angels + entrepreneurs networkThis is a ”startup investing group” listing and discussing pre IPO startup investing. It is a group headed by Neil Patel and touted by Robert Herjavec. Are they a legitimate service.
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A&E around and around the mullberry bush the monkey chased the weasle
Each properly managed start up will be carefully protecting confidentiality and the interest of the seed investors and angels , and each basis point of participation is zealously defended by each of them to get the maximum out of the IPO: so where does this service get its information from and what participations could be for sale?
As far as i can tell it is class D investments which means . I interpret those rules as far as AEN (Angles and Entrepreneurs Network) to mean that they only list opportunities that are in the Title II; Regulation D: Rule 506(c) category. So if I make less than or if my net worth is less than $107,000 I can only invest $2,200.
AEN only vets companies who are established but still very small – their veting consists of researching public records and if it passed all their criterion they do a personal interview with the CEO or owner.
Im a new angel i need some help.
Is A&EN legitimate? and how do I buy shares in one of their recommended start-ups?
I joined this venture last week but will soon be asking for my money back once I received their “investors kit”. When I learned that you don’t buy shares but rather you give a company your banking info so they can ACA from from your account to theirs, I saw nothing but red flags. There are TOO many shell companies offshore to trust giving anyone my routing number and acct number. Be very careful on this one.
I’ve been a member for almost a month now. You make the investments through one or more online, independent crowd funding websites such as Republic, or Wefunder. Both will accept a credit card instead of banking account info. I’ve made a number of small investments in the $100 to $200 range using a CC. The paying service with Neil seems to give you his expertise on assessing these startups, and access to directly ask questions of the companies’ founders, as well as educational videos on angel investing. It was only $79 for the membership, and I’m pleased with the service and recommendations so far. These are start ups in the seed funding round, and one shouldn’t expect any return for 3 to 5 years. that’s the nature of angel investing, as I’ve learned.
I joined and purchased the $495 up-sell. I then saw the next up-sell! I immediately requested a refund! Luckily I received the money back. I am still receiving emails and links to low budget videos. So far the main speakers appear to be really low budget actors of just sleazy scamsters!
??? I joined angels & entrepreneurs and i’ve never been asked to give anybody my bank account number. You might have this confused with a different organization. I’ve invested small amounts ($50 – $100) in 4 or 5 companies. I know the chances are slim to hit it big in pre-IPO investments, but I’ve never been asked for my bank account number.
ARE THEY A SCAM
They are not a scam you just don’t understand the service they provide. They are providing you access to startups that have high chance of succeeding.
I would love to know if this is legitimate, especially since Robert Herjavec is advertising it. I really want to trust what he says because he seems to me like a real business man and wouldn’t taint his name with a scam. But has anybody made any money from this service? Has anyone lost money from this service? It’s such a cheap membership fee, it must be too good to be true. SOMEONE ANSWER PLEASE.
I joined this group an still active. I am somewhat disappointed this far as I thought there would be someone at least giving you a really good idea if the startup company would be something they would actually invest in themselves. What you actually get is some home videos telling you a little bit about the company you are looking to invest in with Neal’s take on the company. However they do not lead you one way or the other. If you think about it these companies are paying A&E to introduce there businesses to there group of investors. I’m not certain how just the reviews can be when someone is paying them to present their companies. Everything I have heard them speak of they are pretty much neutral and careful not to give any direct advise.
However you will receive plenty of emails trying to get you to upgrade your account for a large fee in which they will actually then let you in on their personal deal flow they actually invest in. It has some good value such as the group comments and forums concerning the investment. You can also get answers from the companies themselves. I am just using this as a stepping stone. I have found several deals on Republic and Wefunder that have looked much better than the ones they suggest. So in closing they are pretty much promoting companies that are paying them to do so, not really helping you to discover companies they feel would succeed. Hope this helps
I’ve been a member for about a month and have made one small investment of $1K. I have to admit, though, that I am somewhat disappointed because the day after joining I began receiving emails inviting me to upgrade to their personal deal flow. This says to me the real way they make their money is through subscriptions and upgrades, which is a red flag to me. I’m not sorry I joined, but I won’t be upgrading.
Hi Larry, I’ve been a member for about a month and I also made some small investment around $100 -$200. But now I receive several emails asking me to upgrade to their Founders membership, and now all of the Deal Flows in my page are for Founders only. The investment that I have made I’ve made through the Republic page directly. The Angles + Entrepreneur website doesn’t give me access to any Deal Flow and I paid $129 for my membership. I guess this membership only give’s me access to the Republic site and the videos so it’s up to me to do my own homework on the companies we choose to invest in. The presentation is quite deceiving but a least now I have access to Angle Investment.
