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Ira S. Weiss is a clinical professor of accounting and entrepreneurship at the Chicago Booth School of Business and is a partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners.
When COVID-19 hit, there was a lot of concern about the possible impact of scrapping face-to-face business meetings, particularly among investors in startups, such as angel investors and venture capital. In both cases, personal interactions can tell investors a lot about the founders and executives who are asking for their money.
If angel investors and VCs curtailed their investing last year, it wasn't readily apparent. In 2020, VCs themselves poured more than $156 billion into the companies they backed, a 10 percent increase from the year before and the fifth year in a row of record investing, according to the National Venture Capital Association. While angel investment is difficult to measure, the Angel Capital Association's 2020 report put the number as high as $24 billion.