CAV Angels hits $20 million+ milestone

When Greg and Marion Werkheiser connected with CAV Angels during their search for seed investors for their augmented reality software startup in 2018, the couple reaped benefits beyond an initial $300,000 infusion.

“The investment itself gave us credibility to other investors,” says ARtGlass CEO Greg Werkheiser, a 2000 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law who co-founded the Richmond-based company in 2017. It also gave him a continuing relationship with CAV Angels investors — each of whom have ties to U.Va. — who advise and encourage ARtGlass, which enables sites like George Washington’s Mount Vernon to develop immersive experiences for patrons.

The ties to the U.Va. community also “gave us a sense of comfort that these people were interested, perhaps, in us for more than just what their rate of return is gonna be,” Werkheiser says. To date, CAV Angels has invested $1.375 million in ARtGlass.

ARtGlass’ success is just as important to CAV Angels. Founded in 2015, the nonprofit Charlottesville-based investment club is not affiliated with U.Va. but links high-potential startups with ties to the university to its network of 150 accredited investors. CAV Angels hit a milestone in summer 2023 when it surpassed $20 million in investments; by late 2023, it had invested more than $23 million.

“It will be at $25 [million] before you know it,” says CAV Angels Managing Director Rich Diemer, a 1980 graduate of U.Va.’s McIntire School of Commerce.

CAV Angels has 50 portfolio companies, among them a variety of innovative Virginia companies, including Richmond’s BrainBox Solutions and Charlottesville’s Astraea and Luminoah. About 30% of the group’s investments have been in women-founded companies, and two of its investments, in Boston-based autonomous underwater vehicle company Dive Technologies and Oregon-based biotech firm Phitonex, have monetized at six times their valuations.

Individual CAV Angels choose which startups to invest in. Because listening to pitches and reviewing due diligence reports is time-consuming, some investors may consider a $5 million sidecar fund announced by CAV Angels in late 2022. Accredited investors can commit money to the fund, and a separate committee makes investment decisions. Unlike traditional pooled funds, which take 20% of profits for the fund managers, CAV Angels will take 10% for the manager, and 5% donations each for CAV Angels and organizations benefiting U.Va. such as CvilleBioHub and the alumni association.

That approach “could broaden our appeal to some investors,” Diemer says.