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When it comes to the growth of SMBs, no other entity supports them more than angel investors. Angel investors, sometimes called private or seed investors, are high net worth individuals or companies who financially support smaller companies, often in exchange for partial or full ownership.<\/p>\n
In Ireland, there\u2019s a non-profit organization called Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN)\u2014an all-island umbrella group that\u2019s tasked with the development of angel activities and syndicates in the country. Recently,\u00a0HBAN announced that some of their angel investors<\/a>\u00a0celebrated exits of up to ten times their initial investments this year.<\/p>\n Here are some of the listed highlights:<\/p>\n Groupe Renault<\/strong> Susquehanna Growth Equity<\/strong> C.R. Bard<\/strong> Angel investors have done a lot to push innovation on the planet, from transportation technology to medical devices. Incidentally, many of them are affiliated with HBAN.<\/p>\n
\nGroupe Renault, simply called Renault in global markets, is an automobile manufacturing company that originated from France. As their name suggests, they\u2019re a group of companies, owning five unique but complementary brands worldwide: Renault, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, Alpine, and LADA. Two years ago, Renault\u2019s finance arm, Renault Credit International, invested an undisclosed sum in iCabbi, a Dublin-based startup behind an innovative cloud-based taxi technology.This year, iCabbi became Mobile Knowledge\u2019s (CMT Holding\u2019s dispatch solutions provider) preferred taxi partner. This led to a formidable alliance that serves over 150,000 taxis throughout the US and Europe.<\/p>\n
\nIn 2018, salon software firm Phorest managed to raise \u20ac20 million ($23.5 million) in funding thanks to the support of the Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE), a large LLC in the U.S. In the U.S.\u00a0Phorest\u2019s headquarters are situated in Pennsylvania<\/a>\u00a0which is very open to foreign investment and business. This is because\u00a0Pennsylvania allows companies to setup foreign LLCs<\/a>, which gives them additional liability protection and tax benefits. Expanding in the U.S. with SGE has helped Phorest become a leading technology platform for salons, with over 6,000 customers worldwide.<\/p>\n
\nUS-based tech corporation C.R. Bard has always been at the forefront of innovative devices in several medical fields like urology, oncology, and surgical specialties. This is evident in how C.R. Bard acquired Clearstream Technologies, a local cardiovascular device manufacturer,\u00a0for a whopping \u20ac58.15 million<\/a>\u00a0($68.5 million). Clearstream became so successful that four years later, it acquired its own tech firm (with C.R. Bard\u2019s backing): Embo Medical. Embo got \u20ac43.5 million ($51.24 million) to work on a one-shot intravascular implant, which is in its final phase of development. Both are gaining traction as leaders in the MedTech field today.<\/p>\n