Launched in 2023 by Baptiste Hamel and Nicolas Douay, Better Angle is a community-led investment firm focused on backing early-stage tech companies. With over €12 million already raised across two vehicles, the team has built a highly curated network of entrepreneurs who help them source together and invest fast.
From the start, Better Angle took a pragmatic approach: they expect a small number of investments that will generate the majority of returns. It is highlighting the importance of identifying and investing in potential high-growth outliers. Their approach of the powerlaw combines gut feeling with data in order to keep the structure simple as they never lead and always follow.
They also manage a deal-by-deal approach alongside their commitments. Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) provide excellent opportunities to enhance exposure to high-performing outliers and allow investors, even those not part of the flagship fund, to participate in the mathematical distribution of the power law they are building.
To help scale their model, build a strong investor community, streamline syndicates, and manage compliance, Better Angle turned to Roundtable. The platform is helping them simplify operations, offer tailored and flexible investment opportunities to their 200+ LPs, and close deals faster, averaging three deals a month.
Baptiste Hamel, Better Angle’s co-founder, walked us through the story behind Better Angle, their investment philosophy, and the role Roundtable plays in helping them scale.
Key takeaways:
- Better Angle uses Roundtable to build and manage its investment community, consolidate investors into SPVs, handle all deal logistics, and simplify compliance.
- The platform enables deal-by-deal syndicates, giving Better Angle the flexibility to back specialized or sensitive sectors without affecting its core funds.
- Roundtable’s community tools, messaging features, and built-in compliance workflows allow Better Angle to scale operations, keep investor communications on track, and close deals faster.
- Roundtable also introduces liquidity windows between rounds, helping address a common pain point in angel investing.
Roundtable: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
Baptiste Hamel: I started my career at Bpifrance as a business analyst, helping startups secure public funding through grants and venture loans. I wasn’t trained in finance or engineering, so I learned everything on the job: how to assess projects, understand funding mechanisms, and support early-stage companies.
A few years in, I launched and co-founded iii financements, a consultancy focused on helping startups navigate non-dilutive funding. Over eight years, we raised over €1 billion for our clients. In 2023, I made an exit and facilitated its integration into EPSA Innovation.
Roundtable: What’s the story behind Better Angle? How did the community come together?
Baptiste Hamel: Better Angle was launched in 2023, after I sold iii financements and decided to focus exclusively on angel investing. As I built my portfolio, I came to understand the power law behind venture: around 60% of investments may fail, but a few big wins can return the entire fund. And, both Nicolas Douay and I came to the same conclusion: as angels, we often relied too much on gut feeling. And while gut feeling is important, we knew it wasn’t enough.
So, we decided to create a more structured investment approach, combining instinct with a mathematical model for risk assessment and portfolio building. We describe our strategy as spray and pray: you need the "spray" to be statistically sound, and the "pray" is where gut feeling comes in. But if you only rely on instinct, you're basically leaving your returns to luck – and that’s not a strategy.
That’s why we created Better Angle in 2023, and in 2025 launched our community on Roundtable: to professionalize our angel activity, systematize our investment thesis, and most importantly, to create a strong network of investors. We raised two investment vehicles, Better Angle 1 and 2, which have already secured over €12 million in investments and all of it comes from entrepreneurs.
Roundtable: What’s the core mission of Better Angle?
Baptiste Hamel: It’s simple, really – we’re here to make money. That’s the main objective, for ourselves and for our investors.
To achieve that, our approach is straightforward. We aim to access the best investment opportunities at a fair valuation to maximize potential returns. We aim to do three deals per month, mostly at pre-seed or seed stage.
For startups, we don’t promise hands-on involvement. We’re clear about the three things we offer: capital, access to our network and our two “exit-founders” expertise.
That said, we do make ourselves available. We bring time, experience, and insights when founders need it, without trying to take over. Because we’ve realized that startups at this stage don’t just need money; they need investors who can open doors, share operational know-how, and be active partners. That’s where the community model comes in, and that’s why Roundtable has been such a good fit for us.
Roundtable: What kinds of companies do you typically invest in?
