FAQ

About us

For a long time, the venture capital industry was inaccessible to most people. VC was a kind of exoticism from which only a handful of people could benefit. For lone wolves – angel investors – the situation was even worse. For a number of reasons, having money doesn’t necessarily mean a startup would take it from you to split a stake in the company. However, this tendency is fading, and today the VC world is more open than ever to emerging investors.

Venture capital is a subset of private equity (PE). It’s characterized by high risk in exchange for high rewards. Also, venture capital offers one of the most substantial IRR (internal rate of return) that cannot be matched by traditional investment assets such as bank deposits or real estate.

Originally, the venture was concerned with any high-risk area, but its current importance is inseparably linked to technology companies – startups. Here, the current size of the global market is estimated at up to $200 billion, which opens a huge space for profitable investment and growth of spare capital.

In recent years, private investors, known as angels, have become increasingly influential. When they come together, they can represent a force comparable to venture capital funds that couldn’t go unnoticed. Often, angels join together to invest in companies, share their experiences, and improve their own skills. One such network is the ICLUB.


What is a key advantage?

Founded by one of Europe's leading venture funds, TA Ventures, ICLUB enables newcomers and veterans alike to enter the world of venture capital and invest together in fast-growing technology startups of Europe, North America, LATAM, and APAC. Today, the club has more than 500 members in 14 countries who have participated in over 60 deals. The end result did not disappoint. Right now, the amount of exits is approaching tangible $10 million.

The key advantage of the ICLUB is that members are only offered deals in which TA Ventures has personally invested. Such an approach significantly reduces the risk of building one's own portfolio and thus increases the probability of a successful exit. In other words, we are not a startup supermarket where investors guess and blindly pick a company. Each deal is screened and vetted by professionals with over twelve years of experience. TA Ventures has been successfully investing in global startups since 2010.


CLUB offers the following startup focus

verticals:

  • Mobility & Logistics

    innovations in automotive industry

  • Fintech

    innovations in financial services

  • SaaS

    innovations in software

  • Consumer Tech

    technology companies in the consumer goods industry

  • Healthcare & Biotech

    innovations in healthcare and biotechnology

  • Enterprise Software

    software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than individual users

If you are interested in learning more about venture capital investments per se, we recommend short articles on our blog here and here.

How it works

Our club works according to the trust (fiduciary) management scheme. In simple words, ICLUB is an intermediary between an angel investor and a startup. After selecting the desired company, the investor provides capital to SPV, our legal entity registered in Switzerland. The money is then transferred directly to the startup, preserving your financial interest.

Please note that individual investors – members of the club – are not mentioned in the startup's cap table. In other words, the investments are made in the name of ICLUB but on behalf of and in the interests of an investor. Each investment is accompanied by the mandatory signing of a fiduciary agreement between you and the club itself, which lists in detail and legally determines the conditions of the deal.

Such an approach allows for minimizing the contact between the startup team and the angel investor, who does not need to spend time on the bureaucratic processes of the deal. We take care of all the paperwork, while the investor receives regular (usually quarterly) reports on the work done and the current status of the company.

Conditions for invest

ICLUB and TA Ventures themselves usually invest in startups under the following conditions:

Equity

Provision of capital in exchange for a stake in the company.


Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE).

Providing capital in exchange for a stake in the company or cash equivalent, but only if certain conditions/events occur in the future.


Digital assets

A novelty used when investing in web3 startups. Digital assets most often include, but are not limited to, cryptocurrencies and crypto tokens. In such cases, investors may provide capital in exchange for a portion of the assets themselves or the income derived from them.


Debt

Providing capital with the expectation that the company will return the investment with interest.

How an investor makes money

In the VC business, money is made during an exit event when an investor sells their stake in a company. In practice, it looks like this. After attracting investment, a startup typically takes several years to develop. Once a certain point of growth is reached, investors have the opportunity to make an exit for a profit.

There are three such options:

Secondary market.

The most common exit option is for investors to sell their shares to other investors. Most frequently, such an exit occurs when a startup raises a new round. However, it is technically possible at any time.


Merger and acquisition (M&A).

A bigger company buys all or part of a startup to gain control. A business buys another for a variety of reasons. For example, to enter a new market, to reduce competition, to acquire innovative technology or intellectual capacity, i.e., a team.


Going public (SPAC, IPO, Direct).

The startup's shares become available to the public.


ICLUB members invest exclusively with TA Ventures and exit together. Not sooner or later.
If the startup and the subsequent exit are successful, ICLUB represents your financial interests and takes care of all the formalities. Investors will receive their money in the bank account without having to convert anything, sell shares, etc.

Speaking of exits, there are three things to keep in mind.

  • First, once you make an investment, you cannot get your money back at any time. It is essentially frozen and all you have to do is wait.
  • Second, and perhaps most importantly, a successful exit is not guaranteed. Venture capital investments are risky, and startups have a high probability of failure.
  • And third, if a startup fails, the investors are not compensated. The investment is burned.

The average exit time for TA Ventures and ICLUB startups is 4–5 years. However, it all depends on the specific company, industry, market conditions, and even luck. Read more about exits on our blog.

Participation and commission formats

We offer investors two participation formats — ICLUB Global and ICLUB Online.

ICLUB Online

ICLUB Online is the standard participation format that provides all the key features you need to invest. Participants have access to an online platform with a list of available deals, information about startups, and the ability to make commitments. 

As the name suggests, the investment process is completely digital and takes place online, wherever you are. ICLUB Online is based on anonymity. In other words, you don't meet other members and you don't know them. It is a good choice for those who want to focus on investing only, without add-ons.

