Luigi Amati is a seasoned Business Angel and co-founder of Italian Angels for Growth, one of Europe’s largest angel clubs. Luigi has over two decades of investment experience and a background as a researcher and entrepreneur which enables him to navigate the entire entrepreneurial life-cycle. He holds degrees from the University of La Sapienza in Rome and Imperial College London. As Honorary Chairman of Business Angels Europe, he actively works to shape the future of angel investing in Europe.

How long have you been a business angel and what are your greatest successes?  

My very first angel investment, although at the time I did not know that was the name, was in a company a friend of mine had started more than 20 years ago in the field of renewable energy; a few years later the company was listed on the stock exchange in Stockholm and provided me with a very nice 5X return. More consciously, I have been an angel investor since 2007, when together with eight friends I co-founded Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), today the largest angel group in Italy, counting over 300 members. My greatest financial exit so far has been Spreaker a webpodcasting company which after starting its activities in Emilia Romagna has a webradio platform, expanded worldwide and in about ten years became world leader before being sold to i-heart media. I have also several successful medtech companies in my portfolio such as Greenbone and Angiodroid. More recently my interest is directed towards the creative industry, where both my kids are busy with, my last investment is GUT Music, which promised to be the global Video Music Social network.  

What does the ‘new generation of angels’ means to you?  

While at the very beginning angels were identified as senior men with either an entrepreneurial or a managerial career, more and more we see a diversification both through a very welcome gender diversification, with an increasing number of successful women becoming angels, and through a younger generation becoming interested in angel investing at a much earlier age.  

What do you consider to be the biggest difficulties that new business angels are facing and what advice would you like to give them?  

Being a successful angel investor has many nuances and if you try to learn them all by yourself can lead to early disappointment and abandoning. My single advice is to join a well performing and well-connected angel club, such as those of the Business Angels Europe Club, and spend time with experienced angels learning how to build and grow a successful portfolio. Even if you are the lonely type of angel and do not particularly like investing in syndicates, I would still encourage a new angel to join a club to begin investing.  

Why did you join the ESIL Next Gen of Angels and what are your expectations?   

I was one of the promoter of the ESIL idea almost 10 years ago, as I see the need in Europe for a platform were angels and other early stage investors can connect, learn and also invest together in a way which is professionally stimulating, financially rewarding and personally good fun!