By José Ángel de la Paz

Angel investment in Mexico has evolved, but there is still room to expand its scope, explained Israel Pons, CEO and founding partner of Angels Nest LATAM.

“In the country, the number of angel investors has grown from 20 in 2008 to over 800 in 2018. However, less than 5% of investments in Mexico are carried out by this figure,” said the specialist.

Pons, as the keynote speaker at the INC Investment Forum, an exclusive forum organized by EGADE Business School within INCmty 2019, sought to share best practices with angel investors for placing their investments and achieving growth.

In his conference, “CrossBorder Angel Investment time to grow your portfolio”, Pons set out the elements that inspire investors to inject capital in startups or business ideas during the early stages. 

“They are looking for scalable businesses, protectable intellectual property, good ROI and a clear exit strategy,” he stated.

The keynote speaker recommended these strategies to angel investors for improving their portfolio:

• Consider that 50% of all investments fail.
• Build a portfolio with at least 10 investments.
• Take your time; there’s no hurry.
• Join an angel club or network.
• Maintain a fund of a further 20% for each investment for follow-up calls.
• Invest in projects with the potential for international growth.
• Operate in emerging markets with a high percentage of growth and technology adoption.

The INC Investment Forum was inaugurated by Rogelio de los Santos, President of the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Entrepreneurship Institute and Director of INCmty.

The forum included the panel “Experiences and insights on the early stage investment”, moderated by Fernando Moya, Director of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation, EGADE Business School.

The two-day program included the presentation of Next-e, 3D THEA, Kolecty, Nomu, Paroute and ALIS, six startups in Nuevo León and INC Accelerator participants, who are looking for investors, the panel “Investment ecosystem strategies and instruments”, and the workshop “Use of convertible instruments in Mexico”, among other activities.

Participating forum partners were Angel Ventures, Angels Nest, Dalus Capital, BlueBox Ventures, Angel Hub and Arkangeles.