Countryside Angels

What Countryside Angels does

Countryside Angels is a member-managed angel investment group operating as a program under Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA), based at 2009 4th St SW, Suite 1, Mason City, Iowa. It is not a fund nor an incorporated entity but a loosely organized community of accredited investors primarily from rural Iowa and Southeast Minnesota who collaborate on vetting deals and conducting due diligence. Membership is free to AgVA members, who must meet accredited investor thresholds (net worth above $1 million excluding primary residence, or income of $200,000 individual / $300,000 combined) and reside in areas outside cities of 50,000 or more. All members are automatically enrolled in the Angel Capital Association (ACA), gaining access to educational courses, webinars, and regional networking events.

The group's core offering is a structured quarterly investment process conducted via Zoom, in which two or three companies present business opportunities using a 15-minute pitch followed by a five-minute Q&A. Proposals are submitted two weeks ahead of meetings and short descriptions are circulated 10 days in advance; members then submit indication-of-interest forms. The minimum per-member investment commitment is $10,000 per deal, with each member retaining complete discretion over individual investment decisions. The group has completed six disclosed portfolio investments, all positioned in the agriculture and rural innovation space: Farmers Innovation Fund I (Mason City, IA), EmGenisys (Driftwood, TX), MicroMGX (Chicago, IL), Green Acres Milling (Albert Lea, MN), GRIPP (Kewaskum, WI), and Poultry Patrol (Wayzata, MN).

Commercially, Countryside Angels does not generate organizational revenue in the conventional sense; it charges no fees or carry and operates on volunteer member time. Its primary "customers" are two-sided: accredited investors seeking curated local deal flow and collaborative diligence, and early-stage AgTech and rural-innovation startups seeking seed capital to bridge toward Series A. The organization reaches prospective portfolio companies and members through the AgVA website, ACA events, quarterly Zoom pitches, and word-of-mouth referrals within the rural Midwest investment community.

Name

Countryside Angels

Legal name

Countryside Angels

Website

https://countrysideangels.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Countryside Angels is a member-managed angel investment group under Ag Ventures Alliance, connecting accredited investors from rural Iowa and Southeast Minnesota with early-stage AgTech and rural-innovation startups through quarterly Zoom pitches and collaborative due diligence.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Angel Investing Services

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Angel investing network
• Agricultural venture capital
• Accredited investor group
• Collaborative due diligence
• Rural startup funding

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: Countryside Angels generates returns through successful portfolio company exits. As a member-managed entity that is not a fund or incorporated entity, revenue comes from capital gains on investments made by individual members rather than fees charged by the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Countryside Angels is a member-managed angel investor network operating under Ag Ventures Alliance that connects accredited investors from rural Iowa and Southeast Minnesota with early-stage agricultural and rural innovation companies seeking funding. Members collaborate on deal screening, due diligence, and term negotiation through quarterly Zoom pitch events, with each member making individual investment decisions subject to a $10,000 minimum commitment per deal. Membership is free to Ag Ventures Alliance members, and all members automatically receive Angel Capital Association (ACA) membership with access to angel investing educational resources.

Product overview

Countryside Angels operates as a member-managed angel investor network affiliated with Ag Ventures Alliance, primarily serving accredited investors from Iowa and Southeast Minnesota. The core offering is an angel investment network that provides deal flow access to early-stage companies, facilitated through quarterly Zoom presentations, collaborative due diligence, and shared term negotiations. Membership in Ag Ventures Alliance is required, and all members receive automatic enrollment in the Angel Capital Association for educational resources. The portfolio includes six completed investments across agricultural technology companies in the Midwest region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Angel Investor Network Membership Membership-based service for accredited investors providing curated access to early-stage agricultural and rural innovation deal flow, quarterly pitch presentations, shared due diligence, cooperative term negotiation, and networking with co-investors from Iowa and Southeast Minnesota.
• Angel Capital Association Educational Resources Educational programming and resources available through automatic Angel Capital Association (ACA) membership, including courses such as Introduction to Angel Investing, Fundamentals of Angel Investing, and Term Sheet Basics, plus free webinars, regional networking events, the ACA Annual Summit, and the directory of angel groups in North America.

Quantifiable outcome

• Streamlined investment process with quarterly meetings, 15-minute presentations, and 5-minute Q&A sessions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Angel Capital Association (ACA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAll Countryside Angels members automatically become members of the Angel Capital Association, gaining access to educational courses (Introduction to Angel Investing, Fundamentals of Angel Investing, Term Sheet Basics), free webinars, regional networking events, the ACA Annual Summit, directory of angel groups in North America, and member bulletins. ACA provides resources and benefits supporting investment activities.
• Ag Ventures AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCountryside Angels is a program under Ag Ventures Alliance. Membership in Countryside Angels is free to AgVA members. AgVA serves farmers, founders, and investors in the agricultural innovation ecosystem. The organization provides the administrative and strategic framework for Countryside Angels operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cultivian Sandbox Ventures: AgTech-focused venture capital firm investing in early- and growth-stage agriculture and food companies. Directly comparable to Countryside Angels as a specialist AgTech investor targeting founder-led, rural-adjacent companies.
• Finistere Ventures: Early- to growth-stage AgTech and food venture capital firm. Direct peer given overlapping thesis on agricultural innovation investing with comparable deal-stage focus.
• AgFunder: Venture capital platform and news/research operation focused on AgTech and food innovation. Comparable as an AgTech-specific capital and intelligence platform with global deal flow intersecting Countryside Angels' niche.
• Acre Venture Partners: Venture fund focused on agriculture, food, and climate technology investments. Comparable as an early-stage AgTech investor with thesis overlap to Countryside Angels' portfolio focus.
• S2G Ventures: Multi-stage AgTech and food investor backing companies across the agricultural value chain. Comparable as a specialist AgTech capital provider, though operating at meaningfully larger fund scale than Countryside Angels.
• Fall Line Capital: Middle-America focused fund investing in farmland and agricultural technology. Direct peer given shared geographic concentration in rural Midwest and shared AgTech deal flow with rural enterprise founders.

Broad incumbents

• Leaps by Bayer: Strategic investment arm of Bayer focused on agricultural and life-science breakthroughs. Broad incumbent positioning that overshadows specialist AgTech syndicates like Countryside Angels in late-stage rounds, with potential to be a downstream acquirer of Countryside portfolio companies.
• Syngenta Group Ventures: Corporate venture arm of Syngenta Group investing in AgTech and adjacent innovations. Broad incumbent comparable that often participates in AgTech rounds Countryside Angels targets and serves as a likely exit channel.

Emerging players

• gener8tor: Midwest-headquartered accelerator and investment platform running cohort-based programs. Partial overlap as an early-stage investor for founders in the Upper Midwest, with growing AgTech programming that intersects Countryside Angels' deal sourcing.

Others

• Ag Ventures Alliance: Parent organization of Countryside Angels providing the administrative and strategic framework for the angel group's operations. Included as the structural parent rather than a competitive peer, but materially shapes Countryside Angels' operating model and pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Countryside Angels