Baptiste Hamel: We focus primarily on technology companies, but we’re quite broad in our interpretation of that.
We’ve invested in everything from quantum computing startups to companies organizing off-site corporate retreats. The common thread is that they’re all tech-driven or have proprietary technology at the core of their business model. That’s where we see the best potential for generating large returns.
Roundtable: How about your geographical scope?
Baptiste Hamel: We’ve invested primarily in France, but also in Germany, the UK, and the US. We’re currently exploring more opportunities in Southern Europe, and especially Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
As for our deals in the US, in most cases, these are companies founded by French entrepreneurs who are now based there – so there’s usually a strong connection to the European ecosystem.
Roundtable: On your community page, you mention “never lead, always follow”. Can you explain what you mean by that?
Baptiste Hamel: Sure. The average check we write is €100K, and the SPVs we manage are going up to €200K. The rounds we participate in, though, can range from €500K to several million.
Given our size and the allocations we request, we’re not in a position to lead. We don’t have the bargaining power to negotiate terms, meaning that we always follow.
That means one of the first things I look at in a deal is the lead investor and the terms they’ve set. Since we won’t be negotiating, we need to be comfortable with the structure that’s already in place. We assess the potential, accept the terms, and move quickly.
Roundtable: What about your investor base? Who are the members of the Better Angle community?
Baptiste Hamel: Our community is made up almost entirely of entrepreneurs – about 90% of our investors have either built, raised for, sold, or even sometimes failed a startup of their own.
They come from a range of industries, not just tech, but most share firsthand experience of building something from the ground up.
Roundtable: What advice would you give to investors who may not have the time to follow the latest trends in the tech sector?
Baptiste Hamel: Join the Better Angle community and invest with us.
Our main purpose is not to bridge the gap between non-tech entrepreneurs and the tech world – instead, we’re here to support experienced entrepreneurs who simply don’t have the time to source deals and manage investments on their own.
They turn to Better Angle for access to high-quality, vetted deals and competitive allocations, without the time drain of research, due diligence, or negotiations. The community gives them leverage and visibility, so that they can continue building wealth while focusing on their own businesses.
Roundtable: What led you to create a community on Roundtable, and how does it complement what you’re doing with Better Angle?
Baptiste Hamel: There were two main reasons. First, we started working on Better Defense, a spin-off we're building with a venture partner focused on the defence tech space but still with a powerlaw approach. Some of the deals we see in that vertical aren't aligned with the broader community's values, so instead of putting those through our flagship funds, we decided to use Roundtable for deal-by-deal syndicates. This way, those who are interested can opt in, while others can focus on other deals.
The second reason is more practical. Some startups we invest in already plan to structure their rounds through SPVs. In those cases, we simply propose to manage the SPV on their behalf via Roundtable. That way, we can give our community of over 200 entrepreneurs the opportunity to double down on specific deals they’re passionate about, even beyond their initial investment in the fund.
So it goes both ways: it lets us handle specialized or sensitive deals outside the core fund, and it also gives our investors more flexibility when they want to increase exposure to a particular opportunity.
Roundtable: How has the platform changed the way you manage your operations?
Baptiste Hamel: Roundtable plays a very strategic role for us. Our main challenge prior to using the platform was the time and effort it took to handle everything manually. Roundtable takes care of the operational load: broadcasting each opportunity to our network, collecting commitments, handling onboarding and KYC, and ensuring compliance.
Compliance is particularly important. It’s legally binding and time-consuming, so I feel much more secure outsourcing it to a trusted third party like Roundtable. The platform really helps clarify what you can and can’t do, from a regulatory standpoint. That’s a huge relief. It removes a lot of legal ambiguity and operational risk and it lets me focus on investing and community building instead of administrative tasks.
Beyond structuring and managing syndicates, it gives us flexibility and is a smart way to go beyond our core funding model. Not every opportunity fits neatly into a single investment thesis, and Roundtable gives us the flexibility to offer more tailored deals, while still benefiting from the collective power and insights of the community.
Roundtable: Beyond reducing the operational load, have there been any other unexpected advantages to using the platform?
