Meet the Startup Roundtable, a new startup backed by eFounders that wants to bring community-driven angel investment to European startups. The company has built a platform that eases the administrative, legal and financial hassles that come with angel investments.
Roundtable can be especially useful for existing angel investors looking to unlock some additional capital for their portfolio companies. When they want to invest in a startup, they can create an EU-based special purpose vehicle (SPV) and tell their friends to invest alongside them.
For non-professional investors, the barrier to entry is reduced as there is no lawyer, accountant, banker, etc.
When the lead angel sets up an SPV, they can choose to get some interest from other investors in the vehicle – but that’s optional. Down the road, Roundtable can handle partial exits if some investors want to exit the startup while others want to remain shareholders.
We are launching a solution that meets the needs of non-professional European investors and allows them to invest in just a few clicks. When it comes to networking and experience, everyone,” said Evan Testa, co-founder and CEO of Roundtable. Roundtable was co-founded by Evan Testa, Julien Fisette and Simon Ternoyer.
Now, the Round Table operates in France and Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Since June, the startup has facilitated 40 deals worth nearly 20 million euros ($20 million at today’s exchange rate). On average, there are 20 investors per investment.
Like AngelList, Roundtable doesn’t intend to stop there. Once they clear this experience for a one-time deal, the company wants to encourage a super angel investor who wants to be the sole general partner of their own small VC fund.
Due to the legal hurdles that come with angel investment, there is clearly an opportunity for a local angelist counterpart in Europe. It will be interesting to see if the angel investment community adopts a standardized platform like Roundtable in the future.
