Angel capital comes in a lot earlier than venture capital. In regard to developing a technology, it costs money to just actually validate a technology so that you can get sophisticated investors. I should exclude the word “sophisticated”. What I mean is investors who look at it as a larger investment.
When you look at angels, people usually think of your rich uncle or your parents or your close associates as your angels, and it expands from there. I think angels can invest from a minimum amount of $20,000 to millions.
In regard to encouraging the angel sector, not just in the life sciences sector but in the knowledge-based industries, I personally believe, because I deal with a lot of these angels, that the capital gains should be eliminated for those particular sectors because the risk is so great. This is the big joke when you go to knowledge-based conferences: “You know how you become a millionaire in life science? Start with a billion”.