Baptiste Hamel: There’s another major benefit I’d like to mention: liquidity.
Roundtable opens up the possibility of intermediate liquidity between rounds. It’s not something founders necessarily advertise or value, but from an investor perspective, the ability to sell shares mid-way through the journey can be a significant advantage. It's a real pain point in angel investing, and Roundtable offers a solution to that.
Roundtable: Are there any other features that have helped you simplify your workflows?
Baptiste Hamel: Yes. The built-in messaging feature is great, as it enables us to communicate directly with every investor who’s committed to a deal. That way, we can make sure they’re prepared, have the right documents, and wire funds on time. It keeps everything on track and enables us to be very efficient and move fast.
Roundtable: Can you tell us a bit about your experience working with the Roundtable team? How was the onboarding process and overall communication with them?
Baptiste Hamel: The team has been extremely responsive and easy to work with. I work closely with Alexis and Ilona, but everyone has been great: whenever we’ve needed support, someone’s always been available.
Communication is very transparent. If there’s ever a delay or a procedural issue, they flag it right away and work on a solution. The entire team has a very solution-oriented mindset, which I really appreciate – that’s how it should always be. We’re now working on our fifth deal together, and it’s been a seamless and efficient process each time.
Roundtable: Can you share an example where Roundtable played a decisive role in the outcome of a deal?
Baptiste Hamel: Sure. One clear example is when we handled an SPV for a startup’s fundraising round. By taking care of the SPV, we were able to secure a larger allocation for our flagship fund, because we simplified things for the founder.
Instead of doing dozens of one-on-one calls with angels writing €10K cheques, we gave him a faster and more efficient alternative. We filled the SPV with highly relevant investors from our community, which helped him close the round more quickly and with the right people around the table.
So it wasn’t just about managing logistics: we brought real value to the founder and positioned ourselves as a key partner.
Roundtable: Talking about deals, what are your main priorities when evaluating a potential investment opportunity?
Baptiste Hamel: It all starts with financial performance. We assess each deal based on its return potential. If a company doesn’t offer a large enough opportunity, we’re not going to invest, no matter how impressive the founders are.
But once the financial potential is clear, it’s all about the founder. Can they get us there? That’s the key question – and if we’re confident in the answer, we share the deal with our community.
Roundtable: You chose to set up a public community on Roundtable rather than a private one. What guided that decision?
Baptiste Hamel: Even though the community is public, we still control who gets access. We approve every new member, so it’s curated. This allows us to maintain quality while benefiting from the network effect.
Having a strong, visible community is essential when you want to secure good allocations. Once you have access to a deal, you need people who are ready to fill it, and that takes both capital and trust. Roundtable helps with both. It brings in angels who might know you, but hadn’t thought to invest with you until they saw you on the platform.
That visibility is key. It helps us reach investors we wouldn’t have met otherwise. And it lets us prioritise those who’ve already invested in our flagship funds – they get early access before we open up a deal to the wider community.
Roundtable: What’s your approach to community building, and how do you plan to grow it?
Baptiste Hamel: I’ve worked with thousands of entrepreneurs over the years at Bpifrance and then with iii financements. That network is now flowing into Better Angle.
In fact, the more you invest, the more people you meet, so it becomes a virtuous cycle. Roundtable supports this by creating a trusted environment where everyone can come together. We’re doing three deals a month, which means we’re constantly connecting with new investors – that creates a strong network effect.
Roundtable: How do you see the future of the Better Angle community?
Baptiste Hamel: We’re preparing to launch a third vehicle, Better Angle 3, and raise a new fund within the next 18 months.
Roundtable: What’s your take on the rise of community-led investing? Do you think we need more investor communities like yours?
Baptiste Hamel: Yes, I’d love to see more investment communities – it strengthens the whole ecosystem. And Roundtable enables just that.
Traditionally, you’d have lots of individual angels writing €10K, €20K, or €50K tickets, and that would result in very messy cap tables: dozens of angels for a single company. But the community-led approach, powered by SPVs, allows us to pool capital from many angels into one clean structure. That simplifies everything for founders and investors and creates more value for everyone involved.
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