An angel investor is a high net worth individual who is one of the first investors in a startup. This stage of investing is well before venture capitalists come in and is one of the riskiest stages to invest in. The amount invested by an angel investor is often only a small percentage of their overall net worth.
In exchange for investing, angel investors generally take a sizeable percentage of the company and may set certain conditions on the entrepreneur. Angel investors may sometimes be the only source of capital a startup might receive early on, as banks do not favor risky investments.