Spartanburg Angels Receives First Investment Returns

 

Spartanburg Angels, Spartanburg’s angel investment group that is part of VentureSouth, is pleased to announce a record-breaking first half of 2018 for membership growth, investing and returning its first capital to investors.

As part of VentureSouth, Spartanburg Angels’ members had two successful exits from their portfolio, returning to investors nearly seven times their investment in just under two years at an annual rate of return of over 150 percent. 

John Bauknight, a founding member, noted that “having a group of angel investors receive this type of return, even earned from outside Spartanburg, increases the funds available to invest locally in Spartanburg’s growing companies.”

Spartanburg Angels is also experiencing record growth. The number of local investors has almost doubled over the last six months. Those members have already invested in 12 companies in 2018. These include new companies like Threatswitch, a security and compliance software platform for heavily-regulated companies; Spiffy, the on-demand car care, technology, and services company; and Emergo Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical start-up.

It also includes fast-growing portfolio companies like Atlas Organics, Spartanburg’s own collector and composter of food waste. Joseph McMillin, founder and CEO of Atlas, stated that “receiving investment from a group of local investors brings capital, local supporters, and mentors who are sharing their expertise and connections to help us grow. Atlas received funding from a NY-based venture capital fund recently, after several investments from Spartanburg Angels.”

John Murphy, a member since the group formed in 2015, explains that “investing in early-stage companies helps keep me informed about new technologies and scientific breakthroughs that could change the world. Working with founders like Joseph and watching his business grow is important to supporting your investment. And the opportunity to generate attractive returns while having fun and supporting Spartanburg is appealing.”

Another member since 2015, Jay Shelley, said that he “likes that each investor can decide which companies they want to invest in and how much without it being a group decision.  Being able to invest a minimum of $5,000 per company in at least a dozen well-researched companies each year gives me great flexibility in my investment choices and spreads my risk.”

For more information, contact Erin Ouzts, director of Spartanburg Angels at erin@ventuesouth.vc or visit the website https://venturesouth.vc/spartanburg-angels/