Introduction

Angel Match is a platform that has revolutionized the way entrepreneurs connect with angel investors and venture capitalists. The brainchild of Rashid Khasanov, Angel Match has experienced significant growth and has become a vital tool for startups seeking funding. This report delves into the journey of Rashid Khasanov in building Angel Match, highlighting the platform's development, services, and impact on the industry.

Founding of Angel Match

Rashid Khasanov, while working on his own FinTech startup Richie, encountered the challenge of finding suitable angel investors and venture capitalists who were not only willing to invest but also brought industry-specific experience. To address this challenge, Khasanov, along with his partner Daria Ree, created Angel Match. The platform was designed to alleviate the painstaking process of manually searching for investors by providing a comprehensive database that entrepreneurs could easily navigate.

Growth and Revenue

Since its inception, Angel Match has seen a threefold increase in monthly recurring revenue (MRR), a testament to its growing popularity and effectiveness in the startup ecosystem. Khasanov attributes a significant part of this growth to his strategy of building in public on Twitter, which has likely helped in gaining visibility and credibility. As of early 2024, Angel Match achieved a milestone of generating $10k in revenue for the month, with an ambitious goal to double that figure to $20k/month within the same year.

Services and Features

Angel Match offers a robust database that includes over 90,000 angels and venture capitalists, making it a powerful resource for startups looking to raise seed capital. The platform simplifies the investor search process by allowing users to filter investors by various criteria such as location, investment focus, and past investments. Additionally, Angel Match provides tools like an AI-powered email generator for investor outreach and a valuation calculator to help startups understand their worth.

Accessibility and Pricing

The platform is designed to be accessible to startups at different stages, offering a free option to begin the search for investors. For those seeking more advanced features, premium subscriptions are available starting at $49 a month when billed annually. These subscriptions include unlimited access, filtered search, and priority customer support, with secure payment processing through Stripe.

Platform Updates and Enhancements

Angel Match has undergone several updates to improve user experience and offer more value to its subscribers. The website has been redesigned for easier navigation, and the Free plan has been replaced with a 3-day trial included in all subscription plans. Subscribers now also have full access to a Pitch Deck Database, which features a collection of successful startup pitch decks that have collectively raised over $355M in funding.

Development of Angel Match's CRM

To enhance the functionality of Angel Match and potentially increase revenue, Khasanov and his team are building a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This CRM is expected to include several components:

• An investor dashboard, which will likely serve as a centralized location for startups to manage their interactions with potential investors.
• The ability to send emails to investors directly through the application, streamlining communication and potentially increasing engagement.
• A drag-and-drop fundraising pipeline, which will help startups visualize and manage their fundraising stages more effectively.

Technology Implementation

The process of implementing new technology into Angel Match involves creating mockup designs that are later hard-coded by the technical team. This suggests a design-first approach where the user interface and experience are prioritized before the actual coding begins.

Database Aggregation and Management

Angel Match's core service is its extensive database of investors, which saves users hundreds of hours by providing a centralized repository of information. The database includes:

• Over 90,000 investors, with 73,000 having email addresses and more than 50,000 of these being verified.
• Categorization of investors by location, investment focus, investor type, investment stage, past investments, and associated companies.
• Contact information for investors, including phone numbers and links to social media profiles like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

The technology behind this database likely involves sophisticated data aggregation tools and a robust backend system to manage and verify the large volume of investor data.

Outreach and Communication Tools

Khasanov's experience with cold emailing potential investors for his FinTech startup Richie informed the development of Angel Match. This experience highlighted the need for efficient communication tools, which are now part of the Angel Match platform, allowing users to reach out to investors with greater ease.

Early Development and Vision

Rashid Khasanov, leveraging his educational background from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, and the American University of Central Asia, co-founded Angel Match with a vision to demystify the world of investing for his generation. The platform was designed to connect startups with a database of angel investors and venture capitalists to raise capital. Khasanov's previous experience with Richie Invest, an initiative aimed at educating millennials about investing, likely contributed to his competence in creating a platform like Angel Match.

Building the Database and Platform

Angel Match started as a database to facilitate the connection between startups and investors. Over time, Khasanov and his team expanded the database to include over 50,000 angels and venture capitalists[4]. This extensive network became a significant resource for startups looking to raise funds.

Revenue Growth and Bootstrapping

Under Khasanov's leadership, Angel Match demonstrated a steady growth in revenue. The platform generated $10k in revenue in January 2024, with a goal to reach $20k per month within the same year[2]. Over the past five years, Angel Match grew to $75.7K in revenue with a small team of four people, and it has been bootstrapped, meaning it was built without external funding or venture capital[5].

Recognition and Recommendations

Khasanov's work with Angel Match and his previous project, Richie Invest, earned him recommendations from industry professionals. His approach to integrating financial planning into an interactive platform was seen as innovative and promising, especially for educating millennials about financial investments[4].

Recent Activities

In 2023, Khasanov engaged with an angel investor who focuses on payment-related apps, indicating his active involvement in the investment community and his continuous effort to grow Angel Match's network and capabilities[1].

In summary, Rashid Khasanov built Angel Match by leveraging his educational background, previous experience in financial education, and a clear vision to simplify the investment process for startups. Through bootstrapping, strategic growth of the investor database, and maintaining a lean operation, Khasanov has positioned Angel Match as a valuable resource for startups seeking capital.

Citations:
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rashid-khasanov-413b28128_spoke-with-an-angel-investor-yesterday-who-activity-7160418895386836992-J2f0
[2] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rashid-khasanov-413b28128_another-milestone-reached-angel-match-activity-7158579752105099264-bUNE
[3] https://www.indiehackers.com/product/angel-match
[4] https://www.f6s.com/member/rashidkhasanov3
[5] https://getlatka.com/companies/angelmatch.io/customers