Join & Become LSA Member
Since 2005, we have invested over $60 million in over 100 startups. Historically, LSA has invested between $100K to $1.1M as an initial investment. Many of our deals are syndicated by us or by other parties to raise $3 Million or more.
Benefits of Membership
Our Deal Flow: We look at and participate in many promising new technologies and deals that will influence healthcare over the coming decade. We meet the scientists and entrepreneurs face-to-face. Our member-only online tools give you full access to look at the Entrepreneur Application, entrepreneur-uploaded materials, and member-only comments about the investments.
Get to Know Your Peers: Perhaps our primary benefit is getting to know and interact personally and professionally with our LSA community, comprised of 130+ angel investors, partners in academia and corporate incubators, venture capital firms, investment fellows, and more.
Share Due Diligence and Investment Savvy: Because we are sector-focused with core life science vertical segments, all members benefit from the work, education, and experience of fellow investors who participate in the due diligence and affairs of the company.
Access to Our Follow-On Investments: We commonly make follow-on investments in our companies. While valuations are typically higher, these companies have performed against projected milestones and show traction with investors, strategics, and customers. These are pre-vetted deals where some of our members have come to know the management and understand the market and product. Although fundraising may have to be allocated to prior LSA investors, there are often opportunities for other members to invest. Several recent deals have had attractive follow-on valuations, often because the company raised a smaller bridge or note round and has now achieved the milestones enabling a larger equity round.
Investment Management: We invest through an LLC, so there is one set of paperwork and one set of documents for the company. You receive a K-1 tax form each year for your investments, prepared by the LSA Finance team. Because of legal restrictions on the number of members of LLCs, we have to open a new LLC every few years, and are now using Life Science Angels IX, LLC.
Tax Planning: We do not provide tax advice, although we do have occasional presentations on investment strategy by members who are not tax professionals. The experiences of these members help to steer you in the right direction when you talk with your tax advisor. All angel investors would benefit from familiarity with their financial situation and may wish to discuss the following beneficial IRS codes with their tax advisor:
26 U.S. Code § 1045 - Rollover of gain from qualified small business stock to another qualified small business stock.
26 U.S. Code § 1202 - Partial exclusion for gain from certain small business stock.
26 U.S. Code §1244 - Losses on small business stock.
Investment Monitoring: A key to successful angel investing is staying in close touch with the company to provide advice and monitor progress. Every round of investment has unique characteristics, and results are better if an experienced investor with an investment in the company works with the management.
Investment Progress Reports: LSA does its best to have companies report regularly on their progress or lack of progress. The reports are emailed to members of those investments. One of the difficulties of angel investing is securing reports on the companies when the investment amount is small. LSA addresses this problem by having a larger pooled investment through the LLC and having the Executive Director and the deal lead(s) who maintain contact with company management, often as a company board member.
LSA Engagements & Events for Members
Dinners - We have 4 evening dinners in the Palo Alto Area that are attended by about 80 of our members, entrepreneurs, and guests. They are held at the Sharon Heights Country Club in Menlo Park or a similar facility. The meetings start with a cocktail hour for people to network, followed by the dinner during which external industry experts give a fireside chat on the insights and trends in the life science industry.
Screening Meetings - Our bi-weekly screening meetings are held, where the members are presented with 2-3 new pitches for investment. Held via Zoom, they are typically attended by 20-25 members. All company presentations are recorded for later review by members.
Due Diligence Meetings - Companies that amass enough member interest in the Screening meetings will then be evaluated further by due diligence teams consisting of Members and Fellows who have the expertise to evaluate different aspects of the business plan, including the market, technology, IP, financials, etc., and develop the Term Sheet. LSA believes that good due diligence is important for making good investment decisions. Members are highly encouraged to participate in due diligence teams where they have relevant domain expertise. If a company passes the due diligence vetting process, the due diligence teams will produce a Deal Memo, and the raise for circle is announced to initiate the investment process.
@LSA Series - We collaborate with our partners, comprised of academic and corporate accelerators and incubators, to select and connect with companies of potential investment interest to LSA. Held 5-6 times a year, members hear the pitches and connect further with the entities as we seek to diversify the portfolio companies for LSA.
Member Education Sessions - We hold several educational sessions - in-person and/or via Zoom - on topics of interest to members. Important topics are repeated at least every two years. Past sessions have included: term sheets, building a portfolio, advances in digital healthcare, Proseeder usage, exits, deal valuation, tax provisions for small company investing, and introduction to LSA for new members.
External Events - LSA informs Members of relevant events for Angels in the Bay Area and across the country - pitch events, open houses, speaker panels, angel meetings. Our members often receive discounts and/or complimentary registration on paid events and invitations to events not generally available to the public.
Summer Party - This is a complimentary party for members and Fellows and their family members, often at the house of one of our members.
Holiday Party - Same as Summer Party, but in December.
Monthly Happy Hours - Through relaxed social gatherings during the happy hours, LSA members, partners, sponsors, and CEOs of companies under due diligence and/or portfolio companies connect.
Internal Communication - All current members receive the LSA Weekly Newsletter on the first weekday of the week with current developments and all updates, purposed to ensure members have most up-to-date information on all of the LSA activities and investments.
Qualifications for Membership
You must be a US-Accredited Angel Investor by the rules of the US SEC (click here) with expertise in life sciences, often called 501C Regulation D. This includes corporate and trust entities. Most of our members qualify as:
An individual who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the purchase, excluding the value of the primary residence.
An individual with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year.
Our Members
LSA members include investors with careers in the life sciences; however, many members are interested in investing in life sciences but have had professional careers in a different arena. We welcome both types of members.
Members include prominent executives, physicians, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. LSA’s members have been founders, Chairpersons, CEOs, and senior-level executives in many healthcare startups. LSA members are active participants in deal sourcing, due diligence, membership screening, coaching, etc. In addition, LSA’s members include family offices and groups desirous of an early window on healthcare startups, as well as in investing alongside LSA.
How much do our Members invest in general?
Everyone’s financial situation and tolerance of risk are different. However, we find a good approach is to invest a smaller amount in more deals, for example, 2 to 3 deals each year, instead of putting all the investment in one deal. LSA members are expected to invest $25,000 per year.
Facts and Figures:
The minimum investment by an individual in an initial LSA investment in a company is $5,000.
In follow-on rounds, the minimum investment is $5,000 unless our pro rata in the deal reduces this amount. Since LSA historically has made about 2 follow-on investments, there should be ample opportunities for these investments if you are an existing investor in the deal. There has often been investment available for other members, but only if existing members do not take their pro rata shares.
LSA only makes a first-time investment in a company if 6 or more members join the round.
Total investments from LSA in 2025 were $2.8 million.
LSA has invested over $60 million in over 100 companies since 2005.
2026 Membership Categories and Fees
To join LSA as our member, you can choose to enroll in one of the 3 following categories. All memberships are valid for 1 year, effective upon completion of the onboarding process -
Individual Membership
Joining as an individual
Investing through the LSA LLC
$2,330 annually
Couples/Families
Joining with your significant other or family member (1 other member only)
Investing through the LSA LLC
$3,365 annually
Affiliate Membership
Joining as an individual and/or investing entity (Family Office, Venture Capital, etc)
Investing in LSA investment opportunities outside of the LSA LLC
$5,175 annually
Please note, membership fees processed via credit card will incur an additional processing fee of ~3%.