BOSTON—TiE Boston Angels, which was launched in Boston in 2011, has become the largest angel investment group among all TiE chapters, says Vivek Soni, an early-stage investor and Managing Director of TiE Boston Angels.
In an exclusive interview with INDIA New England News, Mr. Soni talks about the venture capital industry, especially its angel investment segment.
To watch the full interview, please click here or on the image below.
As Managing Director, Mr. Soni oversees the operation of TiE Boston Angels’ activities and partnerships. Since its founding in 2011, TiE Boston Angels has invested $18.27 million in 81 deals in 50 companies.
“We are averaging about $2 million in 10 deals a year. Sweet spot is seed stage,” says Mr. Soni. “Over 90 members have invested in our deals. Some of our investors are Board Directors or Board Advisors for the companies we have invested in. Many of our investments have made great progress and increased significantly in value since we invested.”
He says TiE Boston Angels has contribyted the largest investment amount among TiE Chapters.
“We are now coordinating with other TiE Chapters to actively syndicate deals in North America and promote Angel Investing at all TiE Chapters,” says Mr. Soni. “We are also very active in our engagement with the Angel Capital Association that represents Angel Groups across the US.”
Total angel investments in 2020 were $25.3 billion, an increase of 6 percent over 2019. A total of 64,480 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding, an increase of 1.2 percent over 2019 investments. The number of active investors also increased to 334,680 as compared to 323,365 in 2019, an increase of 3.5 percent.
Mr. Soni has extensive experience as a senior corporate executive, technologist, entrepreneur, board member, start-up mentor, advisor, and investor. He is Managing Partner at Boston Cleantech, which advises Cleantech companies.
Mr. Soni is a board member of A.T.E. Group companies. He was a Venture Advisor to London-based Nomura’s expansion-stage, cleantech venture capital fund. He also served as President, Corporate Technology Strategy, and Services at the Aditya Birla Group in India. He has held technology roles at Polaroid Corporation and Shell USA.
Mr. Soni has a Ph.D. in Polymer Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. He is an active Charter Member and past Board Member of TiE Boston.
