Cornerstone is focused on seed and Series A investments in high growth ventures which are capital efficient. We are located in Chicago area and are focused on investments in the greater Midwest; however, we will invest nationally for the right opportunities. We are willing to invest alongside of other angels, angel groups, and VCs in syndicates.
Key General Criteria include:
- Use of funds focused on sales and marketing execution, not R&D
- Product or service needs to be developed, with preference for customer validation either through usage or sales
- Strong management team in place, with good mix of domain expertise and early venture experience
- Funding round generally larger than $500K and less than $3 million
- Pre-money valuation generally less than $5 million
Investment Process:
* Application: A company first must apply through submission of the online application on Gust. Please note that there is a $50 fee for the application. The Application Fee is a non-refundable processing fee and is retained by Cornerstone Angels whether or not a company is selected to present at future screening or investment meetings. We are sensitive to any fees to entrepreneurs as the core of our activities is focused on finding high quality investments. The application fee is a low-cost way for entrepreneurs and our group to interact and help control the quality of submissions. As always, we encourage entrepreneurs to network into our members and other trusted partners to help in getting your business into our review process.
* Pre-Screening: Upon favorable response, a company may be asked to provide additional details. At this point, the company should have provided an executive summary, business plan or investor powerpoint presentation, and summary financials.
* Deal Screening: An in-person screening event will take place with the Company providing a 10 minute presentation and having 10 minutes in Q&A in front of a panel of screeners composed of investors and industry veterans.
* Diligence: A select group of companies will be selected for further review and investigation
* Investment Meeting: 2-3 companies will be invited to present to the Investment Meeting in front of investors. These meetings will typically be held every two months. Each company will make a 15 minute presentation, with up to 20 minutes reserved for Q&A. We also ask the company based on the value received during its involvement with the group, and any funding success that may be achieved, to consider providing the Cornerstone Angels group with an appropriate level of compensation, in cash or equity at the Company's discretion.
