Also known as Tree City, Norfolk, Virginia, is home to many successful companies. The city has a population of 285,000 and is the third biggest city in Virginia, producing many business opportunities for entrepreneurs.

While there aren't a lot of angel investors located inside the city, many VC firms are funding startups as a part of their external funding campaigns.

Are you looking for some angel investors with identical business interests?

Well, let's waste no more time and start discussing the list of the top 6 angel investors in Norfolk.

Top 6 Angel Investors in Norfolk

Namely, Norfolk has many angel investors, VC firms, and startup accelerators, but not every investor is worth pitching to. That is why we have compiled some of the top-ranking angel investors according to their history of startup funding.

757 Angels

Website: 757 Angels
Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, AI, and E-Commerce.

757 Angels is one of the few Angel Investors Group located in Norfolk, Virginia. The network was founded in 2015 by John Paris and Paul Hirschbiel. Because of their determination and hard work toward funding startups, they have also been recognized among the top 3 investing groups in North America.

When funding startups, 757 Angels conducts strict screening tests to fund the startups with the highest growth potential. They usually fund startups at the seed stage based on unique ideas and can present solutions for the market.

Similarly, 757 Angels hold various pitching contests and networking events throughout the year. Their main aim is to find entrepreneurs with hardworking teams and provide them with the required funding to boost their startups.

The investment range of 757 Angels isn't mentioned on their website. However, they usually fund startups within the range of $2M. They have funded 29 companies, with some famous names including:

Pearl: Pearl is a technology company that is shaping the future of dentistry with its suite of FDA-cleared dental AI solutions.

Psionic: Psionic is a technology company that develops lidar technology for autonomous space vehicles. 

Bookelicious: Bookelicious is an e-commerce platform that promotes literacy by helping children find great books on different topics. 

Columbia Capital

Website: Columbia Capital
Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Enterprise IT, Digital Infrastructure, and Mobility.

Founded by famous entrepreneurs and investors James B. Murray and Mark Warner, Columbia Capital is also one of the famous investing networks in Virginia. The network was founded in 1989 and has funded around 200 startups since its inception.

The investor panel has more than 50 investors who conduct screening tests and provide funding to deserving startups. Once a startup participates in the screening tests, the investors ask several questions about its competitors and how it intends to outperform the related markets as their main focus in growth potential.

Aside from investments and funding, the network highly focuses on conducting mentorship programs for their portfolio companies. Throughout the year, they arrange different business classes and workshops to guide the entrepreneurs, as most of their startup funding is in the early and seed stages.

The investment range of Columbia Capital ranges from 500,000 to several million dollars, depending on many factors. Some of their recent investments are:

Cloud Sherpas: Cloud Sherpas is a global cloud advisory and technology services company. They provide cloud advisory and technology services to improve customer experience for the world's leading brands.

Cologix: North America's leading network-neutral interconnection and hyperscale edge data center company. They have a carrier-dense ecosystem of 700+ networks, 360+ cloud service providers, and 30+ onramps across its platform.

Eunetworks: euNetworks is a Western European provider of bandwidth infrastructure services.

Extenet Systems: Extenet Systems is the premier privately-held provider of digital infrastructure connecting its customers, partners, and communities.

In-Q-Tel

Website: In-Q-Tel 
Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Tech

In-Q-Tel is a venture capital firm that funds seed-stage startups related to cutting-edge technologies. The network was founded by Norm Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed Martin, and Gilman Louie in 1999.

As a VC firm, In-Q-Tel wants to fund the best startup ideas with a huge potential for growth. Since their inception, they have funded around 250 startups and are still planning to fund more in 2024.

Moreover, In-Q-Tel also invests its time and energy into the startups. They are well known in Virginia for arranging many networking events and pitch contests to help startups find related investors and pitch to them.

