Wearable Panic Buttons Score $530K, When Uncle Sam Joins the Cap Table, and the Perils of Grit Gone Wrong

Happy Thursday.

In today’s issue:

• Are you Happy with Your Angel Group? Answer here

• Angel Deals of the Week | 119 Deals, 88 Networks

• Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy

• The best nugget from my conversation with Patrick Farrell, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Keystone Investing (formerly Potomac Angel Capital)

🤔 Are you Happy with Your Angel Group?

Why: I'm trying to better understand what investors value most from their angel group memberships.

If you’re a current or former member of an angel group, will you take 2 minutes to answer 7 questions?

As thanks, I’ll send you:

• Aggregated report on what angel network members value most

• How your priorities compare to other participating angels

🔥 Angel Deals of the Week

Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources. These deals represent the elite few that survived an angel network’s vetting process. Note: I have not personally analyzed these companies and am sharing for informational purposes only.

📊 Angel Network Investment Tracker: 119 Deals, 88 Networks.

VOS Systems | Wearable panic button safety devices

Participating Group: Tamiami Angel Fund V

VOS Systems is developing lightweight wearable panic button devices that improve safety in schools and on worksites. The 5G-enabled technology enables instant alerts to emergency responders and is deployed in Florida schools to comply with Alyssa's Law. The company recently secured $529,994 from Tamiami Angel Fund V as the fund's 100th investment. Funds will support expanded production and entry into construction, mining, and renewable energy sectors.

Richard Allen | $529,994 Investment | Gainesville, FL | September 2025 | Source

Cayuga Biotech | First-in-class hemostatic drug developer

Participating Groups: Gopher Angels, Wharton Alumni Angels

Cayuga Biotech is developing CAY001, a first-in-class drug designed to address life-threatening hemorrhage, which is estimated to cause two million deaths annually. The compound mimics a natural polymer involved in the body's clotting response. The company recently closed its seed round with Gopher Angels, Wharton Alumni Angels, and lead investor NuFund Venture Group, supplementing six non-dilutive grants including funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. Funds will support continued preclinical development.

Andrea Ashford-Hicks | New York, NY | August 2025 | Source

Archaius | Defense tech communications systems

Participating Group: Charlotte Angel Fund

Archaius is developing patented Position, Navigation, and Timing solutions for defense applications in electronically contested environments. The company's flagship GRALE system enables near-lossless radio frequency connectivity in battlespaces where legacy systems fail, described as "the holy grail" by an allied commander, while TALON detects and locates hostile drones. Charlotte Angel Fund recently announced a follow-on investment to accelerate deployment of Archaius products to U.S. and allied forces.

James Upson | Durham, NC | September 2025 | Source

📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?

🔖 Bookmarks

1. 🏛️ Your Newest Investor: The U.S. Government: On Monday, it was announced that xLight is the third startup where the Fed is taking an equity stake, investing $150 million to challenge ASML's monopoly.

2. 🔥 VC Isn't Broken, Expectations Were: Thought piece from guest of the show Paul O'Brien on why more founders ≠ more bootstrappers - it's just a denominator problem.

3. 🤖 New Prometheus Deal: Jeff Bezos' $6.2 billion stealth AI venture Project Prometheus quietly made its first acquisition: agentic computing startup General Agents to power manufacturing automation.

🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from A Conversation with Patrick Farrell

Founder burnout can kill a company too 🔥

We talk endlessly about grit and resilience in the startup sphere.

But Patrick flagged the dangers of grit gone wrong: founders that "sacrifice their soul" to build their company typically lose both.

Takeaway: 

A founder’s health matters to the health of their startup.

Yes, it’s important to focus on finding “maniacs on a mission” (as Patrick O’Shaughnessy likes to say), and “healthy” can look wildly different for each founder and even for each season.

But as an investor, it’s worth being thoughtful about.

So next time you’re getting coffee with a founder, ask how THEY are doing, not just their business.

Want more? Check out my full conversation with Patrick 👇

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

🕵️ Looking for an Angel Group?

Finding the right angel community can be tough.

Answer 12 quick questions and I’ll curate 3 groups you might enjoy.

Even better - if one of them feels like a fit, I’ll personally make the intro.

Until Next Week 👋

Thanks for reading - have a great week.

-Andrew

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, could you do me a quick favor? Hit the "like" button or leave a comment with your thoughts. It may not seem like much, but it really helps me out a ton.

If you’re finding this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already. You can also find me on LinkedIn and X.