About

Wolfpack Investor Network members must be accredited investors and affiliated with NC State University in one or more of these forms: alumni,faculty, staff, students, parents, friends and donors are all eligible for membership. To be an accredited investor an individual must have over $200,000 in annual earned income (or $300,000 together with a spouse) or have a net worth of over $1 million (excluding the value of their primary residence). For more information on accredited investor requirements, please see the SEC’s accredited investor bulletin.

The Wolfpack Investor Network invests in NC State-affiliated startups. To be considered for investment, companies must meet the following criteria:

• Have a founder, executive, or board member who is an NC State alumnus, faculty, staff, student or parent
• Raising seed or Series A equity capital of $250,000-$5,000,000 or syndicating later-stage equity financings with an existing institutional lead investor
• Located in the United States

The Wolfpack Investor Network facilitates investments by its individual members investing in early stage companies that have the potential for high growth and significant financial returns. When filtering opportunities for review by WIN members, the WIN Screening Committee looks for the following attributes:

• A large market opportunity
• A unique value proposition
• Proprietary technology, intellectual property, or other basis for sustained competitive advantages
• A dedicated management team equipped to scale the company
• A corporate structure that allows for equity investment at defined terms and conditions
• A strategy and plan that has the potential to produce venture-grade returns

The Wolfpack Investor Network’s operating team actively seeks input and feedback on members’ areas of interest and focuses its efforts on areas in which members have particular preferences.

No. Wolfpack Investor Network members are not committing capital to a fund and are not required to invest in any deals. Individual members are free to either invest or not invest in any opportunity as they so choose.

There are no minimum annual investment amounts for Wolfpack Investor Network members. Members are expected to be active in the network and, where a member has relevant experience, to be available for advice, guidance, and opinions to support investment decisions and to help portfolio companies grow.

Members are required to pay a $1,500 annual membership fee. This fee helps fund the operations of the Wolfpack Investor Network, which includes both services and resources. 

WIN is a staff-led angel network with an operating team of professionals that devote all or a portion of their time to WIN, including vetting 150+ potential opportunities annually and presenting approximately 8-10 curated investment opportunities per year to members.

The Wolfpack Investor Network is run by an operating team that includes:

• Operating Team: is a group of six individuals supported by guidance and oversight from the Wolfpack Investor Network Advisory Board and Steering Committee.
• Advisory Board: 10-14 WIN members with subcommittees to optimize WIN member experiences.
• Screening Committee: 6 WIN members who guide strategy and screen potential deals.
• Steering Committee: 4-6 university stakeholders and investment professionals.
• Graduate Due Diligence Analysts: Graduate students from across NC State who provide support across all aspects of the network including deal diligence, transaction management, and communications.
• Diligence Director: Screens all deals and oversees graduate due diligence analysts program.

• Deal Sourcing by actively seeking out investment opportunities that fit with member preferences 
• Deal Screening by meeting with and vetting 150+ potential investment opportunities annually with ties to NC State university 
• Developing early access to investment opportunities with companies where the NC State Innovation & Entrepreneurship leadership has previously developed a trusted relationship

The Wolfpack Investor Network actively sources investment opportunities from existing members, the Operating Team, and the global NC State community, as well as direct applications via the Wolfpack Investor Network website. The Wolfpack Investor Network’s operating team screens investment opportunities based on the preferences of angel members and readiness for investment before presenting opportunities to members.

The Operating Team provides active guidance and support throughout the investment process, including:

• Sourcing deal opportunities to supplement deal referrals from members
• Screening initial company applications
• Managing information dissemination between the companies and the members
• Managing process and communications during diligence
• Performing diligence tasks and analysis as needed
• Supporting the investment transaction process
• The team does not provide investment recommendations

All investment decisions are made by individual members and all investments are made directly from members to companies. The WIN Operating Team facilitates a process that enables informed decision making in a timely manner.

Wolfpack Investor Network members are expected to be active in the network. This includes actively sourcing investment opportunities for the group, collaborating and contributing to diligence processes and investment decisions, participating in the investment process on a regular basis, and providing support and guidance for portfolio companies based on experience and expertise.

The Operating Team is active in monitoring and advising Wolfpack Investor Network portfolio companies. Such support can take many forms, including advice on business strategy and tactics, introductions to potential customers or partners, assistance with recruiting, and facilitation of future financing rounds or exits. 

No. The Wolfpack Investor Network respects the privacy of members and will not publish a membership list. As companies enter the formal diligence process with the Wolfpack Investor Network, interested members will be introduced to the company. Background information can then be shared directly by members with companies.

The Wolfpack Investor Network invests in NC State-affiliated startups. To be considered for investment, companies must meet the following criteria:

• Have a founder, executive, or board member who is an NC State alumnus, faculty, staff, student or parent
• Raising seed or Series A equity capital of $250,000-$5,000,000 or syndicating later-stage equity financings with an existing institutional lead investor
• Located in the United States

The Wolfpack Investor Network facilitates investments by its individual members investing in early stage companies that have the potential for high growth and significant financial returns. When filtering opportunities for review by WIN members, the WIN Screening Committee looks for the following attributes:

• A large market opportunity
• A unique value proposition
• Proprietary technology, intellectual property, or other basis for sustained competitive advantages
• A dedicated management team equipped to scale the company
• A corporate structure that allows for equity investment at defined terms and conditions
• A strategy and plan that has the potential to produce venture-grade returns

In addition to the involvement of members with relevant experience and expertise, the Wolfpack Investor Network enables portfolio companies to leverage the broader resources of the global NC State community. This could include support from University faculty, project assistance from student internships, and targeted access to the University’s alumni and partner network. Most importantly, the operating team will actively match companies with expertise in the global NC State network.

