Spotlight on Archangel General Partner and Angel Investor Ellen Fang

Ellen is a business professional and active angel investor with over 15 years of management consulting experience in the area of corporate strategy, M&A, and business development. She is a General Partner at Archangel Network of Funds and a member of Maple Leaf Angels.

What interests you about angel investing?

I love that I am able to see and support exciting innovations that can shape the future.

Tell us a bit about your angel group.

I am involved in Maple Leaf Angels in downtown Toronto. I like the fact that the members are very supportive of each other and of the startups. The culture here is very open and engaged and we see good deals.

What motivated you to consider angel investing?

I wanted to support a healthy development of our local innovation ecosystem that can retain talent, allow young generations to thrive, transform our economy, and empower our daily life. I also wanted to be part of the journey into the future.

Tell us about a startup you are excited about and what you find most exciting or inspiring about the work they are doing.

I’m really excited about a startup called Darwin AI. They are AI for AI which provides a fundamental disruptive approach to make AI models explainable, much smaller and running much faster. 

What is your view on mentorship and how do you see it intersecting with angel investing?

Angels have lots of resources beyond capital that entrepreneurs can leverage, but more importantly, are the corporate governance and strategy that angels can support through mentorship to help the business grow in a more disciplined yet productive fashion.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering angel investing?

Angel investing is built on trust and partnership. It is built on our confidence into the future. It needs our patience and engagement. It's give and take.

We know that entrepreneurs are vital to the Canadian economy. What do you think is the greatest opportunity for our startup ecosystem as we look towards rebuilding?

Entrepreneurs need a more supportive business infrastructure, a more risk-taking environment that can be nurtured by government policies including tax incentives toward entrepreneurs, tech talents, and angels.

The NACO Spotlight Series showcases stories and insights from across Canada’s innovation ecosystem. This Spotlight is supported by the BDC Capital Women in Technology (WIT) Venture Fund.