Precise figures are impossible to obtain because many angel investors do not want to volunteer their status. And if they don't happen to have a rich uncle, many good ideas can go unfunded. They will invest if they know one or two things about it, otherwise they won't touch it. Indeed despite the cash crunch, this passing on of know-how and contacts often proves more important than the funding itself. In the US there are formalised mentoring groups from which angel investment may sprout organically.
Charter members offer mentoring sessions for young entrepreneurs with ideas and business plans.
For older members who have already made their millions, it is a chance to replay the entrepreneurship game by proxy. But there is an all-pervading spirit of community entrepreneurship. And TiE has just opened in London. The organisation stresses that mentoring, not angel investment, is its primary purpose. But the scheme, which begins next month, will offer aspiring entrepreneurs a helping hand.