About: Dan Para Investments, LLC
Dan Para Investments, LLC is an angel investment group that participates in many different forms of investing ranging from real estate, to transportation and logistics, to banking. DPI is a member-managed limited liability company, organized to provide members opportunities for active involvement in a diversified venture capital process. DPI consists of highly successful investors with solid experience in selecting investments and in assisting in the growth of the group's portfolio companies. DPI’s members come from diverse backgrounds of professional and private equity experiences: entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors, as well as people from financial and professional service industries and, importantly, people with operational experience in a variety of industries. We seek to partner with strong management teams to build companies of the highest quality that attract the best talent and deliver excellent returns for shareholders.
What is an Angel Investor?
Angels typically invest their own funds, unlike venture capitalists who manage the pooled money of others in a professionally-managed fund. Although typically reflecting the investment judgment of an individual, the actual entity that provides the funding may be a trust, business, limited liability company, investment fund, etc. Angel capital fills the gap in start-up financing between "friends and family" (sometimes humorously called "friends, family, and fools") who provide seed funding, and venture capital. Although it is usually difficult to raise more than a few hundred thousand dollars from friends and family, most traditional venture capital funds are usually not able to consider investments under US$1–2 million. Thus, angel investment is a common second round of financing for high-growth start-ups, and accounts in total for almost as much money invested annually as all venture capital funds combined, but into more than ten times as many companies (US$25.6 billion vs. $26.1 billion in the US in 2006, into 51,000 companies vs. 3,522 companies.) Of the 51,000 US companies that received angel funding in 2006, the average raise was about US$500,000. Healthcare services, and medical devices and equipment accounted for the largest share of angel investments, with 21 percent of total angel investments in 2006, followed by software (18 percent) and biotech (18 percent). The remaining investments were approximately equally weighted across high-tech sectors.