High Value-Added Business Angels at post-investment stages: Key predictors

This article examines the differences and features displayed by business angels (BAs), depending on the extent of their involvement with, and support for, the start-ups they finance measured by expertise, experience and contacts. With a sample of 293 Spanish BAs, using data obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey, our results indicate that investors who develop more rigorous screening processes in the pre-investment process and hold regular meetings with founder teams are more likely to become High Value-Added Business Angels (HVBAs). Accordingly, the ability of BAs to transfer so-called ‘smart capital’ is conditioned by the levels of screening and assessment applied at the pre-investment stage in terms of both the quality of projects and founder teams and the extent to which the expectations and profiles of the two parties match.