Good luck with all of your Investments.
Raquel
I was a real fool and bought the $495 up-sell! What a JOKE! Get out while you can do so without being fleeced!
I joined for $1,500 then upgraded for another $1,500 just because I wanted to invest in Piston. The date of the offering they sold all available shares. I tried to buy but their software kept kicking back my order. When I complained the best they could do was to offer to put me on the waiting list for the next round in 88 days. I demanded a refund, but they’re ignoring me. Think twice about start engine.
Stephen, you never needed AEN to invest in or find out about Liquid Piston. It can be bought through WeFunder or StartEngine. Also you can find out all about Liquid on KingsCrowd for free.
I hope this helps.
I am elite member but considering upgrading to VIP so I can invest in robotic knee replacement. Does anyone in the deal flow arena know if you will be locked out due to oversubscription or what the minimum investment is into that deal? Also, today I get email upgrading to deal flow for $1500 on the homepage today states $5K?
Please don’t encourage scammers by giving them money. The deal is Monogram Orthopaedics. Google it.
I also dropped some coin into Monogram Orthopedics and knew it wasn’t a quick IPO type of company. I simply researched them on their website and they are pretty open about their plan. I personally like what they are doing especially the new robotics that are supposed to be better than anything on the market. From what I remember, a company brought the first robotics to the industry a few years ago and a VC firm came in and bought them out making all the investors a lot of $$$!! So I’m hoping their robotics brings a similar deal. Love what they are doing tho. The negative side is A&E made it look like MO was about to go public or be bought out by a VC firm so be careful on the used car / upsell tactics every now and then.
I did the same thing. Then they want you to keep paying more money to get more information. Bait and switch.
Hi Raquel, I just read your commentary, In summary what you are saying is you need to upgrade your account to get access to dealflow angel investments right?
How much is the upgrade to their person deal flow?
Hi Carol, I joined A&E early October as a lifetime member ($497) which gives you full access but it comes with a price I found. They give you the four recommended companies to invest in and some extra advice but that’s it. Everything else it’s Pay to Play and it’s not cheap. The Deal Flow cost is $2450 and there’s no guarantees and Neil suggests he MAY BE investing in it which isn’t confidence inspiring. I’m seriously considering leaving the group and getting my money back. I will be back on here after I do some more research .
Will
Amen! I did!
I did the same thing joined because of Robert Herjavec and thought it would be solid if he put his name on it. Sounded great but all i get is up sales and other offers.I have complained and asked about the private deal flow but they never reply. I see red flags so I’m going to try to get my money back but it might be too late. i joined about the same time you guys did.
Their personal deal flow is now 5k a year! I signed up for the lifetime deal at 495. thinking about jumping ship.
I joined Angels and Entrepreneurs around August and I got their kit, invested $200 to 2 companies, so far I haven’t heard about when will you get your investment, is it earning interest? I don’t want to invest a big amount because for me any company you invested in should be transparent on what’s going on with your money whether it’s earning interest or not. They just said that their company is growing but doesn’t really mention anything about your money or it’s investors. It says there also in their website that you invest only on the money you can afford to lose though I don’t want to lose money of course.
I got the message to upgrade to the personal deal flow. I honestly am glad I upgraded my subscription. I was able to access better deals and have found one specific deal that will make a lot of money in future. The way I see it is, If a deal can make me half a million dollar 10 year from now on with 5k investment and roughy $2500 access to that deal, I’d do it any day. Also some of the deals require you accredited investor – annual income of 200k or net worth of $1 million.
I wish you well…
Amen! I joined and upgraded.. After reading and researching I asked for A 100% REFUND and they did! Apparently they are somewhat above board. I can’t really afford to find out, especially if things go south!
Exactly, it’s just a bait and switch scam.
Robert Herjavec was just a paid face to promote it. The money to be made will be a very long time to come 5-10 years. if at all. You are investing in start-up companies and many of them fail. Don’t invest want you can’t lose and don’t get caught up in all the upsell emails. A basic membership is all that is needed to learn basics. Outside of that, it’s a group of men & multiple organizations that start bombarding you with emails to sell you more stuff.
You are spot on Sue.
One benefit is many A&E investor groups have formed locally . Now you can meet up with other like minded peeps in your city/metro area and discuss different ventures.
I also joined in August 2019, then had my email blow up with multiple upgrade offers that pour in on a daily basis. I feel it was worth the entry price to make me aware of “Angel Investing” in general.
