Empire Angels
Empire Angels is a privately held, member-led angel investor network headquartered in New York with a London chapter, pooling capital from millennial accredited investors to back early-stage ventures via Slack-based voting and a hybrid pooled-fund-plus-direct-investment model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Empire Angels does
Empire Angels is a privately held, member-led angel investor network organized as Empire Angels, LLC. Founded in New York circa 2012–2013 by Christina Bechhold Russ (later joined by co-founder and Founding Managing Director Graham Gullans), the group is described as a diverse community of millennial and young-professional accredited investors (under SEC Rule 501) targeting early-stage ventures, with an explicit emphasis on supporting young entrepreneurs. As of 2019, the network operated two chapters — its New York headquarters and a London chapter launched that year — and was positioned as "The New Guard" against legacy angel groups.
The operating model combines a pooled majority-vote fund with individual direct investments by members. Entrepreneurs pitch in person at member meetings; deals are then sourced, collaboratively diligenced, and voted on monthly through a Slack-based deal-flow and voting platform, designed to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate decisions relative to traditional angel groups. Typical per-company investment size is approximately $75,000 (£58,000) per the February 2019 Sunday Times profile. Members must serve on at least one committee, make at least one investment per year, attend ≥50% of meetings and pitches, and actively refer new accredited investors with expertise in marketing, sales, operations, accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Economically, Empire Angels generates returns — and any associated management or carried-interest economics — from the pooled fund, with individual members realizing returns on their direct co-investments; the group does not publish revenue, AUM, fee, or carry figures. Named portfolio investments as of 2019 included The Infatuation (restaurant reviews, which subsequently raised $30M from Jeffrey Katzenberg), Zoomcar (self-drive car rental), and The Prom (Broadway musical). Marketing and member acquisition are primarily relationship-driven via the WordPress-hosted empireangels.com blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, member referrals, and earned media coverage, though the public blog currently appears to carry significant auto-generated casino/gambling content, indicating reduced editorial upkeep.
Empire Angels firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Empire Angels
- Legal name
- Empire Angels, LLC
- Website
- https://empireangels.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Empire Angels is a privately held, member-led angel investor network headquartered in New York with a London chapter, pooling capital from millennial accredited investors to back early-stage ventures via Slack-based voting and a hybrid pooled-fund-plus-direct-investment model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Empire Angels industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Angel Investing / Early-Stage Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Growth Equity Fund-of-Funds (FSANAGAE)
Keywords
Where Empire Angels is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Empire Angels business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Fund-based investing (majority-vote): Empire Angels operates a pooled fund that invests in early-stage ventures by majority member vote, generating returns (and any carried interest / management economics) on the deployed capital.
- Direct angel investments by individual members: Diverse network of accredited investors invests directly in companies they are excited about outside the fund vehicle; returns accrue to individual members based on their personal allocations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Per-deal typical check: ~$75,000 (£58,000) |
| Other | Annual | Minimum activity: one investment per calendar year + ≥50% meeting attendance |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Empire Angels product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Empire Angels is a member-led, NYC-headquartered angel investor network and pooled seed fund for accredited millennial/young professional investors who collectively evaluate and back early-stage ventures. Capital is deployed either through a pooled majority-vote fund or by individual members investing directly, with typical per-company checks of approximately $75,000, evaluated through Slack-based deal sourcing and monthly member votes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Empire Angels Pooled Seed Fund
- Empire Angels Direct-Investment Network
- Empire Angels Member Network (NYC + London chapters)
Quantifiable outcome
- Typical per-company investment size of ~$75,000 (£58,000)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Empire Angels
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Empire Angels technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Empire Angels partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Angel Capital Association (ACA)minorAngel Capital Association (ACA) logo displayed on the Empire Angels homepage (footer image alt text "ACA (1)"), indicating Empire Angels' membership/affiliation with the US angel-investor industry association. No additional details about the affiliation (term, tier, year joined) are disclosed in the source.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Empire Angels competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pipeline Angels: Member-led angel network focused on funding women and non-binary founders. Comparable to Empire Angels on the curated, mission-oriented member-led angel model and on the active community- and mentorship-driven approach to portfolio support.
- Hyde Park Angels: Chicago-based member-led angel network that combines a fund and direct investments with collaborative diligence. Comparable to Empire Angels on the hybrid fund/network structure, member-driven deal sourcing, and focus on supporting early-stage founders.
- Golden Seeds: U.S. member-led angel network with a fund + direct structure, focused on investing in women-led companies. Closely comparable to Empire Angels on the pooled fund + direct investment model and emphasis on a defined member cohort.
- Sand Hill Angels: Silicon Valley-based member-led angel group using a pooled fund plus individual investing, with a focus on early-stage tech. Directly comparable to Empire Angels on structure (fund + direct) and on majority-vote fund mechanics.
- New York Angels: One of the largest and longest-running NYC-based member-led angel networks. Directly comparable to Empire Angels on geography, member-led accredited-investor model, and early-stage check-writing, though with a more senior demographic and larger typical check sizes.
Emerging players
- Republic: Retail-accessible investment platform for startups, crypto, and real estate. Comparable to Empire Angels as a community-driven early-stage capital channel, but open to non-accredited investors and with a tech-platform rather than member-led club model.
- Wefunder: Equity crowdfunding platform enabling community-backed seed rounds. Comparable to Empire Angels on the community-driven approach to early-stage funding, but operates as an open online platform rather than a curated angel network.
Broad incumbents
- Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor with a large mentor and investor network. Comparable to Empire Angels as a broad early-stage capital + community platform, but with an accelerator-driven model rather than a pure angel group.
- AngelList (now AngelList Venture): Platform enabling rolling funds, syndicates, and SPVs for angel investors. Comparable to Empire Angels as infrastructure through which accredited investors source and back early-stage deals, but at vastly greater scale and without a curated member community.
Others
- Female Founders Fund: Early-stage venture fund investing in women-led companies. Adjacent to Empire Angels as a young-founder-focused capital provider; not a member-led angel network, but thematically comparable on mission-driven early-stage investing in an underserved cohort.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Empire Angels social profiles
Digital presenceEmpire Angels financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Empire Angels leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Empire Angels funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Empire Angels M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments38 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Empire Angels
What does Empire Angels do?
Empire Angels is a member-led, NYC-headquartered angel investor network and pooled seed fund for accredited millennial/young professional investors who collectively evaluate and back early-stage ventures. Capital is deployed either through a pooled majority-vote fund or by individual members investing directly, with typical per-company checks of approximately $75,000, evaluated through Slack-based deal sourcing and monthly member votes.
Is Empire Angels a public or private company?
Empire Angels is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Empire Angels founded?
Empire Angels was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Empire Angels based?
Empire Angels is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Empire Angels make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fund-based investing (majority-vote) is the primary driver. The others are direct angel investments by individual members.
Who are Empire Angels's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pipeline Angels, Hyde Park Angels, Golden Seeds, Sand Hill Angels and New York Angels. Emerging players are Republic and Wefunder. Broad incumbents are Techstars and AngelList (now AngelList Venture). Female Founders Fund is listed as an others.
Does Empire Angels have an API?
No public API is recorded for Empire Angels.
What industry is Empire Angels in?
Empire Angels's product category is Angel Investing / Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAI, Micro-VC & Angel Funds, with a secondary code of FSANAGAE, Growth Equity Fund-of-Funds. Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.