Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This is the second article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). And we all know that Ron Conway is considered the savviest of angel investors and yet by definition not all of his investments succeed. They count the cards. They control outcomes.

Angel Investor 288

Angel Investor Deal Flow Viral Algorithm 288

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

Yet they tend to ignore this problem, and move on quickly to professional investors. They don’t realize that most Angel investors and venture capitalists will also decline to be first, if you have no commitment from friends and family. Demonstrate your own financial commitment and progress. Talking loudly is not enough.

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Angel Investor Equity 151

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 2, 2010

This prompted me to write a post titled AngelList Boulder and Some Thoughts on Seed Investing where I promised to write up some of my thoughts on how and why VCs could be good seed investors. They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur.

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Cofounder Syndicate Syndication 152

Genuine VC

JULY 30, 2012

By communicating pricing expectations with potential lead investors, I mean sharing either an “ask” or even stated floor for the pre-money valuation of the company (with a priced preferred round) or explicitly stating a valuation cap (for convertible note round).

Valuation 136

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Syndicate 136

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

One comment made by Jason was that angels tend to be less sensitive than VCs on valuation and can potentially make it difficult to get a venture financing done at acceptable valuation. While this may certainly be the case with unsophisticated angels (much less of these now) or in cases with no lead investor, Id argue the opposite.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

www.readwriteweb.com

MARCH 7, 2011

Quickly, startup investing is looking more like the public markets, and power is quickly shifting to the entrepreneur from the investors. AngelList is operating very much like the NASDAQ stock exchange of the startup investment world, where deals and angel investors are public. Just look at AngelList?s AngelList is a community.

Technical Review 50

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Angel Investor 50

Hippoland

JANUARY 4, 2017

Usually, an equity round is kicked off by a “lead investor”. Typically, this lead investor decides the terms of the round and also invests the majority of the money that will go into your company. That lead investor will also usually help you fill out the remainder of your round with other investors.

Convertible Security 48

Convertible Security Equity Security Silicon Valley 48

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

The distribution of investors should mirrorthe distribution of startups, which has the usual power law dropoff.So One reasonstartups prefer series A rounds is that theyre more prestigious.But if angel investors become more active and better known, theyllincreasingly be able to compete with VCs in brand.

Startup 93

Startup Valuation Non-Compete Deal Flow 93

Genuine VC

JULY 10, 2012

There are essentially two distinct basic strategies for startup entrepreneurs to raise a seed round of capital: Subscription approach – An entrepreneur sets a structure (usually a convertible note) and recruits individual angel investors who subscribe to the round, all without a term-driving lead investor.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Portfolio 207

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

Accelerators typically provide several months of intensive mentoring, at the end of which they host a Demo Day to introducing all their graduating companies to a large number of local angel investors. Your goal in all this is to try to find a lead investor. He or she will be your primary champion, and often mentor.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

And although this is written for angel investors, I think entrepreneurs can only benefit by increasing their knowledge around these investors and hope you’ll continue reading if that’s you. Favor investment rounds with strong leads that haven’t raised millions of dollars before you. Remember the power law. Other thoughts?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

And although this is written for angel investors, I think entrepreneurs can only benefit by increasing their knowledge around these investors and hope you’ll continue reading if that’s you. Favor investment rounds with strong leads that haven’t raised millions of dollars before you. Remember the power law. Other thoughts?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

ithacaVC

JANUARY 14, 2014

And the Series A investors then owned 4/9s of Company X. The Series A round was taken by $2mm of institutional investors and $2mm of angel investors. So the post-money valuation after the Series A was $9mm. So now is the time to raise the Series B. If I do, then I am taking a huge risk that my return will stink.”

Pre-Money Valuation 58

Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Valuation Term Sheet 58

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

Five Ways You’re Not Going To Get An Investor For Your Startup written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Weston Bergmann – Enjoy! There are a lot of ways to attract an angel investor to your startup.

Kansas City 69

Kansas City Due Diligence Arizona Kansas 69

Gust

DECEMBER 19, 2011

This is a variation on the first mover argument, implying a paradigm shift that gives you a tremendous lead. Investors will suspect you have a technology looking for a solution. This advantage is not sustainable. Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Only our team can make this work.”

