30 speakers include StockX co-founder Josh Luber, tastytrade’s Tom Sosnoff, Sotol Romo founder Claudia Romo Edelman, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, July 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Lofty Angels Summit – Spearheading the Growth of Angel Investing – Convenes in Chicago on August 10
The full-day summit builds a community for the angel-curious, including professionals exploring angel investing for the first time, with no experience or accreditation required. Thirty speakers include StockX co-founder Josh Luber, tastytrade’s Tom Sosnoff, Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh, Sotol Romo founder Claudia Romo Edelman, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
Key Takeaways:
• The Lofty Angels Summit returns Monday, August 10, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America’s downtown Chicago building, featuring 30 startup ecosystem speakers.
• No prior experience or accreditation is required. Programming walks newcomers from Angel 101 through their first check, while active angels, VCs, and founders-turned-angels gain dealflow, insight, and relationships.
• Individual angels are the first source of capital for most American startups. Host Lofty Ventures is proving the model in Chicago, where it has deployed $5M+ across 100+ companies, 80% local.
Chicago early-stage investor and angel platform Lofty Ventures today announced the 2026 Lofty Angels Summit, a full-day event designed to grow angel investing by creating a community for professionals who have never been shown how to start. The Summit welcomes attendees nationwide and is rooted in Chicago, where a deeper bench of angel investors is remaking the city’s startup ecosystem. It takes place Monday, August 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the ballroom and on the private rooftop of Bank of America’s downtown Chicago building, with capacity more than tripled from last year.
Built for the angel-curious and active investors alike, the program spans Angel 101, a showcase of five high-potential startup founders, deal flow and market trends, and the legal and tax mechanics of angel investing.
Headline speakers include Josh Luber (co-founder, StockX and Fanatics Collectibles), Tom Sosnoff (co-founder, thinkorswim and tastytrade), Chris Yeh (co-author with Reid Hoffman of Blitzscaling), and Claudia Romo Edelman (founder of Sotol Romo), plus a civic-leadership conversation with Chicago mayoral candidates moderated by the former CMO of Chicago. The day closes with the Lofty Summer Rooftop Party featuring a DJ set by recording artist Com Truise. Tickets are available at loftyangels.com, with a 70% discount for qualifying post-Seed founders.
“To spearhead the growth of business and innovation, we have to look to untapped sources of funding and mentorship,” says Christopher Deutsch, Founder of Lofty Ventures. “There are thousands of professionals in Chicago alone who could be writing their first check but have never been shown how. The Summit exists to fix that: spend one day with us, and you’ll leave knowing exactly how angel investing works, what success looks like, and how to start.”
Adds Claudia Romo Edelman, who is scheduled to speak at the summit, “Every founder remembers the people who believed in their unique spirit and vision before the rest of the market did. The Lofty Angels Summit is helping create more of those first believers by opening angel investing to a broader, more diverse community and giving people the knowledge, confidence, and relationships to turn intention into action.”
What does this mean for the growth of angel investing?
Early-stage capital is the oxygen of any startup ecosystem, and individual angels disproportionately supply its first checks. Yet most professionals with the means to invest have never been shown how to start. The Summit gives the angel-curious education, relationships, and live deal-flow exposure in a single day. Attendees need no prior experience or accreditation, and the Chicago-based Summit draws aspiring and active angels nationwide.
For founders, more trained angels means more first checks. The showcase puts five high-potential startup founders before investors, not to pitch for money, but to demonstrate venture-investable talent. The participation of Illinois Comptroller and mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza, alongside fellow mayoral candidate and exited founder Joe Holberg, who has made dozens of angel investments, signals that angel investing is increasingly treated as civic infrastructure.
How does the Lofty Angels Summit compare to other angel investor events?
Most investor conferences are built for people already writing checks and assume accreditation, experience, and existing dealflow. The Lofty Angels Summit inverts that model. Its curriculum moves from morning Angel 101 sessions to midday deal sourcing and market conditions, then afternoon legal, tax, and accounting realities. A Founders-Turned-Angels panel explores operators who exit and reinvest in the next generation.
The approach reflects how Lofty Ventures operates. The firm has deployed more than $5 million across 100+ companies and 180 founders through direct investments and its syndicate, with 80% of investments based in Chicago and 65% of its portfolio led by underrepresented entrepreneurs. The Summit’s accessible pricing and 70% founder discount lower barriers and grow Chicago’s angel base.
What happens next?
Registration is open at loftyangels.com; tickets require approval, and the event is expected to fill. Attendees can choose a Summit ticket or a Summit + Party ticket, which includes the rooftop celebration at no additional cost, a Sotol Romo tasting for guests 21+, and a DJ performance by Lofty Musician-in-Residence Com Truise.
Beyond August 10, new angels can join the free Lofty Angels community, continue their education through Lofty Week events such as Lofty Camp, and access the syndicate’s dealflow. The goal is to help founders become angel investors sooner and compound Chicago’s early-stage capital base.
ABOUT LOFTY VENTURES
Lofty Ventures is building a flywheel for Chicago’s next generation of founders and angels by investing early, curating community, and helping founders become angels sooner. Operating as a family office, investor syndicate, angel platform, and startup community, Lofty has invested $5M+ in over 100 companies and 180 founders, with 80% based in Chicago and 65% led by underrepresented entrepreneurs. Lofty Angels, its free community, helps members learn early-stage investing and access curated co-investment opportunities. Learn more at loftyangels.com.
Media Contact: Christopher Deutsch, Founder, Lofty Ventures — chris@loftyventures.com, (602) 751-8822
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Lofty Angels Summit Afterparty in 2025 at Bank of America’s Downtown Chicago Private Roof Deck with DJ Set by Com Truise (song credit “Hyperlips” by Com Truise)
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