Registration and presence on the online platform are free. Participants pay only two commissions. The first is the management fee, which is 2.5% of the investment amount per annum, paid 3 years in advance. The second named carry is 25% of the amount received at the exit. The minimum amount of investment in a startup by a participant is $10,000. In rare cases, the minimum ticket can be increased up to $25000 for late-stage startups.

ICLUB Global

ICLUB Global is a paid membership format that includes a number of benefits. The most notable is access to private events around the world where club members can see each other face-to-face and spend time together. Here you will find like-minded people, potential business partners, and just plain friends – people with real influence and money.

Other perks include

  • Commitment Priority. Comes in handy for particularly popular deals;
  • Finding and recommending other members based on your interests and goals.

Cost

ICLUB Global costs an additional $3,500 annually, while commissions remain similar. The first is the management fee, which is 2.5% of the investment amount per annum, paid 3 years in advance. The second named carry is 25% of the amount received at the exit.

The minimum amount of investment in a startup by a participant is $10,000. In rare cases, the minimum ticket can be increased up to $25000 for late-stage startups. Both participation formats have access to the same deals. There is no exclusivity.

Investor requirements

We offer investors two participation formats — ICLUB Global and ICLUB Online.

Individual and legal

First, the investor can be either an individual or a legal entity. There are no additional requirements for either party.


Transparent and clear

Second, you must have a transparent and clear source of income. We are very careful about where the money comes from, and we do individual AML and KYC procedures.


Personal account

Finally, we should add that the investor should have a personal account in a bank or money transfer system, such as Wise.

Investment process

One of ICLUB's main goals is to democratize venture capital investing. That's why we try to make the process as easy, fast, and clear as possible. See for yourself.

Fill out the online application and go through the KYC process.

Investment is a delicate process, so we, like startups, need to verify the integrity of new members. The verification is done by a specialized service Verifai.


Confirm your acceptance of our Terms of Use and register on the ICLUB online platform.

The Terms of Use outline the rules of membership in ICLUB, as well as the duties and rights of ICLUB members. In turn, registration involves creating a standard account, nothing special.


Choose a startup and make a commitment, specifying the investment amount

Every month, ICLUB offers its members on average 3–4 deals. For each of them, we manually prepare a package of information to help you make an investment decision.


Sign the Fiduciary Agreement

The Fiduciary Agreement is the main document that sets out the terms of the investment and your financial interest. It is signed individually by each startup.


Make the investment and wait for the results

Once the capital is received, the club does all further work. In order to keep the investors informed about the portfolio companies, we prepare quarterly reports on their activity and status.

The deal in a nutshell

Every investment follows a universal scenario.

The first step is to announce the deal.

TA Ventures and ICLUB are always looking for promising startups to invest in. Once a company is found and angel participation in the investment round is agreed upon, we announce the deal to the club members. The announcement is not necessarily accompanied by an immediate request for capital. It is often preceded by an introduction to the startup team and a presentation. Potential investors are also provided with key information in writing for their own review.


What is an allocation?

A bigger company buys all or part of a startup to gain control. A business buys another for a variety of reasons. For example, to enter a new market, to reduce competition, to acquire innovative technology or intellectual capacity, i.e., a team.


Commitments.

A commitment is a gentleman's agreement in the VC world. It's not an investment yet, but your firm intention to make one. If you like a particular startup, you click the commitment button with the amount you want to invest.


Sign a Fiduciary Agreement.

The Fiduciary Agreement is the only and most important legal document of an ICLUB Angel Investor. It records the terms of the investment, the obligations of the parties, and your financial interest.


Finalization.

After signing the Fiduciary Agreement, each club member – a party to the deal – will receive details and an invoice for the actual transfer of the investment.

Risks

Do not guarantee.

First, it should be noted that TA Ventures and ICLUB do not guarantee any return on investment or profit. If they fail, the funds invested will be burned and will not be repaid.


Startups often fail.

We carefully select startups for club members and only offer deals that we have personally invested in. However, even this approach does not guarantee a company's success. Historically, startups have had a high mortality rate, and this is not likely to change in the future. For early-stage startups, the risks are even greater. So be prepared for the fact that most companies will not produce the desired results.


Poor liquidity.

Once capital is transferred, it is essentially frozen until an exit, if one, occurs. You can't take money out of a startup at any time.


Time.

Startups take years to realize investments. The venture capital industry is a long game, so do not expect to make a quick buck.


Dilution.

As your startup attracts more and more new investments, your share may become smaller than the original one. Read more about this in our pro rata article.


No voting rights.

Club members who have invested in the startup are not included in the board of directors, shareholders, or other structures that make management decisions. In other words, you're in the role of a passenger who has to trust the startup team. The factors of success or failure of the company are beyond the control of the angel investor.

To minimize the risks, we recommend that you read the Due Diligence section.

Due diligence

Due diligence is the process of comprehensive company research required to make an investment decision. No matter how much you look at a startup, the risk is always higher than zero. However, competent due diligence can greatly increase the chances of success. This is a complex topic that requires a lot of time and experience, so we'll cover the basics here and provide links to additional material.

First, if you haven't already done so, read about the risks in the appropriate section.

Diversify your portfolio.

Putting all your money into one asset or company is a bad decision. It is better to spread out investments in several startups, albeit with smaller cheques. With this approach, the failure of one company will not mean the loss of all your investments.


Invest only in what you know.

Trust your knowledge and focus on certain types of startups and industries where you feel confident. Investments should not be made by inertia. It's important to be selective.


Connect with other investors.

Connect with other investors.


ICLUB Academy

Startups take years to realize investments. The venture capital industry is a long game, so do not expect to make a quick buck.