Why Angel Investors and VCs Are Stronger Together

The recent Athena VC Festival 2025 in Leeds was a milestone for women in venture capital across the UK. As the largest women-in-VC conference outside London and the South East, it brought together over 160 investors, founders, and finance professionals to spotlight inclusion, innovation, and impact. A key theme that emerged throughout the day? The power of collaboration between angel investors and venture capitalists.

At events like Athena VC, we’re reminded that the future of investing isn’t just about larger cheques or bigger firms. It’s about building bridges: between early believers and institutional backers, between seasoned GPs and first-time angels, and between founders and funders who share a vision for change.

With the number of women VCs and angels increasing, we know that the amount of funding for female founders is going up. The Invest in Women Fund is an important first step to creating more impact, with £255 million going into female founded businesses.

How can collaboration between women angels and VCs help with this? In this post, we explore why angel investors remain a vital force in the venture ecosystem – and how their partnership with VCs can unlock better outcomes for founders and funders alike.

The Power of Women Angels

Women angel investors bring a powerful, often underutilized force to early-stage investing: empathy-driven conviction. They frequently invest in ideas and founders overlooked by traditional pipelines – not just because they believe in returns, but because they understand the lived experience behind the problem being solved.

What makes women angel support so critical?

• Speed and flexibility: Female angels often make investment decisions quickly, cutting through red tape to back visionary founders when others wait.
• Relational capital: Many women angels bring rich, diverse networks – not just in tech or finance, but across consumer, healthcare, creative, and care sectors. These connections can open doors for early customers, mentors, and even later-stage funders.
• Founder-first support: Women angels frequently lead with a coaching mindset. They offer more than just cash – they’re champions, connectors, and confidence-builders.

Women angels are also more likely to back women founders, and research consistently shows that startups with diverse leadership perform better. Their early conviction often paves the way for venture capital – and this is where alignment matters.

One example of this journey is LightOx, a Newcastle-based life sciences company who have developed an oral gel activated by a light device that targets a serious pre-cancerous condition called oral epithelial dysplasia (OED). This Lifted Ventures backed deal has later been supported by women in a VC, with the company going on to raise £1.5m in a deal led by Praetura.

The Bridge to Venture Capital

Once a company gains traction, most will need to raise a larger round to scale. This is where venture capital comes in, with bigger cheques, strategic firepower, and operational support.

But women angels don’t just disappear when the VCs arrive. In the most effective cases, they help build the bridge:

• Warm intros with impact: When respected women angels introduce founders to aligned VC partners, they carry not just deal quality, but a shared mission around inclusive investing.
• Social proof with purpose: A cap table with credible women angels signals more than traction – it shows a founder has earned trust from investors who understand and amplify underrepresented journeys.
• Strategic momentum: Angels help founders hit critical early milestones – traction, team, tech – while VCs build on that foundation with capital to scale.

When angels and VCs are aligned, founders benefit from the best of both worlds: deep operational expertise from angels and the scaling power of institutional capital.

One example of this is a bridging round. A bridge round is a type of interim financing used by startups to “bridge” the gap between two larger funding rounds, typically between a seed round and a Series A. We recently supported WAC, a digital tech business supporting hospitality workers to manage payments founded by Georgina Fairhall, on their £500,000 bridging round as they prepare for their Series A raise. 

Keeping Alignment in Focus

Of course, collaboration isn’t automatic. Angels and VCs can have different incentives, time horizons, and views on control. But thoughtful planning and transparent communication go a long way.

Here’s how angel investors can set the stage for a productive partnership:

• Help founders prepare: Coach your portfolio companies on what VCs will expect with financial metrics, data rooms, and pitch narratives.
• Stay involved post-VC: Don’t vanish after a Series A. Continue supporting the founder with introductions, hiring advice, and strategic guidance.
• Co-invest when possible: Some angels follow on in VC-led rounds. This not only strengthens your stake but shows founders you’re committed long-term.

Toward a More Inclusive Future

Across the UK and beyond, the growing collaboration between women angels and VCs is reshaping the investment landscape. From syndicates like Lifted Ventures sharing deals with funds, to women sitting on boards and advisory roles post-Series A, a new model of partnership is emerging, one that is relational, intentional, and intersectional.

It’s time to retire the narrative that angel investing is just a “stepping stone” to VC. When led by women, these roles are not sequential, they’re symbiotic.

For founders, particularly women, non-binary, and underrepresented entrepreneurs, the message is clear: you don’t have to choose between angels and VCs. With the right alignment, especially among women investors, you can build a supportive, strategic capital journey from first cheque to global scale.