Viral 98

Viral Advertising Lead Investor Revenue 98

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 26, 2013

10 Steps to Success With Angel Investors. Raising funds from business angels may be difficult, time consuming and even frustrating but for the right founder with the right project it may be the preferred option. Establish a group of angels who have indicated an interest in investing the opportunity to form an angel group.

Angel Investor 51

Angel Investor Due Diligence Pre-Money Valuation Angel Groups 51

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

When youhear people talking about a successful angel investor, theyre notsaying "He got a 4x liquidation preference." Mechanics Angel investors often syndicate deals, which means they join togetherto invest on the same terms. In a syndicate there is usually a"lead" investor who negotiates the terms with the startup.

Angel Investor 63

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Dilution 63

View from Seed

MAY 29, 2019

But there wasn’t always a clear lead investor that really rolled up her sleeves to work with a company. Today, with one or two core investors, the breadth of support that a founder gets is more limited, but the funds that are leading should be more focused on your success.

Syndicate 267

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Cap Table 267

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

How I Think About Seed Investing As A VC - Feld Thoughts , August 2, 2010 Last week saw an explosion of discussion around seed investing, including plenty of negative comments around VCs as seed investors. While I agree that many VCs are crummy seed investors, I think there are some that are excellent seed investors. Developer.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

Professor VC

JANUARY 20, 2009

This brought in a new set of prospective investors and required a lower investment from the lead investor as our existing investors were committed and on board. Our lead investor, Triangle Peak Partners closed on a $170 million first fund in late 2008. What does it take to be an Angel Investor?

Venture Capital 28

Venture Capital Silicon Valley San Jose Bootstrapping 28

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Joshua Baer is the co-founder and CEO of Otherinbox , a prolific angel investor and the director of Capital Factory , Austin’s seed-stage incubator. Look for Your Lead Investor. First you’ll want to find a lead investor — someone many other investors will recognize and respect. Angel investors.

Social Media 80

Social Media Startup Angel Investor RSS 80

Gust

AUGUST 6, 2014

Technically, a “funding round” simply means a company accepting one or more investments from one or more investors on similar terms within a certain period of time. 25 individual angel investors funding a startup on a convertible note. two angel groups investing money in Series Seed Preferred stock purchase.

Term Sheet 170

Term Sheet Lead Investor Preferred Stock Common Stock 170

David Teten

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Annual Deal Pipeline for Selected VCs and Angel Investor Groups. Acquirer/ Investor. Angel groups using Gust. The best entrepreneurs historically tend to go direct to their historical and/or most desired investors, with whom they already have a relationship or with whom they can readily obtain a relationship.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 114

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. I ask Naval about the importance of a lead investor. What if nobody stands up as a lead investor? Naval agrees that lead investors of these type are important.

Valuation 292

Valuation Deal Flow Lead Investor Cofounder 292

Gust

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

When we originally conceived of a single platform tying together the world’s entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists and supporting organizations , it quickly became apparent that the biggest challenge had nothing to do with technology.

Angel Investor 79

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Venture Capital Finance 79

Austin Startup

MAY 17, 2017

At a minimum, the lead investor(s) of the round get Board seats; although they shouldn’t get Board control. Advisors often times are angel investors as well. Most angel investors writing small checks are buying the right to a small portion of the Company, and that’s it. They just advise.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Startup Cap Table Angel Investor 48

Professor VC

OCTOBER 20, 2009

I have been following the rallying cry of entrepreneurs with some amusement over the past couple of weeks in response to a blog post by Jason Calacanis, " Why Start-ups Shouldnt have to pay to pitch angel investors." In how many of those were you a lead investor? Labels: angel groups , Angel Investors , fundraising.

Angel Investor 35

Angel Investor Due Diligence San Jose Silicon Valley 35

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 28, 2013

Not having a lead investor in your seed round can make it tougher to pull together a bridge round or follow-on financing down the road, since no single investor feels in charge or vested in your success. In addition to looking for a large seed round, startups may need to put more thought into who’s funding them.

Burn Rate 140

Burn Rate San Francisco Vesting Finance 140