Lexington is the 2nd most populous country in Kentucky, also known as the “Horse Capital of the World.” The city is also facing quick growth, attracting many individual investors as well as venture capital firms. 

While Lexington may not have a huge number of investment firms located in the city, there are many investors who are willing to fund startups in Lexington as a part of their external investment initiatives.

So, let’s not wait any longer and start discussing the list of top angel investors in Lexington.

Top Angel Investors in Lexington 

Following is a list of some of the top angel investors that fund startups in Lexington. 

However, even from this list of top-ranking angels, remember that not every angel investor is worth pitching to. Different Venture Capitals and investors have distinct investment interests. That is why it is important to do proper research before presenting your pitch deck.

Chrysalis Ventures

Website: chrysalisventures.com

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Finance, Construction, Software, Healthcare and Consumer Products.

Chrysalis Ventures is one of the prominent investors that fund startups in Kentucky. The network was founded by David Jones and has funded 75 startups since its inception in 1993.

 

While their investments might look low, this is because of their strict screening tests, as they ensure only the most deserving startups make it through. During the selection process, Chrysalis Ventures organizes a multiple-stage screening test that includes the Registration, Pitching, and Selection Stages.

Once investors fund a startup, Chrysalis Ventures provides the best guidance through its experienced network of mentors. The network also organizes different workshops to help startups come across different challenges.

The investment range of Chrysalis Ventures isn’t disclosed. However, most of their past funding is in the range of $500,000-$3M. 

Some of their recent portfolio companies are:

Asterand: Asterand is a biotechnology company that provides high-quality, well-characterized human tissue and human tissue-based research solutions to drug discovery scientists.

Inoveon: Inoveon Is a medical services company that delivers solutions to detect, stage, and monitor diseases affecting the eye, such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma.

PeopleFirst.com: PeopleFirst.com is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative that offers various services, including auto loans, business accounts, mortgages, deposit products, home equity loans, Visa credit cards, and investments.

Construction-Zone.com: Also known as The Construction Zone Ltd., the company is a design-build firm.

MedServe: MedServe is a medical waste management company that provides regulated medical waste disposal services.

Keyhorse Capital

Website: Keyhorse Capital

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Healthcare, Consumer Products, Finance, and VR.

Keyhorse Capital is another Venture Capital firm that funds startups in Lexington. The startup was founded in the early 2000s and funds a wide range of startups. The VC has funded almost 160 startups within two decades and is looking to fund more in 2023. They have launched several startup funding campaigns targeting tech and healthcare-related startups.

Like many other Venture Capital firms, Keyhorse Capital also conducts tough screening tests to ensure they fund the most deserving startups. The investors check the pitch deck, startup stage, achievements, future goals, required investment, and estimated ROI before funding the startup.

Once the startup has been provided with the funding, Keyhorse Capital also provides it with access to its network of experienced mentors. 

Even when discussing non-portfolio companies, Keyhorse Capital is active in arranging different mentorship programs and networking events to benefit the startup community of different cities. Recently, They started a partnership with the University of Kentucky’s Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship to identify new deal flow for The Kentucky Angel Investors Network.

Keyhorse Capital also partners with different accelerator programs to boost startups. The network partnered with the Wild Accelerator program, offering a $25,000 investment to each of the seven women-founded startups. The event was a 14-week pre-accelerator program and gave the founders a chance to pitch their early-stage businesses to investors.

The investment range of Keyhorse Capital ranges from $300,000 upto $2M, depending on the startup. From many of their investments, some recent portfolio companies are:

Cloverleaf: Cloverleaf is a technology company that operates as an automated coaching platform. The company offers talent acquisition, organizational design, team building, business and executive coaching, pre-hire assessment, change management solutions, etc.

C2 Keep: C2 Keep is an inventory management platform that provides real-time inventory insight for independent pharmacies. 