The investment range of In-Q-Tel ranges from $500,000 to $3M. Among many of their investments, some recently funded startups are:

Rigetti Computing: Rigetti Computing is a Berkeley, California-based developer of quantum integrated circuits used for quantum computers. The company also develops a cloud platform called Forest that enables programmers to write quantum algorithms.

Visionary Machines: Visionary Machines is a company that provides AI and camera-based automatic perception systems for navigation. It offers users multi-spectral camera arrays for 3D ranging and perception.

Aurora Insight: The startup provides information services to help companies make smarter, faster, data-driven decisions about the infrastructure underpinning the digital economy.

QED Investors

Website: Home | QED Investors
Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Fintech

QED Investors is another venture capital firm that provides funding and guidance to startups in Norfolk. Founded by Niggel Morris and Frank Rottman in 2007, they have funded more than 200 companies, most related to fintech.

When funding startups, QED investor has a panel of many experienced investors that provide funding to seed-stage startups. They have strict criteria of only funding startups with at least 4-5 years of experience, in-depth knowledge of their competitors, and well-planned strategies to survive in the markets.

The investment range of QED Investors ranges from $100,000k to $3M, with most of their investments being around $1M. Some recent investments are:

Blooom: Blooom is an online Registered Investment Adviser that manages individual participant accounts in IRAs and in employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), or TSP.

ClearScore: ClearScore is a Financial Services company based in London, England, United Kingdom. It provides free credit score and report services.

Credijusto: Credijusto is a financial services company that provides agile credit, fair credit, factoring, leasing, and financial education programs. It is also known as Covalto and is a leading digital banking and services platform for SMEs.

Updata Partners

Website: Growth Equity for Technology Leaders | Updata Partners
Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Software

Updata Partners is a venture capital firm that funds startups in North America and Europe. The network was founded by Barry Goldsmith, Conor Mullett, Ira Cohen, and John Burton in 1999. They usually fund startups at the seed stage and have funded a total of 60 companies.

The network of investors strictly focuses on B2B companies and organizes rigorous screening tests to fund the best startups. Once these startups are funded, Updata Partners also organizes different mentorship programs to guide them through different startup stages.

The investment range of Updata Partners ranges from $5M - $50M, depending on the startup's growth potential and requirements. Some of their recent portfolio companies are:

DataCore: A software-defined storage and storage virtualization company. DataCore has helped over 10,000 customers worldwide modernize how they store, protect, and access data.

First Insight: A global technology customer-centric merchandising platform.

Glassbox: Glassbox is a SaaS company specializing in risk management, big data, and analytics. They design, develop, and sell solutions for digital security as well as for managing customer experience.

CIT GAP Funds

Investor Type: Venture Capital Firm

Investment Interests: Technology, Tech-Enabled Services, Life Sciences, and Clean Energy.

Located in Richmond, VA, CIT GAP Funds is also a VC firm that provides funding to startups in Norfolk. The network was founded in 2003 and has funded more than 200 startups related to tech and life sciences. With a founder like Tom Weithman, it is no surprise they have hosted hundreds of workshops and networking events to help different startups find suitable investors.

The investment range of CIT GAP Funds ranges from 200,000 to 500,000 as they mostly invest in early-stage businesses. Some of their recent portfolio companies are:

RoundlyX: RoundlyX is a fintech company that develops a digital asset wealth management platform

DivvyCloud: A software company that specializes in cloud automation for public and private cloud, improving security and reducing costs in VR-related operations.

DroneUp: DroneUp provides drone flight services intended to transform organizations with drone delivery and drone technology solutions.

Wrap Up

With the list of top angel investors in Norfolk coming to an end, let's have some final words of wisdom.

A common mistake many entrepreneurs make before pitching to investors is not displaying the effectiveness of their team. Angel investors are interested to see how your team can contribute towards the success of your idea regardless of what startup stage it is going through.

And most importantly, don't forget to present your startup as investable and a profitable investment opportunity for the investors.

Good Luck!

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