India’s angel investors must build trust with eyes open

India’s angel investment scene is being told to focus on "informed trust" rather than just more rules, according to a *LiveMint* piece. The idea, backed by unnamed voices in the industry, treats trust as the foundation of early-stage funding—where founders and investors both understand the risks they’re taking.

This doesn’t mean ignoring oversight. It’s more about the familiar tension in India’s startup world: how to protect investors while still leaving room for untested ideas. Deeptech startups, especially, still struggle to secure follow-up funding, even as more founders enter the space.

The trust argument also mirrors a wider change in India’s startup story. Insurtech companies, for example, have moved away from chasing growth at any cost to prioritizing profits and customer confidence, a shift we covered in October. Angel investing, by nature, depends on personal connections and instinct—things rules can’t fully capture. But as the ecosystem grows, the question is whether trust can move beyond small circles.

What’s missing here is hard numbers: How often do angel investments in India work out, and how much does trust actually matter? Without that, "informed" trust could just become another vague term. For now, the point is clear: rules alone won’t create a strong angel market. The real challenge is building a culture where trust is earned, not just given.

Sources: livemint.com