I am also trying to figure out if this group is truly a real opportunity for anyone other than Neil Patel who will make money off all the subscriber fee’s. Terms and conditions state that the “writers” are unable to invest in their opportunities, so if Neil Patel wont invest in what he is suggesting then why should we?
Waiting for more reviews before I jump ahead
I emailed asking about Robert Herjavec’s role in this business and got no response. If he has anything to do with it he is only going to stain his reputation. I believe Neil Patel is really the only one who is definitely going to make money. There’s not enough advise given to actually make any decisions on companies. It is really only good to help introduce you to angel investing. I got more out of watching shark tank episodes. Robert Herjavec, either get involved if you are a part of this business or let the people know your not.
At the bottom of the Terms and Conditions, it states that Robert is a paid spokesperson for the company.
I bought a membership with them. They’re not the only company that provides this service though; there are other crowdfunding pre-IPO networking sites, shop wisely.
Anyway, they charged a membership fee, then charged another fee per deal (3.5% of the amount I invested). When I subscribed to the investment, it stated that it secured my money on a waiting list because it was oversubscribed. I understand Neil is a digital marketing guru so yes I’m sure he is making easy money from all the fees set up on an automated system with each investment/deal, and of course he will make more money than any of us because it’s his system (he does what he wants with it while we make our own decisions on our end based on our discretion of the service he is providing…which is networking deals). I think charging us 3.5% on each amount we invest is too much though. I wish they would only charge us 0.5% at first, then the rest 3% of our initial investment AFTER we make the money, because by then, we are HAPPY to give away that 3% of our initial investment.
Well, I hope the ROI is at least 5 to 500 times more than that 3.5% fee and membership fee so that we may have enough profit money to cover for it, plus the amount we will owe on taxes from those profits, and some to enjoy the same lifestyle as Robert someday. I hope this is a win-win for everyone.
You’re saying Angels and entrepreneur network charged addition 3.5% on top of their fees? I find that hard to believe because I have invested in 10+ deals from them and have not been charged anything. The crowdfunding site may be charging you, that’s their policy, that amount is not going to the A&E network.
After joining at the 79 dollar level, I was disappointed. Neil Patel provides his review on each opportunity but that’s about the only perk. Then I found out that there are tiers of memberships with startups not available to my membership level. ‘Republic’ has more varieties of startups and is free.
HI what is “republic?” Thanks in advance for your reply.
A&E network is not the same as crowdfunding sites. There are tons of sites similar to republic.co. Yes, there are tiers of memberships, going up to a maximum of $5000.00, which gives you access to deals that some are only for accredited investors – a person with an annual income of 200k or a net worth of $1 million.
Most good investment companies won’t let their staff invest at least for a wile after the stock is recommended. I belong to this but find it’s frustrating to wade thru their communications.
I joined on day-0, with a low cost life-time membership. SO far they are providing lots of good information, and several early round (seed) pre-IPO deals that you can join if you wish. They provide steps to invest via We Fund in some cases. Seems they are doing what they said they would do so far, bu will keep you posted.
Are you still happy you joined? Was thinking of upgrading to Elite, but would like to know if it seems worth it.
I’ve been researching this for awhile and I’m very interested to see if my membership fee was worth it. I’ll keep you updated.
Jessica did you need to pay additional after the joining fee to get more info.
I was contemplating membership but just finished reading a review that said when the gentleman joined the “best deal” diamond level he was taken to another page which clarified you do not have access to “investing” unless you upgrade to “VIP” with an additional $1000. It was also noted that Patel was the only name appearing on the site after the initial joining, I’m staying on the fence for now.
Thank you for sharing the information about the additional $1000 fee, it prevented me from buying a costly membership. I will not become a member of AEN.
That isn’t true- the next page OFFERS you a lifetime membership- you just click no and move on. The 79 still gives you 2 deals a month
The addition $1000 fee gives you access to more deals. There are multiple levels of subscriptions up to $5,000 for lifetime membership in the A&E. The highest subscription gets you access to deals for accredited investors – for people who make 200k a year or have net wroth of $1 million.
The upgrade to the “Elite” 2 year membership is 499.00 today instead of $599 and they credit your initial $79.00 fee. Elite level has a number of extra benefits, but not sure if I will upgrade of not. Looking for small time investing is challenging when you feel the only ones making any money are the big boys. We’ll see.
There are multiple levels of subscriptions up to $5,000 for lifetime membership in the A&E. The highest subscription gets you access to deals for accredited investors – for people who makes 200k a year or have net wroth of $1 million.
