Learn more about becoming a member or getting funded by BAG.
Our mission is to accelerate the growth of the Brown entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing financial and other critical support to Brown alumni-founded startups.
Our 900+ members are a diverse group of Brown alumni (and friends of Brown) from around the world, representing recent graduates all the way to graduates of the Class of 1969. Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds including serial entrepreneurs, superangels, venture capital investors, family offices, lawyers, physicians, professors, corporate executives, and public company board members.
Our membership is open to any accredited investors who have an affinity for Brown and want to support the Brown entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Being a member of BAG is completely free. There are no annual membership fees or dues, and being a member does not obligate you to make an investment in any company at any time. That being said, we are looking for active members who want to write checks and help us support Brown entrepreneurs.
Brown students are known for their independent nature, pioneering spirit, creative ideas, diversity of thought, and desire to change the world. In our view, these are many of the qualities that make a successful entrepreneur. It’s no wonder that Brown alumni founders have created some of the world’s most successful companies including Workday, MongoDB, Starwood, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Warby Parker, OpenSea, Shutterfly, Netgear, ZipRecruiter, FM Global, The Wall Street Journal, McKinsey, CNN, Evite, Slideshare, Betterment, GoJek, Scopely, Figma, Lyra, and Stash – among many more.
Click here to fill out our membership form.
Click here to fill out our application form.
At least one of the company’s co-founders must be a Brown alum, faculty member, staff member, or current student. This person must be a full-time employee of the company at the time of investment.
No.
Our investment committee selects promising ventures based on a variety of quantitative and qualitative factors. Selected companies are presented to the BAG membership via an email that summarizes the business and includes a pitch deck and a short video of the Brown founder(s) introducing their company. Members can indicate their interest in a particular deal by filling out an allocation request form. When there is sufficient interest in a given company, we will provide access to a data room and organize a Zoom diligence call with the founder(s). Members then make their final allocation requests, sign documents, and wire funds to BAG. We pool all member capital into a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and invest in the company as a single entity on the cap table. The process generally takes about 4 weeks once the deal email goes out to members.
Typically, 2 to 3 hours. Our goal is to be efficient and effective with your time as we recognize that it is your most valuable resource.
Many angel groups have processes that are long, complicated, and lack transparency. In other words, they are not founder-friendly. As founders ourselves, we understand the importance of delivering an experience that is effective, efficient, and respectful of a founder’s time. While we do need a founder’s engagement during the process, we’ve created a simple and transparent process that we believe delivers a strong ROI on the time invested.
We are sometimes able to accommodate “flash deals” via an accelerated investing process that can take as little as 2 weeks.
Our high quality deal flow comes from a variety of sources, including inbound applications on our website, referrals from BAG members and BAG portfolio companies, and targeted outreach efforts to Brown entrepreneurs. We actively seek out companies with diverse founding teams.
We have no set target for the number of companies that we fund per year. Our twelve month rolling average is roughly 1 deal per month.
Our check sizes have ranged from $100,000 to $1,400,000. Our average check size is about $300,000. In general, we do not write checks below $100,000.
The minimum check size per member per deal is $10,000.
Yes, our members have invested in BAG SPVs via self-directed IRAs, most commonly via AltoIRA.
We are stage-agnostic. We invest at any stage in the lifecycle of the business (pre-seed all the way through pre-IPO). Occasionally we will purchase secondary shares from a founder/executive. Click here to see our diverse investment portfolio.
We are sector agnostic. We will invest in any industry that our members are excited about. Some of the areas where we’ve frequently invested include digital health, e-commerce, software-as-a-service, consumer packaged goods, and robotics. Click here to see our diverse investment portfolio.
We harness the incredible power and reach of the Brown alumni network to give our portfolio companies an edge against their competition. This has included successful introductions to institutional investors, new customers, employee talent, advisors, mentors, peer entrepreneurs operating in the same industry, and even celebrity partners.
No, we are not a part of Brown University. We do have a friendly relationship with many individuals at the university, and some of them are active BAG investors. We are strong supporters of the university and are honored to be able to play a role in helping to increase the number of Brown entrepreneurship success stories. To that end, a portion of the profit from each investment we make is earmarked for the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University.
We have no formal affiliations with any investment firms or groups.