BrainSTEM: BrainSTEM is a developer of a virtual learning platform designed to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education for students. The company’s platform offers an online curriculum that teaches programming, robotics, engineering, and aerospace.

Gun Media: Gun Media, now known as Gun Interactive, is an American video game publisher. The company has developed several games, including the famous titles “Friday the 13th” and "Layers of Fear 2”.

Radicle Capital

Website: Radicle Capital

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Entertainment, Food and Beverage, Healthcare, and E-Commerce.

Radicle Capital is one of the most famous Venture Capital firms that funds startups in Louisville and Lexington. The network was founded in 2017 by Eleftherios Diakomichalis and has funded 19 startups. Currently, the investors will soon organize more pitch competitions and have already announced their funding campaigns for 2024.

During the screening tests, Radicle Capital also wants to fund the startups with the highest growth potential. They organize different pitch competitions for startups to participate in and prove why their startup is worth funding. The investors often ask questions related to the competitive market and ROI of the startup. They also value startups that have higher experience in their related sector.

Radicle Capital invests in both Seed Stage and Early Stage startups. Aside from their funding campaigns, they haven’t organized many networking events or mentorship programs for non-portfolio startups.

Radicle Capital hasn’t disclosed its investment range. They usually fund startups, depending on their required investment and estimated ROI. Some of their recent portfolio companies are;

Sproutel: Sproutel is a patient-centered design studio that provides toys that help children newly diagnosed with chronic illness learn and cope through play. They have also invested in R&D.

Patamar Capital: Patamar Capital is emerging as a leading impact venture capital firm aggressively driving early-stage investments into tech-led companies. The investment firm strictly focuses on technology-related ventures. 

Poplar Ventures

Website: poplarventures.com

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Software Development, Cloud Services, Tech, and Healthcare. 

Founded in 2019 by John Willmoth, Poplar Ventures has funded 12 startups across Kentuck. The network has experienced investors who aren’t just willing to fund startups but also provide them with guidance as well.

And since Poplar Ventures has just started funding, they are looking for new startups with massive growth potential and unique ideas. The screening tests of Poplar Ventures are also easier than most of other investors. 

However, the investors still thoroughly research each startup before funding it. Once the startup has been funded, the experienced network of mentors provides the best guidance to the startup, ensuring success.

In the past 4 years, Poplar Ventures hasn’t arranged a lot of networking events or mentorship programs for non-portfolio companies. 

The investment range of Poplar Ventures ranges from $200,000 upto $1M. Some of their portfolio companies are:

QASymphony: QASymphony is a software company that provides enterprise test case management and exploratory testing solutions for development and QA teams. It was acquired by Tricentis in 2019.

SKUVault: SKUVault provides a cloud-based inventory and warehouse management system that helps eCommerce retailers. It was acquired by Linnworks in 2022.

How To Prepare A Great Pitch Deck?

The biggest worry when pitching to angel investors is creating a great pitch deck. 

However, with the right guidance and some additional tips, creating an amazing pitch deck could be the easiest job. Here are a few tips to help you create one.

Research Before Creating

Before you move on to creating a pitch deck, research well and understand your investor. See some of his past screening tests on online platforms (if available) to see what he likes and understand his preferences.

Customize the Pitch Deck:

Once you’ve done the research, customize your pitch deck accordingly. Never keep your pitch deck way too long or short. Keep it concise and ensure it explains all the related information.

Present the Pitch Deck Confidently

Finally, after preparing the pitch deck, remain confident throughout the screening test and never hesitate. Angel investors always prefer entrepreneurs who are confident about their ideas and show stats about how they can succeed.

Wrap Up

After generating $77.5M from startups in 2022, the startup ecosystem of Lexington is still in the growing stages. That makes it a huge opportunity for new businesses to utilize it and establish their future brands.

Similarly, angel investors are also searching for startups that can make it big in the next few years. So, research accordingly and pitch to the investors in the right way to secure investment for your startup.

Frequently Asked Questions