Rob, are you an Agora employee?
I signed up and paid 4-5 days later I called Jason Woodstock and was passed on to a customer service representative. I must report and I am grateful to report that he told me honestly that whatever it is a person invests in, no monies will be seen for 2-3 years. I made a quick decision and asked him to arrange to send me my 60-day money back guarantee and he said he will do that and it will appear on my card 5-7 business days and I will get an email about this. I suggest one thinks hard about this. Imagine how much money could be invested in 2-3 years without a return. I think it must be thought about very carefully.
Can foreigners invest?
Hi,
I wrote in to their support desk asking this question. They say that as far as they know anyone can invest.
Not really a good answer !
Usually not, Andrew.
Here is what I posted before in another discussion group:
It’s a new endeavor under Money Map Press called Angels and Entrepreneurs. Actually Robert Herjavec only shows up in the introductory video. It is mainly run by Neil Patel. Neil gives his take on hand picked start up ventures with info(a “cheat sheet”) and a sales pitch from the person(s) and a one on one interview with Neil Patel. You can then choose to invest through a fund like WeFunder, Republic, MicroVentures or some others. The cost to join can be $149 for a “Founder” level, but then. of course, they want you to upgrade to higher levels like “Elite Founder” and another called “inner Circle” I think. If you are a person that does your own due diligence you can just look to the Funding companies for startups, but, it is nice to hear what Neil Patel’s take is on their business . Hope that this helps.
And for more food for thought:
If you decide to support and invest in one of the start ups funding rounds, what’s to say that the business won’t have another round of funding in the future and therefore, your share of future profits becomes more diluted?
I contacted A&E’s customer service to find out how many membership levels they have and the associated fees. They described four levels – Gold ($39 a year with annual auto renewal), Diamond ($79 for 2 years but no auto renewal), Platinum ($129 for 3 years, not sure about auto renewal) and Lifetime ($495). Apparently all of these are basic levels which don’t provide access to the best investment opportunities. To get access to the best opportunities they have two advanced membership levels called Elite and VIP, one of which costs an additional $1,000 to join (not sure if this is a one-time or annual fee). Not sure about the cost to join the other one. Apparently they use a bait and switch approach. As soon as you sign up for one of the four basic memberships you get switched to a page suggesting you join one of the advanced levels. You can’t find any of this information on their website. I had to dig it out of the customer service rep who was almost as confused as I was about the membership levels and fees. This may very well be a good service to join but they have done a poor job of explaining their membership levels and fees. And they should drop their bait and switch and be up front about the costs to get access to the really good opportunities before anyone signs up.
Thanks for all the insight. Like others I will stand by the sideline till I’m clear of all aspects of this opportunity.
Not sold yet. I’ll sit on the side lines till I’m comfortable.
If I were a millionaire, I would just GIVE others this information and let them see for themselves that it works and then ask for a donation so that I can continue to GIVE this information to others! I think there is a startup opportunity in that idea! I just do not know how to go about getting the initial investment to start it up!
I always think the same. These guys have a jillion dollars. Why no open the door for others . I agree and if we find its legate we should pay the fee after, rather than having to go though the whole refund procedure!
Because they have other people who are investing in this program and it to satisfy them not Patel or Haj…
Jack, KingsCrowd is already doing just what you suggest. Providing the information for free. They aren’t bottom-feeders like AEN. You suggest a donation, but one can actually invest in KC … or not, your choice. It’s likely that they get a fee for sending investors to the investing sites.
In all fairness to A&E they are a research service and Mr. Patel does an excellent job in evaluating the companies that they have highlighted as potential investment opportunities. Having said that I will further say that their website has some significant flaws. Firstly any comments or questions submitted to the site or i.e. Mr. Patel do not seem to get answered in a timely fashion and secondly it is not clear until you may decide to invest in any of the companies they have researched that you have to go to outside websites of Crowd Funding companies in order to actually invest. In some cases the information at these Crowd Funding sites has more information or rather the information about the opportunity is better explained then the way A&E has tried to do. I found that interesting because Neil Patel is known for his digital expertise and so it leads me to believe that the site itself has been left to someone other than Nell Patel in it’s development but the due diligence videos are plainly the work of Nell Patel.
The one thing that may seem to people as to A&E being a possible scam is the entire process from the intro video with Robert Herjavec and Neil Patel to the upsell messages after one has chosen an initial package. This process or sales funnel is a cookie cutter format used by a lot of web investment opportunities. I imagine that it’s been used again by A&E because it works. That’s not to say that there is not value in what they are offering. On the contrary in my opinion if you read everything on the site as far as overview info and specific info on the proposed opportunities and you also follow up with all information on the Crown Funding sites that are hosting the funding for these companies then I believe one can make an intelligent decision as to whether investing is in your best interest. Unfortunately that road map to get you to that stage is not laid out specifically on the A&E website.
