I think angel investors are different than venture capitalists. The former typically make small investments, starting anywhere in the low five figures, up to seven figures, but more commonly capping out in the low to mid six figures and receiving a corresponding stake size in the companies.

Venture capital often requires taking sizable stakes in companies by investing millions of dollars, in order to have a chance at producing the returns it's seeking.

After thinking about it more, this Rise of the Rest fund for the Midwest, to me, is more like Y Combinator (and likely a competitor to it), in that it's essentially a giant seed fund that will then bring in its big-name investors and business magnates to make VC-like investments in the most promising companies.

Instead of having a large network of former YC grads, it has a network of some of the most well-known investors and business magnates in the U.S.

With that said, Steve Case is quoted in the article saying, "First and foremost, our goal was to generate top returns.”