Angel investing group adds separate $20M VC fund seeking ‘founder DNA’
June 5, 2025
David Prichard at Denver Ventures’ annual meeting last month. (Courtesy Denver Ventures/Kalen Jesse)
Denver Angels’ wings got too heavy.
“When you’re reliably deploying seven-figure investments, you’re not angel investing,” David Prichard said of the 800-member group through a laugh. “The name was deceptive of what we were doing.”
So, the group’s CEO has launched a new organization called Denver Ventures, which serves as a sort of parent company to Denver Angels and has $20 million to put in fledgling companies.
“We’re positioning it as a real venture capital firm and repping ourselves as what we actually do,” Prichard said of the rebranded organization. “It represents our funds, our syndications, our community and our investor network.”
That pot will be used to invest in startups with less than $1 million in annual revenue across an array of sectors, Prichard said. Those businesses will mostly be in Colorado, though that’s not a requirement.
Investors include Golftec founder Joe Assell and local developer Kenny Monfort, who co-founded Denver Angels in 2016. Already, they’ve made 11 investments totaling $5 million, and Prichard said about 70% of them are based in the Centennial State.
The portfolio includes the likes of Urban Sky, a Denver balloon imagery firm that recently raised $30 million.
“Our primary thesis is around ‘founder DNA,’” Prichard said, explaining that the personality of an entrepreneur is the most important thing during the firm’s diligence process. “It can be the best business idea all day long. But if it’s not the best person, it’s not gonna go anywhere.”
The angel group still operates with a focus on writing later-stage checks to companies with over $1 million in annual revenue. Prichard said he and his general partners lead the deals and give members the chance to add on, totaling between $1 and $4 million per investment.
The angel network’s portfolio of 23 companies includes guaranteed-rent software Nomad and women’s ski apparel company Halfdays.
Prichard said a typical venture fund, like Denver Ventures’ $20 million one, uses about half its money to invest in new companies and the other half as a reserve for follow-ons. But because Denver Ventures has an affiliate organization — Denver Angels — focusing on more mature startups, Prichard said it can focus on earlier, riskier companies.
The later-stage businesses too, he added, are a better fit for angel investors anyway.
“We believe that the typical angel model is broken for 90% of investors,” he said. “It works for super angels that do 50+ deals and have access to truly phenomenal top deals, but for most people they don’t see enough deals and do enough deals.”
“For us we’ve flipped the model a little bit,” he continued. “Let’s give those individuals access to those later stage deals that are mostly available to institutional funds rather than angel investors.”
Prichard, who’s been involved with Denver Angels since it launched, formally joined management in 2019. He went full-time as CEO two-and-a-half years ago, which was when he started building out what would eventually become Denver Ventures.
When he first began, he said it was very informal.
“It was 20 people around a table with a case of beer,” he recalled.
It steadily grew over the last several years, and today Denver Ventures and Denver Angels combined have $60 million in assets. Prichard anticipates deploying around $20 million a year across 15 to 20 deals from both the angel group and the early-stage money.
Along with the new fund, Prichard hopes to expand the network with startup community events. While getting investors together and engaged was rewarding, he said that founders and other high-level executives didn’t necessarily have a seat at the table.
In the fall, Denver Ventures acquired Paired, a local company that runs the likes of ski days, wine tastings and breakfasts monthly, to bridge that gap. Its 150 members pay either $399 a year or $49 a month.
He hopes that will help the angel investing group to increase from 800 to 1,000 members by the end of the year. In three to five, he sees around 3,000.
Between now and then, he said Denver Ventures will launch more funds and likely raise one similar to the $20 million fund around 2027.
“At that point,” he said, “we will truly have access to any business in Colorado for anything we need.”
David Prichard at Denver Ventures’ annual meeting last month. (Courtesy Denver Ventures/Kalen Jesse)
Denver Angels’ wings got too heavy.
“When you’re reliably deploying seven-figure investments, you’re not angel investing,” David Prichard said of the 800-member group through a laugh. “The name was deceptive of what we were doing.”
So, the group’s CEO has launched a new organization called Denver Ventures, which serves as a sort of parent company to Denver Angels and has $20 million to put in fledgling companies.
“We’re positioning it as a real venture capital firm and repping ourselves as what we actually do,” Prichard said of the rebranded organization. “It represents our funds, our syndications, our community and our investor network.”
That pot will be used to invest in startups with less than $1 million in annual revenue across an array of sectors, Prichard said. Those businesses will mostly be in Colorado, though that’s not a requirement.
Investors include Golftec founder Joe Assell and local developer Kenny Monfort, who co-founded Denver Angels in 2016. Already, they’ve made 11 investments totaling $5 million, and Prichard said about 70% of them are based in the Centennial State.
The portfolio includes the likes of Urban Sky, a Denver balloon imagery firm that recently raised $30 million.
“Our primary thesis is around ‘founder DNA,’” Prichard said, explaining that the personality of an entrepreneur is the most important thing during the firm’s diligence process. “It can be the best business idea all day long. But if it’s not the best person, it’s not gonna go anywhere.”
The angel group still operates with a focus on writing later-stage checks to companies with over $1 million in annual revenue. Prichard said he and his general partners lead the deals and give members the chance to add on, totaling between $1 and $4 million per investment.
The angel network’s portfolio of 23 companies includes guaranteed-rent software Nomad and women’s ski apparel company Halfdays.
Prichard said a typical venture fund, like Denver Ventures’ $20 million one, uses about half its money to invest in new companies and the other half as a reserve for follow-ons. But because Denver Ventures has an affiliate organization — Denver Angels — focusing on more mature startups, Prichard said it can focus on earlier, riskier companies.
The later-stage businesses too, he added, are a better fit for angel investors anyway.
“We believe that the typical angel model is broken for 90% of investors,” he said. “It works for super angels that do 50+ deals and have access to truly phenomenal top deals, but for most people they don’t see enough deals and do enough deals.”
“For us we’ve flipped the model a little bit,” he continued. “Let’s give those individuals access to those later stage deals that are mostly available to institutional funds rather than angel investors.”
Prichard, who’s been involved with Denver Angels since it launched, formally joined management in 2019. He went full-time as CEO two-and-a-half years ago, which was when he started building out what would eventually become Denver Ventures.
When he first began, he said it was very informal.
“It was 20 people around a table with a case of beer,” he recalled.
It steadily grew over the last several years, and today Denver Ventures and Denver Angels combined have $60 million in assets. Prichard anticipates deploying around $20 million a year across 15 to 20 deals from both the angel group and the early-stage money.
Along with the new fund, Prichard hopes to expand the network with startup community events. While getting investors together and engaged was rewarding, he said that founders and other high-level executives didn’t necessarily have a seat at the table.
In the fall, Denver Ventures acquired Paired, a local company that runs the likes of ski days, wine tastings and breakfasts monthly, to bridge that gap. Its 150 members pay either $399 a year or $49 a month.
He hopes that will help the angel investing group to increase from 800 to 1,000 members by the end of the year. In three to five, he sees around 3,000.
Between now and then, he said Denver Ventures will launch more funds and likely raise one similar to the $20 million fund around 2027.
“At that point,” he said, “we will truly have access to any business in Colorado for anything we need.”
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