While Nevada is known for the lights and entertainment of Las Vegas, the state is also becoming a hotbed for startups.

Even though most angel investors are in Las Vegas and Reno, most of them fund startups located throughout the state. But! You must be thinking, how to pitch to these investors? Who are some of the top angels in Nevada?

To help you out, I have prepared the list of the top angel 6 investors in Nevada, along with their investment interests.

Top Angel Investors In Nevada

Following is the list of some of the top angel investors and VC firms in Nevada, along with their investment interests and additional details.

Tony Hsieh

LinkedIn: Tony Hsieh | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Tony Hsieh was an American internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He was known for his role as the CEO of the online shoe and clothing company Zappos. Prior to joining Zappos, Hsieh co-founded the Internet advertising network LinkExchange, which he sold to Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million.

Similarly, a major part of Tony's life revolves around entrepreneurship. when funding startups, Tony takes a very balanced approach and only invests in ventures that can have a positive impact and provide solutions.

Recently, he invested $350 million into transforming the decaying part of the old Vegas Strip into a community-focused city. This investment included $200 million for real estate, $50 million for small businesses, $50 million for education, and $50 million for tech startups.

Aside from funding, Tony Hsieh also focuses on guiding startups and sharing his experience. The investment range of Tony Hsieh ranges from $100,000 to $800,000. Some of his portfolio companies are:

Asana: Asana is a web and mobile application designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. Asana’s platform is used by more than 100,000 paying organizations and millions of teams worldwide. 

uBeam (now SonicEnergy): SonicEnergy, formerly known as uBeam, is a wireless power startup that transmits power to charge electronic devices over the air. 

Pando: Pando is a Chennai-based open-market freight management platform that digitizes logistics operations. The company provides manufacturers, retailers, and 3PLs with a single pane of glass to streamline the end-to-end order-to-fulfillment process.

William Lohse

LinkedIn: William Lohse | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

William Lohse is a well-known angel investor who has been active in the startup ecosystem for many years. He is the Founding Partner at Joyance Partners and has also founded Software Venture Partners. With a total of 52 investments in his portfolio, Willian Lohse focuses on early-stage startups that have the potential to grow and have unique ideas. 

Aside from his investments, William Lohse is also known as an experienced entrepreneur who has founded several startups. He usually focuses on digital businesses and guides them across several stages of a startup.

The investment range of William Lohse ranges from $50,000 to $250,000 as he makes early stage investments. Among many of his portfolio companies, some notable investments are:

Beatrust: Beatrust is a company that offers a talent collaboration platform. The platform is designed to empower employees to collaborate across functions and regions to drive innovation. 

SmartNews: SmartNews is a leading global information and news discovery company. It provides news that matters to millions of users thanks to its unique machine-learning technology and relationships with more than 3,000 global publisher partners. 

Greenhouse Software: Greenhouse Software, commonly known as Greenhouse, is an American technology company that provides recruiting software as a service. Greenhouse is the leading hiring worktech company that helps people-first companies hire for what’s next by powering all aspects of attracting, hiring, and onboarding top talent.

Brock Pierce

LinkedIn: Brock Pierce | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Software, Media, Gaming, Community Platforms and Tech.

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Funding startups for over 5 years, Brock Pierce is an American entrepreneur and angel investor who funds Nevada-based startups. He has been credited with pioneering the market for digital currency and has raised more than $5 billion for companies he has founded. He has made 14 angel investments and has 12 companies in his portfolio.

As for his startup funding, Pierce has a wide range of interests. He has invested in various sectors, including digital gaming content, community services, financial software, and more. He also has a track record of founding, advising, and investing in disruptive businesses. He generally plays the role of strategist and dealmaker in each company after attracting the management teams and capital. 

Aside from investments, Brock Pierce isn't like other investors and doesn't attend a lot of networking events. He usually invests in startups through fundraisers and investor meetings. The investment range of Brock Pierce ranges from $100,000 to $1M. Notable investments in his portfolio include:

Digital Entertainment Network (DEN): DEN was an online video and rich media advertising network. It was one of the first companies to create and deliver original video content over the internet.

Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE): IGE was a company that pioneered the MMORPG currency-selling services industry. Between 2004 and 2005, IGE spent more than $25 million buying out seven smaller competitors.

Block.one: Block.one is a software publisher specializing in high-performance blockchain technologies. Its first project, EOSIO, is an open-source blockchain protocol designed to enable secure data transfer and high-performance decentralized applications.

John Legend

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Teach, Healthcare, and Media

Investment Stage: Early

Known for his voice, John Legend has also started funding startups individually. In the past 3 years, he has been actively seeking new investments and has funded around 20 startups. 

Funding startups, John Legend often invests in companies that are in the early stage and have strong business ideas. Due to his low investment range, John Legend doesn't focus a lot on the growth potential. Instead, he seeks ventures that solve problems and have low competition in the market. 

Previously, he co-founded Bungalow Clothing and also served as a Board Member at Vox Media. The investment range of John Legend ranges from $10,000 to $50,000, as he invests in startups that are in the early 1-2 years of business. Some of his portfolio companies are:

Fortuna Health: Fortuna Health is a healthcare technology company that provides a platform for navigating Medicaid from eligibility and enrollment to recertification. The platform helps health plan members manage ongoing recertification of enrollment status and receive notifications on renewal.

Fantasy Life: Fantasy Life is a platform that provides up-to-date NFL news, fantasy analysis, sports betting tips, and hot topics around the fantasy water cooler. 

Tally Health: Tally Health is a biotechnology company founded to change the way we age. The company offers an at-home test to calculate how well you’re aging and where to start your journey.

Sierra Angels

Website: Angel Investment Group | Sierra Angels | Nevada

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: IoT, Healthcare and Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Sierra Angels is an angel investment group that was founded by Bob Goff in 1997. They have funded approximately 100 companies and are still expanding their portfolio.

Talking about their funding process, Sierra Angels usually follows a specific process that involves:

Sierra Angels has a multi-step screening process for evaluating investment opportunities. This process includes:

Application: Entrepreneurs fill out an application with an overview of their company, financial data, a business plan, and key documents.

Screening: The Sierra Angels Screening Committee reviews and discusses the company’s business idea and market potential.

Presentations: If successful during the evaluation process, entrepreneurs may be invited to a Screening Committee phone presentation and/or a meeting with the Sierra Angels membership.

The investment range of Sierra Angels can range upto several million dollars, depending on the startup. Some of their notable investments are:

Breadware: Breadware is a company that provides resources and tools for IoT product development.

ShieldIO: ShieldIO is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions for securing sensitive data in real time.

TransformativeMed: TransformativeMed is a company that offers a platform for improving clinical workflows and patient care.

Reno Seed Fund

Website: Reno Seed Fund

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Food, and Digital Businesses

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Founded in 2019, The Reno Seed Fund is also an active investment firm that provides funding to Nevada-based startups. It was founded by a group of angel investors and has provided funding to around 30 startups.

Similarly, The Reno Seed Fund employs a highly selective screening process for its investments. If they feel there might be a match, they schedule an introductory Zoom meeting. If the introduction goes well, they ask the startup to pitch in a recorded Zoom session, which lasts for 30 minutes (15 minutes for the pitch and 15 for Q&A). After the pitch, the screening committee reviews all pitches, and if approved, the deal is passed.

The investment range of the Reno Seed Fund can range from $50,000 to $500,000. Some notable investments are:

MessageDesk: MessageDesk is a company that provides SMS services to your business phone. 

CinVivo: CinVivo provides surgical head-mounted camera systems. The company’s product, the Titan-4K, is a surgical head camera that features advanced focusing and stabilization technology.

Toto Foods: Toto Foods is a company that produces cookies made with pure superfood ingredients and powerful adaptogens.

Wrap-Up

Summing things up, you might feel a little confused when pitching to angel investors, especially if it's your first investor meeting.

However, remember that angel inventors also seek profitable ventures that have the potential to grow and thrive. Remain confident and explain to investors why your startup is better than many other participants. 

Frequently Asked Questions