The Wolfpack Investor Network invests in NC State-affiliated startups. To be considered for investment, companies must meet the following criteria:

• Have a founder, executive, or board member who is an NC State alumnus, faculty, staff, student or parent
• Raising seed or Series A equity capital of $250,000-$5,000,000 or syndicating later-stage equity financings with an existing institutional lead investor
• Located in the United States

The Wolfpack Investor Network facilitates investments by its individual members investing in early stage companies that have the potential for high growth and significant financial returns. When filtering opportunities for review by WIN members, the WIN Screening Committee looks for the following attributes:

• A large market opportunity
• A unique value proposition
• Proprietary technology, intellectual property, or other basis for sustained competitive advantages
• A dedicated management team equipped to scale the company
• A corporate structure that allows for equity investment at defined terms and conditions
• A strategy and plan that has the potential to produce venture-grade returns

In addition to the involvement of members with relevant experience and expertise, the Wolfpack Investor Network enables portfolio companies to leverage the broader resources of the global NC State community. This could include support from University faculty, project assistance from student internships, and targeted access to the University’s alumni and partner network. Most importantly, the operating team will actively match companies with expertise in the global NC State network.

In addition to being shareholders in portfolio companies, Wolfpack Investor Network’s members will provide support and guidance for portfolio companies based on experience and expertise. This could include advice on business strategy and tactics, introductions to potential customers or partners, assistance with recruiting, and facilitation of future financing rounds or exits. When appropriate, members may be asked to serve on the board of directors of portfolio companies. Members will not be required to serve on boards.

In addition to the involvement of members with relevant experience and expertise, the Wolfpack Investor Network enables portfolio companies to leverage the broader resources of the NC State community. This could include support from University faculty, project assistance from student internships, and targeted access to the University’s alumni and partner network. Most importantly, the operating team will actively match companies with expertise in the NC State network.

Companies initiate the process by completing an online application. Once the application is complete, the following process steps will be followed:

• Initial Screening: The Screening Committee will assess the company’s readiness for investment and fit with investor member preferences. Companies should be informed of the initial screening decision within one week of completing an application.
• Review: Company information will be passed to the screening committee to review company information and indicate any initial interest in the investment opportunity. If sufficient interest is generated from members, the company will be informed that the network would like to move into diligence.
• Diligence: Interested investors will form a diligence team with a diligence lead who will interact directly with the company to move through the diligence process as quickly and effectively as possible. This process may involve pitch sessions in person or remotely via video/teleconference.
• Subscription: Results of the diligence process will be disseminated to all members, and interested members will subscribe to the investment opportunity.
• Transaction: With the help of the operating team, the syndicate of interested members will work with the company to structure and complete the investment transaction.

The Operating Team will provide support and resources at all stages of the process.

For initial meetings, companies should at minimum have an investor pitch deck presentation describing the market opportunity, the company’s solution, and the current team, as well as other information such as current and potential customers and partners, competitors, and any other information the company would deem appropriate. A long-form business plan and financial projections would also be appropriate for an initial meeting.

Subsequent meetings and due diligence will cover additional topics more in-depth, and could include product usage statistics (e.g., orders, shipments, subscribers, active users, downloads, website traffic, etc.), product development plans / roadmaps, pricing plans, detailed historical and projected financial statements, capitalization tables, hiring plans, partnership and licensing agreements, customer contracts, customer and prospective customer reports, marketing survey results, product ratings and reviews, intellectual property documentation, and other corporate documents.

Members will consider investments in follow-on financings on a case-by-case basis. In general, companies should assume that the Wolfpack Investor Network will not be a source for significant additional capital. Members are typically focused on helping companies get through the early stages of growth with seed stage capital.

The Wolfpack Investor Network does not sign non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements. Company information is shared with members and members are expected to keep all information confidential and to use information only for purposes of making investment decisions. Members are not bound by a confidentiality contract with the Wolfpack Investor Network; however, the operating team closely monitors the dissemination of information within the network, and any investor member who distributes information outside the network without consent will likely be asked to leave the group. At later stages in the diligence process, individual members may be asked to sign an NDA or CA directly with the company. These agreements will not include the Wolfpack Investor Network as a party.

No. The Wolfpack Investor Network respects the privacy of members and will not publish a membership list. As companies enter the formal diligence process with the Wolfpack Investor Network, interested members will be introduced to the company. Background information can then be shared directly by members with companies.

WIN is a membership network. Members must be accredited individual investors with an NC State affiliation (alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, friends, and donors are all eligible for membership) and pay an annual membership fee of $1,500. WIN members invest directly in NC State-affiliated companies.