on generating even broader consensus amongst members to build a syndicate, which steers those groups towards more familiar, traditional investment opportunities.

However, we are seeing more and more angels break from the pack and make significant consumer bets. Leaders of large angel groups are also forming smaller, progressive syndicates of their membership to back these opportunities. Newer angels like Dharmesh Shah, who boldy committed to invest in Marginize at TechStars Demo Night, are also helping draw more traditional angels into these waters. 

While there is still room to grow, it’s apparent that investor sentiment in the region towards the consumer web is changing.