This Former Analyst is Bringing Early-Stage Deals Directly to Investors

Investing has changed dramatically, both culturally and technologically. The pandemic drew significant interest to day trading, and between meme stocks, “stonks,” and self-directed investment platforms grabbing headlines, it can be easy to forget what investing in great businesses is really about.

“At the end of the day, business and investing are about people,” said Kevan Matheson, co-founder of Apollo Shareholder Relations, which organizes Matheson’s signature event series: Deal Night. Deal Night has just successfully expanded internationally to Miami from its home market of Vancouver, Canada. To date, Deal Night has featured 37 companies spanning a diverse range of industries including AI, natural resources, fintech, and more. 

Matheson created Deal Night because as he was building his own portfolio of early-stage investments, he recognized how limited the venture capital community can be and how closed off it is to new investors. 

“The biggest opportunities in the capital markets are typically early-stage companies that have not yet gone public, but access to these deals is incredibly limited. Unless you are deeply connected in the right communities, and already wealthy, you are unlikely to get access,” added Matheson. “Institutional investors and venture capitalists control everything – they choose who gets to invest with them, on what terms, and they have tremendous influence over the companies that they invest in. We’re changing this by bringing deal flow directly to people who want to invest.”

While a number of online platforms have begun to disrupt early-stage deal access in recent years, these can still fall short in that they do not give investors access to companies in the same way that organically meeting the companies in person would. Deal Night features live “Shark Tank”-style presentations in a social atmosphere, where attendees can meet company CEOs and discuss the opportunities with other attendees. Deal Night also has plans to add an “invest live” feature to its events next year. 

“As a former institutional analyst, I attended countless investor events and found that despite how interesting the companies were, the events were incredibly boring and monotonous,” said Matheson. “Not only do these companies deserve better, but I also knew that there were a lot of potential investors being locked out of these deals. I wanted to create something that would be more engaging and welcoming for people that aren’t in the capital markets already.”

Deal Night is set to continue its expansion to Beverly Hills and Dubai, building on its success in Vancouver, Toronto, and Miami.