The business may be legit but that does not mean you can make money. Red flag for me is Neil does not invest in any of the deals he touts. He tries to upgrade you numerous times. If you spend $1950 per year and am an accredited investor you then have access to quality deal flow that Neil invests in himself. Otherwise… buyer beware!!!!!
Angels and Entrepreneurs (another program from Money Map Press) is okay if you understand what you are paying for. I joined at the minimum “Founder” level and will invest with research outside A&E’s own due diligence. The crowd funding group that handles the start-up’s fund will provide as much if not more info. What’s the most annoying about Money Map Press is their bombardment with emails to get you to upgrade! I belong to a few of Money Map’s subscriptions. I constantly receive emails where one of their people are using another groups email address list to hook you onto another group’s program. I must delete five or six emails a day from Mike Ward using Tom Gentile’s list or Keith Fitz-Gerald’s list. Once you sign up they want you to become a lifetime member. Then there is the “New and Improved” version of their research. Tom Gentile has: Money Calendar Pro, Weekly Money Call, Alpha 9, Crypto Currency Windfalls, Cannabis Lots, V3 Trader, and another called Fast Fortune Club. I’m letting most of my subscription expire this year.
You are smart people. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is.
Neil Patel will be the money winner here, not you.
Stop and think.
I joined Neil’s group a few months ago, have not invested anything yet, I have not received any emails asking to upgrade his program, But, I just wasted 2 hours of my Sunday watching a Video that Neil sent out to his email list, the video was from Tom Gentile, after doing the research on Tom’s offer, turns out it is a scam, I sent Neil an email that he should do his research on the programs that he is promoting, for me he looses credibility for promoting scams.
I was annoyed by Neil hawking Gentile’s cannabis options program also with the high pressure pitch to “sign up by friday.” I emailed A&E to inquire what Neil’s relationship with Tom was, was he getting paid to hawk his program, what was better about it than McCalls cannabis option program for only $999 rather than $2500, and why would he say that the real money to be made is in angel investing rather than the stock market, and then turn around and pitch not only this options program with Gentile, but then another one with Shah Gilani!
My main complaint if the constant harassing emails requesting I upgrade my membership because apparently the initially great membership deal isn’t all that great. I initially joined for 2 yrs $79 dollars. Shortly thereafter I kept receiving daily emails encouraging me to spent another $1900 or so to upgrade to VIP status and great sales pitch of how much more lucrative these deals will be. of course there is the pressure of “this deal wont last long” I did and honestly I am not that impressed with the “better” deals. Furthermore, the minimum you can invest of some for the VIP status are high (e.g. min $5,000, min. $25,000) which I cant afford to even invest in. Now I am receiving emails encouraging me to upgrade once again for another $600, promising the ultimate bet deals and lifetime membership. Define lifetime. Also, I feel like the upgrades never stop and I am being HUSTLED. I am going to cancel my upgraded membership before the 60 days. I agree with many of the posts in that Neil does a great job explaining, interviewing, analyzing the deals but he doesn’t seem very excited about any of them. I found the “boot camp” videos useful information and if I take his information I can go to the wefuner and/or republic sites myself and look to invest – any they wont bother me with emails to spent more money to upgrade a membership because they are FREE.
Hi Sara … I’m where you are… considering the upgrade. Is there a limit though to investing? On Republic it says 2200 … but you say that some of these other deals require 1900 minimum?
don’t upgrade, you need much more money to invest in the so
called better deals. Don’t get caught up in the hype!
I joined, for $1,500 a year, and was tempted to upgrade. But those personal deals ask for a lot more than the $50 they pitch in the ads. I’ve invested in four companies so far. I like the educational videos. Patel is an excellent educator and speaker. One company wants $10,000 just to invest. Amazingly, they’ve hit their target, and they’re still taking on investors. I’m mostly invested in gold and silver coins and mining stocks (gold, silver, copper, and uranium) for my speculator and hedge money. I’m looking for new companies that might shine even during a recession/depression period.
Hi chan, yes there is a limit based on your income, value, etc.
That how these companies work, they want as much if your money as they can get. We will see in time how the reviews go. Myself I will not upgrade until this company shows son positive result.
I mean they joined the likes of Tom Gentile, most reviews on this guy are negative