Happy Thursday.
“You’re not in the [YOUR INDUSTRY] business. You’re in the relationship business.”
Mentor reminded me of this a couple days ago.
Forward to an overwhelmed founder who needs to be reminded where they should focus their time.
On to today’s issue:
Angel Deals of the Week | 224 Deals, 113 Networks
First time featured this week: 1891 Angels
Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy
The best nugget from my conversation with Josh Bartels, Executive Director of Nebraska Angels
🔥 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: 224 Deals, 113 Networks.
🔓 The Exclusive: 9 Actively Raising Deals Shared to Date (2 Added Last Week)
DJ MicroLaminates | Dry-film photoresist material maker
Participating Group: SideCar Angels
DJ MicroLaminates develops dry film photoresist sheets (a solid, ready-to-use alternative to liquid light-sensitive coatings) used in semiconductor, microfluidics, and medical device manufacturing under its SUEX® and ADEX™ product lines. The company markets the epoxy-based films as easier and cleaner to apply than traditional liquid photoresists. DJ MicroLaminates recently closed a convertible note round with participation from SideCar Angels.
Don Johnson | Sudbury, MA | June 2026 | Direct
Karoo Health | AI cardiovascular care coordination platform
Participating Groups: 1891 Angels and Hyde Park Angels
Karoo Health is developing a platform connecting payers, providers, and patients to support earlier detection and coordination of cardiovascular disease, a driver of US healthcare costs. The company says programs have cut emergency visits and hospital admissions by over 40%, with cost of care down over 10%. Karoo serves more than 600 cardiology providers across 11 states and recently secured an oversubscribed $16.2 million Series A co-led by 7wire Ventures and Allumia Ventures, with 1891 Angels and Hyde Park Angels participating.
VesprSolar | Patented solar panel fastener technology
Participating Group: Atlanta Technology Angels
VesprSolar is developing a patented, spring-based fastener system that attaches photovoltaic panels to solar racking, aiming to make installations faster and more secure in extreme weather. According to VesprSolar, its clamps are now used by some of the largest solar structure and construction companies worldwide. Atlanta Technology Angels recently made its second investment in the company, citing its continued progress since the group's earlier investment.
Robert Sewell | Norman, OK | July 2026 | Source
📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?
You just read who raised. The Exclusive tells you who's still raising.
Every week I contact the founders behind the deals I track here and ask one question: are you still raising? When the answer is yes, the deal goes into a private portal with the company’s deck, a memo, the terms, and how to reach the founder, often a week or more before it runs in this newsletter. 9 new deals posted in the three weeks since launch. Accredited investors only.
Claim one of just 25 founding seats: $50/month for as long as you stay, full refund within 30 days if you’re not finding it useful.
🔖 Bookmarks
⚖️ Antitrust Comes for VC: Bloomberg reports the DOJ has spent nearly a year probing a16z over partners sitting on boards of competing AI companies.
🐝Bumblebee vs Airliner: Interesting breakdown from VC Tomasz Tunguz on how small local AI models can match cloud giants; they just think 7x longer to get there.
🎯 Founder Storytelling for Dummies: Fun read - Kristen Lowe breaks down three founder archetypes and how each should shape a founder’s communication strategy. Share it with a founder you know.
🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from a Conversation with Josh Bartels
No room for sharp elbows 💪
One of the things I love most about angel investing is how collaborative it is.
Sure, there are outlier cases where one person takes an entire seed round, but usually we’re writing $5K - $50K checks and then doing our best to help these companies figure out what’s next. And we can’t get it all done ourselves. So angels just share stuff. We share deal flow, best practices, ideas, connections, etc., all in the hopes of getting founders the help they need and being thought of when someone else sees a deal we should know about.
Josh’s comments highlighted for me how important that ethos is across geographies, particularly outside the coasts. And Nebraska Angels certainly seem to be doing something right - they recently were recognized as the 4th most active angel group in the country (per the latest Angel Capital Association Angel Funders Report).
From Josh: “There's no real room for sharp elbows... we all understand that there has to be a collaborative effort rather than trying to squeeze into deals and cut people out.”
Takeaway: Sand those elbows. Like everything else in business, it’s all about relationships.
Want more? Check out my full conversation with Josh 👇
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
Until Next Week 👋
Thanks for reading - have a great week.
-Andrew
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