Talking about startups, we often think about states like California, North Carolina, or Colorado, which are filled with exceptional startups and going through superb growth.

But! Remember that growing states will always provide you with many opportunities to start new businesses, especially when there is low competition. Similarly, Montana is a state that has a lower number of startups and provides opportunities to cash in for new businesses.

However, entrepreneurs who do not have the investment to start a new business often get confused about how to attract funding and whom to pitch to.

That is why we have prepared the list of the top 5 angel investors in Montana, along with their investment interests. 

Top 5 Angel Investors in Montana

Following is the list of some of the top-ranked angel investors and VC firms in Montana.

Pat LaPointe

LinkedIn: Pat LaPointe | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Energy and Healthcare

Investment Stage: Early

Pat LaPointe is an entrepreneur who has built and sold three companies in the marketing and data analytics field. He is the Managing Director of Frontier Angels and has also been serving as the Board of the Angel Capital Association. Although he has a portfolio of over 60 investments, Pat LaPointe has only made 15 individual investments.

Similarly, LaPointe prefers to invest in startups that are in the sectors of AgTech, AI, Analytics, IoT, Health-Tech, InfoSec, and Enterprise SaaS. He does not invest in startups that have too much competition or are led by inexperienced individuals. 

LaPointe has been funding startups since at least 2015, which is when he became the Managing Director of Frontier Angels. His investment range can go upto 500,000, whereas most of his investments are around $200,000. Some of his portfolio companies are:

CurvaFix: CurvaFix is a medical device company that focuses on developing solutions for the orthopedic trauma sector. It offers the CurvaFix intramedullary rodscrew, a device capable of following the natural bone shape and filling the space within curved bones such as the pelvis. 

PowerGrow: PowerGrow is a greenhouse-as-a-service company. PowerGrow develops, designs, finances, builds, operates, and maintains renewable-powered commercial greenhouse facilities for growers.

Liz Marchi

Website: Two Bear Capital

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech and Healthcare 

Investment Stage: Early

Liz Marchi is also a prominent name in the angel investing scene in Montana. She has been a pioneer in building access to equity capital and high-value startups in several locations throughout the state. She served as the head of Frontier Angels for 12 years, during which she seeded more than $20 million in very early-stage capital.

Recently, Liz Marchi has also started to make individual investments and fund startups that have a strong idea and huge growth potential. She focuses on startups that have a market hype and are led by individuals who have 5 years plus experience in their field.

Aside from her investment activities, Liz Marchi also attends numerous growth events and workshops to deliver talks. She guides early stage businesses about how they can tackle different startup challenges when things aren't going their way.

The investment range of Liz Marchi ranges from $25,000 to $150,000. Some of her portfolio companies are:

Walls360: Walls360 is a provider of an online platform used to offer wall graphic products. Its platform allows digital content partners to get wall murals, posters, kids walls, video game wall graphics, art, and design wall graphics. Walls360 has raised a total funding of $1.26M over 2 rounds.

Social Good Network: Social Good Network develops online and mobile fundraising solutions that increase engagement and build community by making social commerce more convenient and meaningful.

Next Frontier Capital

Website: Next Frontier Capital | Investing in the Rocky Mountains

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Real Estate, Software, B2B, and Consumer Products

Investment Stage: Seed

Founded in 2015, Next Frontier Capital is also a renowned venture capital firm that invests in Montana-based startups. It was founded by Richard Harjes and Will Price, with a total of 51 companies in their portfolio.

As for their startup funding, they invest in mission-driven, talented entrepreneurs to build technology companies. During the screening tests, investors usually focus on startups that have decent growth potential and present unique solutions.

Aside from its investment activities, Next Frontier Capital also focuses on guiding startups through its different mentorship programs. They invite some of the most famous mentors in the USA to their networking events to guide entrepreneurs.

The investment range of Next Frontier Capital ranges from $100,000M to $1.5M. Among many of their investments, notable portfolio companies are:

VirtualZ Computing: A privately held, woman-founded, women-led software company that is revolutionizing mainframe and cloud data access.

King Energy: Enables commercial-scale solar at shopping centers and office buildings, bringing financial benefit to property owners and their tenants.

MonetizeNow: Eliminates Go-To-Market Friction for the Modern B2B Enterprise.

Bridger Photonics: Bridger Photonics’ Gas Mapping LiDAR™ makes it simple and efficient for the oil & gas industry to reduce methane emissions and improve overall safety.

Frontier Angels

Website: Frontier Angels | Montana Angel Investment Group

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Frontier Angels is a group of about 100 people who fund tech-related startups in Montana. They gather every few weeks to review investment opportunities in the emerging technology ecosystem. 

When funding startups, Frontier Angels focuses on generating attractive returns for their investors, building and organizing the pool of available early-stage capital to make it easier for entrepreneurs to get funded, and investing in companies that will grow.

Similarly, they organize tough screening tests and focus on tech-leveraged business models where the product is based on some proprietary technology the company developed or licensed. They look for scalable opportunities that have the potential to get very big – companies that plan to be doing $10M or more in annual revenue in just a few years.

The investment range of Frontier Angels ranges from $200,000 to $1 million. Usually, Frontier Angels don't publicize their portfolio companies. However, one of their famous investment is:

AVOL Aerospace: AVOL Aerospace is a company that provides an autonomous electric aircraft transport service1. The company’s aircraft offer larger internal volume and lower costs compared to existing options, enabling logistics carriers to transport larger payloads.

Two Bear

Website: Two Bear Capital

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Seed

Two Bear Capital was founded in 2019 by Mike Gogue. The network has funded a total of 20 startups and is headquartered in Whitefish.

When funding startups, Two Bear Capital focuses on startups that have exceptional startup ideas and are operating in the early stages. The investors at Two Bear Capital fund startups by arranging pitching contests. Each year, they conduct almost 2 pitching competitions and select around 4 startups that deserve the funding. 

Once a startup has been funded, Two Bear Capital also provides them with the required guidance through their different events. The network organizes a lot of mentorship programs, fundraisers, and startup funds to boost the startup community of Montana.

The investment range of Two Bear Capital often depends on the startup. However, they usually fund startups around $1M.

Notable portfolio companies are:

Arch System: Arch System, founded by Stanford engineering PhDs, provides manufacturers with an advanced analytics platform for factory-wide and multi-factory operations. Their product, ArchFX, is used in more than 15 countries, analyzing hundreds of unique products with data from over 5,000 smart factory machines. They secured $15 million in funding led by Two Bear Capital.

Graphiant: Graphiant is a provider of next-generation edge services. Their Network Edge solution connects enterprise resources, hybrid cloud, network edge, customers, and partners. They have raised $62 million in a Series B funding round.

Leapfrog Bio: Leapfrog Bio is developing targeted therapies for cancers driven by genetic mutations that cannot be treated with conventional approaches. Their Precision PGx Platform™ discovers synthetically lethal relationships between loss of function mutations and pharmacological drug effects. 

Sanavia: Sanavia Oncology is working to access the biology that will provide the understanding needed to develop novel immunotherapies that can safely and effectively overcome drug resistance and improve patients’ lives.

Wrap-Up:

In conclusion, always remember that angel investors seek profitable businesses that add value to their portfolios. They want to ensure that the startups they invest in can generate massive revenue and generate profits for the investors.

That is why, when you are pitching to such investors, it is always recommended to prepare a strong pitch deck. Add points in your presentation about why the investors should fund your startup and how it can turn out to be profitable for them.

Good Luck!

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