Once a year some of the top Angel investors in the world gather to share ideas, best practices, hot deals and many a war story.
You might expect this event to take place in Silicon Valley, but instead, it takes place in the magnificent city of Istanbul in Turkey. With its staggering history and cultural legacy, Turkey is believed to be the birthplace of the very first currency. A fitting location then for startups looking to score their very first investments!
This gathering of hundreds of Angel investors from around the world (and not a few ambitious entrepreneurs) leads to many different tracks of meetings and conversations. Tech, Impact, Biotech, Female Founders and many more drive conversations, connections and hopefully, ultimately, a well-funded ecosystem allowing more entrepreneurs to flourish and more investors to profit.
Indeed, the world of Angel investing, previously overlooked by many ‘sophisticated’ investors is suddenly starting to take on a whole new appeal. After a 10-year bull run in the markets, you would be hard pressed to find a bargain and there is a creeping feeling that the best years of the public market may be behind us. Private Equity (PE) has been very attractive for investors but there are now way more PE firms then there are deals looking to happen and the industry is sitting on more than a trillion of ‘dry powder’. The deals they do have gone from 6x EBITDA 20 years ago to 14x EBITDA today. Overpaying for companies and then saddling them with huge amounts of leverage is also starting to look a decidedly shaky strategy in a world of rising interest rates.
And investors find themselves wondering whether the answer to their woes is to get into deals early. To go directly to the source. But investing in startups is not for the faint-hearted. The success of Uber and Airbnb make the news precisely because they are so rare. However, if you’re going to play the game, the best way to do it is to surround yourself with those who have been before, who have learnt the lessons and can hold your hand through the perilous journey. And thus, World Business Angel Investment Forum was created!
If you’re serious about Angel investing then book your tickets and come and learn from the best. It will open up a worldwide network for you.
February 18-20th 2019
Istanbul, Turkey
http://www.wbaf2019.istanbul/
AsianEntrepreneur.org is a proud partner of WBAF
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This article is part of the World Business Angel Forum media partnership with AsianEntrepreneur.org
If you would like more information about WBAF, please contact Callum Laing WBAF High Commissioner for Singapore. [email protected]
