Happy Thursday.
Great angel groups rarely get the press they deserve. If yours could use some amplification, I'd love to have someone from your group on The Diligent Observer Podcast. Hit the button below and we'll find a time to chat about it.
In today’s issue:
Angel Deals of the Week | 182 Deals, 104 Networks
Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy
The best nugget from my conversation with Scott Jacobs, Executive Director at QCA Ventures
P.S. I’m actively hiring an A player Angel Operations Director for our service business. Know someone who would kill it running point on ops across multiple investor groups? Send them my way.
🔥 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: 182 Deals, 104 Networks.
Gritsee | AI video analytics for restaurants
Participating Groups: Georgetown Angel Investor Network
Gritsee is developing an AI platform that converts existing restaurant camera footage into operational data, tracking kitchen performance, staff productivity, order accuracy, and customer experience across multiple locations. The company says its system delivers an 85% reduction in refund disputes and a 70% decrease in kitchen errors. Current clients include Little Caesars, Jersey Mike's, and Wingstop. Georgetown Angel Investor Network recently announced an investment to support continued growth.
Photis Patriotis | Washington, DC | May 2026 | Source
Work& | Workplace lactation and wellness platform
Participating Group: Aggie Angel Network
Work& is developing workplace lactation and wellness room infrastructure for employers managing PUMP Act compliance, space booking, and employee benefits. Founded in 2018, the company serves clients including McKesson, Anthropic, Canva, TIAA, and Brookfield Properties through its R.A.M. access control software and managed room buildouts. The Aggie Angel Network recently announced its investment to support scaling operations, hiring, and technology development.
Abbey Donnell | Houston, TX | May 2026 | Source
Andrew’s Take: So fun to see this one come through. I had the chance to meet Abbey several years ago and have enjoyed tracking with Work& since then.
BUCKSTOP | Residual value intelligence for energy assets
Participating Group: CAV Angels
Buckstop is developing a residual value intelligence platform (a data system that calculates what aging or end-of-life energy assets are actually worth) for renewable energy owners, lenders, and insurers. The company says its platform replaces spreadsheet-based appraisals with transaction-backed valuations generated in under 60 seconds. Founded in 2025, Buckstop recently joined the CAV Angels portfolio, the UVA-affiliated angel group.
Alexander Olesen | Washington, DC | April 2026 | Source
📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?
🔖 Bookmarks
☄️ The AI Job Apocalypse is a Complete Fantasy: Thought piece from a16z on why the “AI job apocalypse” is derived from a zero-sum way of thinking, pushing back on the doomer narrative dominating headlines.
💰 Michigan Hits the Jackpot: University of Michigan reportedly invested $20M in an early OpenAI round, now worth billions.
⚠️ Buyer Beware: Anthropic is warning investors against secondary platforms offering unauthorized access to its shares, citing unverified deals and inflated valuations.
In partnership with the Angel Capital Association
If you're serious about angel investing, the ACA is the place to be. 15,000+ angels, $500M+ deployed annually, fantastic education, and a treasure trove of resources I reference constantly in this newsletter.
🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from A Conversation with Scott Jacobs
Train the founders, not just the investors 🎓
In my experience, most angel groups naturally focus primarily on making their members better investors. QCA figured out early that this is only part of the picture. If founders don't understand what angels are looking for, the pitches are bad, the diligence is painful, and everybody loses. So in 2001 they developed an “entrepreneur bootcamp” and have run it every year since.
From Scott: "We felt that we needed to create a two-sided marketplace. We needed to train founders on how to pitch funders, and we needed to work with funders on how to understand investing in early stages.”
Takeaway: Consider: is our group investing in the quality of the deal flow coming in, or just the process for evaluating it?
Want more? Check out my full conversation with Scott 👇
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
💼 We Operate. You Lead.
Running an angel network is, well, a lot.
Sourcing, screening, member updates, newsletters, platform upkeep, board reporting, and more. And the work has to happen every single month on a never ending treadmill for a community to grow.
That's the gap my team fills. We're an operations partner built specifically for angel networks, currently supporting 4 groups, 200+ angels, and over $5M deployed last year.
I’m opening space for just two new starts later this fall - if your plate feels heavier than it should, let’s chat.
Until Next Week 👋
Thanks for reading - have a great week.
-Andrew
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