IANAL, but as I understand it... Any time individuals or businesses get together to collaborate on a strategy that restrains trade or supply, thus artificially

IANAL, but as I understand it... Any time individuals or businesses get together to collaborate on a strategy that restrains trade or supply, thus artificially skewing prices, this runs afoul of antitrust law. Collusion between angels to keep valuations low and prevent newcomers from participating sounds like a textbook case. In this case, they're artificially inflating their cost of capital by reducing the overall valuations of the businesses they fund. They artificially reduce the supply of capital by conspiring to keep out new participants. Similarly, the Department of Justice is looking into Valley hiring, since companies have a gentlemen's agreement not to poach from one another: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/09/17/technology-specialized-consumer-services-ap-us-tec-doj-technology-recruiting_7939815.html http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/09/17/technology-special... In this case, the argument would go that the companies are artificially constraining the supply of paying work for qualified applicants, while reducing the competitive landscape that would drive up their salaries.