Angel investor in the context of "Businessperson"

Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public. Instead, it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in managing and structuring the companies. In casual usage, "private equity" can refer to these investment firms rather than the companies in which they invest.

Private-equity capital is invested into a target company either by an investment management company (private equity firm), a venture capital fund, or an angel investor; each category of investor has specific financial goals, management preferences, and investment strategies for profiting from their investments. Private equity can provide working capital to finance a target company's expansion, including the development of new products and services, operational restructuring, management changes, and shifts in ownership and control.

Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number of employees, annual revenue, scale of operations, etc. Venture capital firms or funds invest in these early-stage companies in exchange for equity, or an ownership stake. Venture capitalists take on the risk of financing start-ups in the hopes that some of the companies they support will become successful. Because startups face high uncertainty, VC investments have high rates of failure. Start-ups are usually based on an innovative technology or business model and often come from high technology industries such as information technology (IT) or biotechnology.

Pre-seed and seed rounds are the initial stages of funding for a startup company, typically occurring early in its development. During a seed round, entrepreneurs seek investment from angel investors, venture capital firms, or other sources to finance the initial operations and development of their business idea. Seed funding is often used to validate the concept, build a prototype, or conduct market research. This initial capital injection is crucial for startups to kickstart their journey and attract further investment in subsequent funding rounds.

Henry Ross Perot (/pəˈroʊ/ pə-ROH; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an independent campaign in the 1992 U.S. presidential election and a third-party campaign in the 1996 U.S. presidential election as the nominee of the Reform Party, which was formed by grassroots supporters of Perot's 1992 campaign. Although he failed to carry a single state in either election, both campaigns were among the stronger presidential showings by a third party or independent candidate in U.S. history.

Born and raised in Texarkana, Texas, Perot became a salesman for IBM after serving in the United States Navy. In 1962, he founded Electronic Data Systems, a data processing service company. In 1984, General Motors bought a controlling interest in the company for $2.4 billion ($6.1 billion in 2024). Perot established Perot Systems in 1988 and was an angel investor for NeXT, a computer company founded by Steve Jobs after he left Apple. Perot also became heavily involved in the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, arguing that hundreds of American servicemen were left behind in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War. During the presidency of George H. W. Bush, Perot became increasingly active in politics and strongly opposed both the Gulf War and the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Marc Porat is an American tech entrepreneur and angel investor. He is founder of six companies including General Magic. In the early 2000s, Porat was a member of a high-profile wave of tech executives who founded cleantech companies. He launched three companies in the built environment: Serious Materials, Zeta Communities, and CalStar Cement and was a member of the U.S. China Green Energy Council.

Andrew McCollum (born September 4, 1983) is an American angel investor and businessman. He is a co-founder of Facebook and the current chief executive officer of Philo.