Minerva Business Angels started in 1994 to support the tenants of the University of Warwick Science Park. Over the past 26 years it has grown into the UK’s largest syndicated network, supported over 90 businesses and help raise over £10m.

As a part of the University of Warwick, Minerva has helped spin-out and scale-up companies from around the country. It focuses on tech businesses and has grown by establishing collaborative relationships with other universities such as Aston, Birmingham, Loughborough, Liverpool John Moores, Nottingham Trent, and Nottingham. It also works with Sci-Tech Daresbury Park and the Black Country Growth Hub to deliver syndicates in their areas and Warwick Business School to deliver Minerva London in the Shard.

Warwick alumnus Alex Toft (MBA (DL) 1995), Head of Minerva, believes that networks such as this are key for helping businesses thrive as we recover from the impact of Covid 19 – and they’re seeking new investors and entrepreneurs to make that happen. He said:

“Minerva is a truly dynamic network of like-minded people who come together to support growing companies. Our Angels come from all walks of life and Minerva is on a mission to break the many negative myths around angel investing.

“You may have heard it's for the ultra-wealthy, it takes a lot of time, it's for the male, pale and stale, you need a financial/legal background etc. None of these myths are true. However, as we emerge from lockdown, what we do need to do is to rally those potential investors, entrepreneurs, executives, former business owners to consider angel investing as part of their portfolio of investment.”

For Warwick alumni interested in finding out more, Minerva’s latest series of webinars is launching on the 13 July with “Introduction to Angel Investing”. Full details of the webinars are available below.

Date	Event
Monday 13 July, 09:30 – 10:00	Introduction to Angel Investing
Friday 24 July, 09:30 – 10:15	Event Term sheet and Shareholder Agreement
Friday 7 August, 09:30 - 10:00	SEIS/EIS Pros and Cons for investors
Friday 21 August, 09:30 – 10:15	Doing Due Diligence on Early Start-ups
Thursday 27 August, 09:00 – 10:00	Boards when they do and don't work
Friday 24 September, 09:30 -10:30	Valuation and Approaches to Valuations
Thursday 17 September, 09:30 – 10:15	The right and wrong investment
Thursday 1 October, 09:30 – 10:30	Investing strategies from a panel of angels
Wednesday 7 October, 09:30 – 10:30	Surgery and Round Up