FAQ
+ What types of membership is offered by Gaingels?
Gaingels offers two types of membership. Our first type of membership is our Standard Membership for "Accredited Investors", allowing members to participate in our deals. The second is our Social Membership. This membership is offered to individuals who do not qualify as accredited investors, but who wish to attend our Gaingels socials and educational series.
+ What is the minimum investment required per year?
There is no minimum investment required per year, and especially for those who are new to venture capital, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the asset class.
+ What fees are required to be a Gaingels member?
Gaingels charges no membership fees.
+ How do I find out about upcoming events?
If you are a member and wish to to learn of upcoming events, please check our weekly newsletter (it comes out on Thursdays), or reach out to membership@gaingels.com.
+ I am interested in joining Gaingels, but I don't have a strong background in Venture Capital. Is Gaingels still for me?
Investing in venture capital is inherently risky and a certain degree of general financial sophistication is required and advised. Gaingels does offer a monthly Intro to Investing series to help prepare new individuals for what they might experience in the space. There is no minimum or yearly commitment to invest in any given opportunity, so anyone is welcome to join and learn more about the asset class without any immediate pressure to invest.
+ Who can I contact regarding membership?
If you wish to join Gaingels as a member, please apply at gaingels.com/join. If you have any additional questions regarding membership, please reach out to membership@gaingels.com.
+ How do you know which deals to invest in?
Gaingels does not make recommendations on which deals to invest in. We do, however, provide members with information that is made available to us by the companies and our co-investors. Additionally, many experienced investors hold weekly focus groups to independently review our recent deal flow. We would be happy to connect any members who express interest in joining one of these groups.
+ What type of measurable impact does Gaingels have as it pertains to its mission?
Gaingels runs many programs supporting our community, including a Gaingels Scholarship, a Board Diversity Program, our Gaingels Pledge, and a number of mission driven partnerships with an increasing number of organizations promoting DEI in the venture ecosystem. Through our Gaingels Scholarship program, we have supported over 50 underprivileged and deserving students from the LGBTQ+ community to this date with annual gifting of $150,000+ across each cohort.
Our board diversity program has helped source and evaluate over 350 candidate from underrepresented backgrounds, and has successful filled nearly a dozen independent board seats within our portfolio with amazing candidates from such pool.
In addition, to our knowledge, we directly and repeatedly fund more LGBTQI+ and underrepresented founders than any other single participant in the VC ecosystem to date. Each year, we publish a collection of 100 amazing LGBTQ venture backed entrepreneurs and promote their amazing stories through the Gaingels 100 project.
+ How does Gaingels source its deals?
Gaingels has an expansive network of partners who value our participation and invite us to be included in the deals we can offer to our members. Many of the top VCs continue to recognize the importance of diversity on the cap stack and work closely with Gaingels to help their portfolio companies diversify their ownership base. In addition, our members commit to the overall success of the network and refer opportunities to Gaingels helping us secure allocations on behalf of our members and representing our community.
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