NEXUS strives to reduce the barriers Florida entrepreneurs face moving from the idea stage to growth and sustainability. Our goal is wealth creation for Florida companies, their teams and our investor members.
Name of Angel Group / VC Fund: Florida Angel Nexus (NEXUS)
Location: Florida
Website: www.floridaangelnexus.co
Operations Manager: Eric X. Ramos
This article is part of our Startup Investor Spotlight Series featuring Angel Networks / Funds and VC Funds. We hope these spotlights will inform and inspire the entrepreneur concerning funding options and opportunities.
There are numerous operating models being pursued by angel networks / funds and VC funds. How does yours work? How does it differentiate you?
NEXUS is a nonprofit membership organization that connects individual investors with funding opportunities for early-stage high-growth companies. To put it simply, we are the eHarmony for matching entrepreneurs with individual accredited investors, funds and family offices.
In what industries and sectors do you invest? Are there specific industries, sectors or types of opportunities in which you don’t invest?
There is no industry specific that NEXUS members target. One benefit of joining an angel group is that investors with a dominant industry focus can connect with other investors with expertise in diverse industries. It gives them the opportunity to exchange information and knowledge to make more informed decisions. We seek strong teams addressing significant market opportunities with differentiated, defendable, and scalable business models. Our members have invested in 50 Florida companies and many have been B2B software platforms.
Does your organization have any geographic preferences upon which you build your portfolio?
NEXUS strives to reduce the barriers Florida entrepreneurs face moving from the idea stage to growth and sustainability. Our goal is wealth creation for Florida companies, their teams and our investor members. The group is improving Florida’s funding environment to become a prominent investment corridor that attracts, creates, and retains the best talent and high paying jobs for our state.
What key attributes do you look for when selecting companies for investment?
NEXUS does not invest in companies since we are a nonprofit community. Our members seek out the qualities of scalable ventures. Outlined in detail on our website at
The seven main qualities our investors look for are:
- Strong Management Team
- A Sustainable Competitive Advantage
- An Opportunity for Exceptional ROI with a Technology
- A Company that Solves a Pressing Need
- Niche Dominance
- High Growth Potential
- A Credible Strategy for the Use of Funds
3 Critical Founder Contributions for a Startup: Money, Commitment and Effort
At what stage(s) of the startups’ development do you prefer to invest?
Our members prefer to look at companies with some revenue, but are open to looking at companies across the spectrum. Most investments have had less than $1M in revenue to date and a valuation less than $10M.
Tell us more about your team. Do you work with companies beyond the provision of funding? If so, how do you support them?
We have the Dream Team at NEXUS. Our office is full of high-energy, passionate people who are entrepreneurs at heart. The NEXUS team preps companies before they pitch to investors. We ask the companies what investors typically ask and help coach them on their presentation. We also offer resources on our website that any company can access to learn more about raising early-stage capital to increase their credibility and possibly of raising funds. Our team, members and partners make connections to support the companies with revenue and milestones.
Next Step, Screening Meeting With Interested Angel Group; Are You Prepared?
Are there key startups which serve as examples of the types of investment you like to pursue? What specifically differentiates them?
We want to support the strongest teams to raise capital. For this question I would refer to the traits of scalable ventures. All 50 companies NEXUS members have invested in are still in operation and growing.
What trends in the startup world are you most excited about?
We are excited about the increasing support for entrepreneurs across Florida and our state’s population of dedicated investors getting off the sidelines to mentor, provide connections and invest in our strongest teams.
What else would you like to share?
If you are an investor looking to invest in an alternative asset class, joining an angel group is a great way to diversity your portfolio. The Kauffman Foundation found that average angel returns are 20-25% annually, if you build a portfolio, conduct 20+ hours of combined due diligence per deal with your peers including investors with industry expertise.
If there are early stage companies located in Florida, or are planning to relocate here, we encourage them to apply.
Are you familiar with other Angel Groups / Funds or VC Funds that you believe should be spotlighted? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them, sharing your comments below.
Pam Goforth
Pam Goforth is Research Manager for FundingSage, which provides valuable information, tools and resources to entrepreneurs seeking to start, grow and fund a business.
