Funding

Founders – please submit your company information to be considered for an investment by the Sierra Angels, our networking group, our partners seed funds, and our investor syndicate. We evaluate every application we receive, but cannot respond with specific reasons why applications are not selected to pitch to our group. For general guidance, there are several places on this website where we state our preferences.

Each year, the Sierra Angels conducts 5 investment cycles with 3 companies pitching for investment each cycle. These new investment cycles are conducted in-person in Reno/Tahoe, Las Vegas, and virtually.  Members meet 2 additional times (virtually) to hear updates / add-on investment requests from 2 portfolio or member-referred companies.  Members and invited guests meet one more time for an in-person Summer social gathering at Lake Tahoe – just for fun!   That’s 8 meetings per year – see our current year’s calendar below.

Our investment cycles begin 4-5 weeks before our investment cycle meeting date, where we consider all applications submitted since the last cycle. We narrow the field to 10-12 “quarter finalist” companies based on the companies’ application forms, pitch decks, and light research conducted by our intern team. 3 weeks before the investment cycle, our selection committee meets to discuss the quarter finalist submissions, selecting 6 semi-finalists. The 6 semi-finalists pitch (virtually) for 5 mins + 8 mins of Q&A two weeks prior to our investment cycle meeting. The final 3 companies are selected and pitch (6:15 to 7:45pm) at our live investment cycle meetings conducted simultaneously in Las Vegas and Reno/Tahoe.

All companies submitting to pitch for investment should be aware of the virtual and in-person meetings. We hear virtual pitches for our investment cycle meeting, but we prefer finalist companies to pitch in person if possible – and meet the angels in person in Las Vegas or Reno/Tahoe.