Diaspora Therapy Platform Raises $270K, Sequoia's Original Apple Investment Memo Unveiled, and Why Most Businesses Shouldn't Raise Venture

Happy Thursday.

Big news this week: Last year, we crossed an exciting milestone: 101 angel network deals tracked across 72 networks. We published this report analyzing all that data, and the response from the angel community was overwhelming.

So we decided to run it back. On Wednesday I’ll drop the The Angel Network Pulse: 2026 Q1 edition, including analysis of 60 deals and 48 angel groups, exclusively available to subscribers like you.

I hope you’re excited - I certainly am :)

On to today’s issue:

• Angel Deals of the Week | 167 Deals, 102 Networks

  • First time featured this week: Keiretsu Forum Southeast Europe

• Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy

• The best nugget from the “How to Finance Your Startup” panel I served on this week

🔥 Angel Deals of the Week

Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources or via direct announcement. 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: 167 Deals, 102 Networks.

Wire Wallet | Non-custodial crypto wallet for communities

Participating Group: Bridge Angel Investors

Wire Wallet is developing a non-custodial crypto wallet (meaning users hold their own private keys and the company never controls their funds) that combines asset management, community tokens, and participation rewards in a single app. The platform, which the company says is built for cross-chain use with near-zero fees, currently hosts a dedicated hub for WallStreetBets members. Bridge Angel Investors recently announced an investment to provide capital and strategic guidance.

David Leland | Sarasota, FL | March 2026 | Source

ASA Vault | Embedded finance platform, privacy-first

Participating Group: Park City Angels

ASA Vault is developing an embedded finance platform (a technology layer built directly into banking apps) that connects consumers, banks, credit unions, and fintech companies through what the company describes as a patented, privacy-first data-sharing model. The platform gives users a unified view of their finances while allowing financial institutions to offer vetted fintech tools to members. Park City Angels recently announced an investment to support the Utah-based company's growth.

Landon Glenn | Provo, UT | March 2026 | Source

Bliss | AI therapist matching platform for diaspora communities

Participating Group: Keiretsu Forum Southeast Europe

Bliss is developing a culturally attuned online therapy platform connecting diaspora communities with licensed therapists matched by language and cultural background. The company, which operates between Helsinki and Tirana, reports more than 50 licensed therapists across 10 countries and early B2B clients including Raiffeisen Bank. Bliss recently raised $270,000 from Keiretsu Forum SEE, Finest Love VC, and Plug and Play, combined with non-dilutive grants, to launch AI companions trained on individual therapist styles and expand into U.S. diaspora markets.

Jona Doda | $270,000 Angel Round | Helsinki, Finland | March 2026 | Source

📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?

🏃 Join Me for a Morning Run at the ACA Summit

The ACA Summit (April 21-23, Westminster CO) brings together angel group leaders, individual investors, and ecosystem builders for three days in Colorado. I'll be there all week hanging out and recording conversations for The Diligent Observer podcast - come say hi!

On Wednesday morning, I'm hosting a fun run at 6:00am before sessions kick off. We'll get moving around 6:10 for a 2.2 mile route at an easy pace. There will be donuts and group selfies.

P.S. Not registered for the Summit yet? Use code “DO200” and save $200.

🔖 Bookmarks

1. 🍎 A Piece of VC History: Sequoia just released Don Valentine's original 1977 Apple investment memo, shared publicly for the first time ever in honor of Apple's 50th.

2. 🪦 IPOs Are for Founders, Not Angels: Fantastic piece from Yaniv Sneor and Alex Pederson with BioAngels showing that in life science, M&A > IPO for early investors. (TEASER: My full interview with both authors drops in 2 weeks; stay tuned).

3. 📊 How Much Revenue Do You Need to Raise a Seed Round? Data from SVB's State of Markets H1 2026 shows the answer ranges from $0 to $3.6M - median sits at $220K.

🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from Serving on a “How to Finance Your Startup” Panel This Week

Business financing is very confusing for many founders 🧩

This week I had the pleasure of joining the "How to Finance Your Startup" panel at the 2nd Annual Aggie Startup Summit to represent the angel investing perspective. What struck me after reflecting on all the questions we got is that there are a TON of ways to be a successful entrepreneur, and there's no one "right" way to finance a business.

When most people hear the word "entrepreneur," they picture a Zuckerberg-like tech founder in a dark room cranking out code and hustling for hyper-growth. But statistically, most entrepreneurs are small business owners mowing lawns or serving burgers - and small business ownership is its own legitimate, valuable path. The U.S. economy runs on it. The problem is, at least in circles I run in, funding conversations don’t often acknowledge this distinction - instead we assume the founders in the room have already self-selected into pursuing the venture route and understand the difference between a “startup” and a “small business”.

In reality, upwards of 30% of the applications we receive across the angel groups we serve are from small businesses that should not be raising along the venture track.

Bootstrapping can work. Venture can work. Traditional financing can work. The right question isn't "Which way is best?", it's "Which way is best based on the goals for my business, in my market, at my stage?"

Takeaway: As an angel, one of the most valuable things you can do when hearing a pitch is to listen well and then, if the deal doesn't match your profile, say so directly and redirect the founder toward a better capital source - an SBA loan, a community bank, a revenue-based lender - whatever serves them best.

📬 "Are Any of These Companies Still Raising?"

It's the most common question I’ve gotten across the 150+ angel deals we’ve featured so far.

Yes. The answer is yes.

So I’ve started testing something new with a few of the angel networks we work with: when I find one that's still open, I push it to their team directly - one deal at a time, deal brief and founder contact included.

Would something like that be interesting to you? Join the waitlist today.

Until Next Week 👋

Thanks for reading - have a great week.

-Andrew

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