Tech Coast Angels – San Diego is now NuFund Venture Group
 

Industry leading angel investor organization coming off record-high performance in 2021

SAN DIEGO, CA – March 23, 2022 – Catalyzed by changes during the COVID pandemic, the venture group formerly known as Tech Coast Angels – San Diego (TCA-SD) has rebranded as NuFund Venture Group. Based in San Diego, CA, the group has been actively funding innovative companies for over 20 years as a licensee of the Tech Coast Angels brand. During that time the organization has been one of the largest and most active early-stage investor groups in the country.

With more than 350 members, over $13M invested in 2021 and 4 Annual Funds with $17M AUM, NuFund Venture Group has been strengthened by record-high membership, investing activity and performance including nearly tripling in member size over the past three years. Some of its recent exits include Doctible (8x), Discover Echo (5x), Companion Medical (58x), Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (6x), Insight Medical Systems (4x) and Portfolium (6x). Much of the group’s recent growth and success can be attributed to its hybrid virtual operations and launch of a proprietary Annual Fund model, now in its 4th vintage, that pools member investments into a transparent and efficient process that allows rapid investments into early stage startups.  

“The pandemic forced us to re-examine and adjust our culture and operations in a way that reached a larger scope of investors and founders in order to not only continue our business but also thrive by investing in the best startups around the country,” said Ashok Kamal, the group’s Executive Director and Co-Fund Manager.  NuFund has invested in not only San Diego-based companies, but also other high-performing portfolio companies including Casana, a New York-based connected device for measuring heart health that just closed a $30M Series B round after NuFund’s investment in the seed round. In fact, NuFund had already started to shift to a more virtual, expansive model before the pandemic, which only accelerated its strategy and implementation.

“Our roots are firmly in San Diego, but we have expanded into a national group that can rapidly fund a startup company with up to $500,000 of capital.  This has helped us access some of the best people and investments everywhere,” said Caitlin Wege, NuFund’s Board Chair, President  and also a Partner at the investment company MooDoos. “We have a unique position in the early-stage investor market with a leading fund and member-managed culture that is diverse, inclusive, engaging, rewarding and fun all at the same time.”

NuFund Venture Group and the Tech Coast Angels network have a long history of working together and plan to continue to closely share deals, community and best practices as pioneers in the exploding SoCal startup ecosystem.

For more information, please contact Ashok Kamal (ashok@nufund.com). 

About NuFund Venture Group:

NuFund Venture Group is a new wave of angel and venture investors with a new fund model for investing in new technology leaders. NuFund was formerly known as Tech Coast Angels – San Diego (TCA – SD), and the organization is one of the largest, most active and most successful early-stage investor groups over the past 20+ years. The group continually strives to foster a culture that is inclusive, friendly, innovative, engaging, rewarding and fun for all stakeholders. 

For more information, please visit www.nufund.com / @nufundventures

In case you msised it, check out our Fall 2021 Community Newsletter!

As we’re finally ready to wrap up this surreal year, it’s worth a moment to take stock of what we’ve lost, what we’ve gained, what we’ve learned, and how we’ll adapt.

We entered 2020 primed for TCA’s biggest and most active year yet. We did, in fact, achieve those goals, though we never could have imagined how they would come to pass.

Our ACE 20 Annual Fund was extremely active at the start of the year – we invested nearly $2.6M before COVID-19 changed everything. Even with a complete halt of our in-person activities, we invested another $800,000 in the two following months.

Adapting to the new normal, we embarked upon a massively successful shift to 100% virtual operations including happy hours, educational seminars and even dinners! Meetings saw record attendance, deal reach expanded, and engagement spiked, as we discovered the benefits of convenience and removal of physical barriers – though we dearly missed the camaraderie and spirited discussion of a room full of friends and fellow investors!

On the subject of friends and investors, TCA-SD continued to grow at a rapid pace, with a 25% increase to more than 260 members! Thanks to this influx of new members, we were able to blow past our ACE 21 Annual Fund fundraising to a total, new record raise of $4.7M! In all, TCA-SD invested $11M in 2020.

We’re well-positioned for the future thanks to our progressive leadership, strong and diverse membership, and generous community support. Our mission to be the premier angel group has only advanced over the past year, and we are excited about our opportunities to help startups thrive in the post-COVID world we will hopefully be entering soon!

– Your Friends at TCA – San Diego

Read the rest of our newsletter here!

Check out our June 2020 Community Newsletter featuring information about our upcoming virtual events this month.