Take my money, please!

MINUTES after Ng Cheng Wei sent out a WhatsApp group text to his buddies detailing the terms of an investment opportunity in one early-stage grocery marketplace startup, his phone started buzzing non-stop. Within an hour, over 20 people in the group replied with the hand emoji, signalling that they wanted in on the deal. Among them were a startup founder, a tech executive and an SME towkay. All were members of Ascend Angels, a 210-strong investing squad that works like a private crowdfunding platform of sorts. It aims to help people pool together money and get access to startup deals as individual investors, known as "angels".

Since Ng first created the by-referral-only WhatsApp group chat in April with his business partner Milan Reinartz, the group has invested about US$6 million in close to 20 tech startups. That is more than what some venture capital (VC) firms have invested in startups in a year. Members - who have to be accredited investors - can put in as little as US$5,000 for a deal. Some put in as much as US$200,000, depending on their comfort level.

Ascend Angels is one of several ways that people on the fringe of South-east Asia's clubby tech scene are capitalising on the region's startup boom. Well-heeled folks from all walks of life are now joining the hallowed halls of angel investors, banding together in informal social media group chats to amass the buying power needed for an insider peek into the glitzy world of startup investing.