Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel. I’m not active in an angel group. I live in a small town surrounded by farms and I made my first angel investment at 29 because my dad said it was a good idea. So, who are these unlikely angels?

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

As an active angel investor myself, I understand how the process works, and I see the disappointment in the eyes of entrepreneurs who approach angel groups for funding and often get turned away for not being timely or prepared in the minds of potential investors. These are all accredited investors who risk their own money.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Groups 120

Up and Running

JULY 29, 2019

Angel investors often focus on local markets, specific industries, and affinities such as college or university alumni. Your search should include looking for angel groups related to the college or university from which you graduated; your town, or state; and the industry you’re in. .

Angel Investor 119

Angel Investor Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 119

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

David is also Founder of HBS Alumni Angels of NY , the largest angel group on the East Coast. – Support marketing efforts. s founder is David Teten , previously a Partner with HOF Capital and ff Venture Capital and a serial fintech entrepreneur with 2 exits. – Learn about venture capital, particularly fintech.

New York 60

New York Venture Capital Technical Review Due Diligence 60

David Teten

JUNE 10, 2020

David is also Founder of HBS Alumni Angels of NY , the largest angel group on the East Coast. – Support marketing efforts. SOP’s founder is David Teten , previously a Partner with HOF Capital and ff Venture Capital and a serial fintech entrepreneur with 2 exits. – Refine firm’s model, GTM, and pitch deck.

New York 60

New York Venture Capital Technical Review Due Diligence 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

Most VCs and Angel investors don’t read unsolicited proposals, unless they have met you first, or have a glowing recommendation from another investor or acquaintance. Major platforms are available online to find Angel groups or VCs, including Gust and AngelList. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Business Plan 274

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 274

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

In order to be competitive, a company needs to have just about everything in place, from its product to its team to market traction, before it is ready to seek funding. This includes a private investor message forum for each VC or angel group with which you are engaged, that is devoted just to your company.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

NZ Entrepreneur

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Ice Angels chair Michael Murphy liked what StockTrim were doing and was happy to become chair of StockTrim’s board of directors and become one of the first investors. “He He got us in front of the Ice Angels and a number of them invested,” Sutton says. “I Understand your product’s target market deeply, and prove it.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Startup 103

VC Adventure

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

If you’re trying to break into venture the news, in general, is good (the two charts below were pulled from a great post by Eric Feng on the state of the VC market from late last year). Today the market is quite different and people from a much wider variety of backgrounds are finding their way into venture.

Venture Capital 103

Venture Capital Seed Stage Angel Groups Portfolio 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback. Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive. Incorporating a business entity early through online services. Measuring progress with big data and analytics.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

Major platforms are available online to find Angel groups or VCs, including Gust and AngelList. There is no substitute for knowing your customers first hand, and iterating on a minimum viable product to find the most marketable solution. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Business Plan 250

Business Plan Technical Review Entrepreneur Angel Investor 250

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to see how the process works, several times from the startup side, and more recently from the angel perspective (as a member of an angel group selection committee). All the conviction and market research in the world are no substitute for real customers paying real money.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

You cannot be just a biz dev type, salesperson, marketing genius or whatever and divorce yourself from product. Market validation – This one is optional but important. At an angel round you can get away with no market validation. Professional angel associations – This one is the source of much controversy.

Silicon Valley 291

Silicon Valley Ireland Technical Review Valuation 291

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to see how the process works, several times from the startup side, and more recently from the angel perspective (as a member of an angel group selection committee). All the conviction and market research in the world are no substitute for real customers paying real money.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

   We worked all day building market strategies for customers while we tried to embody our expertise on software that would expand the company's reach.    Some angel groups charge you money to pitch your idea to them.    Angels can allow founders to partially cash out if they choose to. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Up and Running

JULY 6, 2016

Even if technology isn’t the driving force of your business or your main differentiator, these days, almost all businesses have to manage technology as part of branding, marketing, and communications. I’ll join in the due diligence for my angel group, test for myself, and develop my informed opinion. Are we using what we should?

Technical Review 72

Technical Review Software Review Business Plan Development Team Review 72

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

For investors outside of Austin and LPs: Austin is a a vibrant startup market and this list of capital sources can help you identify firms to co-invest with and funds to invest in. Sevin Rosen in Dallas launched the next year and throughout the 1980s and 1990s the two firms vied for their place in the Texas market.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2016

With the advent and growth of crowdfunding over the past few years, many entrepreneurs have predicted the demise of those demanding angel investment groups and venture capital organizations. These groups are now largely run by volunteers at no cost to entrepreneurs. Early crowdfunding successes have been undeniable.

Angel Groups 136

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Equity Due Diligence 136

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

The extreme example of this are algorithmic investors in the public markets, who design algorithms which trade on the designer’s behalf, as opposed to making trading decisions directly. High-frequency trading, algorithmic by its nature, is estimated to account for at least 50% of US equity markets trading volume. . 1) Market fund.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

But many entrepreneurs don’t realize that Angels are also extremely discerning in the projects that they will invest in, rejecting approximately 97% of the proposals submitted to them, according to the California Investment Network. Don’t expect the pomp and celebrity of the Angels on Shark Tank , but they do ask a lot of the right questions.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 260

Gust

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Access to many, many more world market centers (advertising, finance, fashion, media, food, etc.). Believe it or not, more organized angel groups (although not individual angels). The world’s fastest growing tech startup ecosystem. The world’s largest Tech Meetup (not to mention Meetup.com itself).

New York City 150

New York City Silicon Valley New York Angel Groups 150

Up and Running

MARCH 18, 2010

So this post is my opinion only, not to be taken as expression of the angel group. Product/market fit and prospects. I borrowed this term from Market is really the thing that matters , by Marc Andreessen, which I summarized a couple of years ago now in Market Fit is Critical.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Oregon Venture Capital Software Review 60

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 8, 2008

Forward to the past: The (re) rise of direct marketing » October 08, 2008. Last week, our angel group reviewed a business with an online lie detector technology.  Last week, our angel group reviewed a business with an online lie detector technology.  Being The Best You Can Be.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Due Diligence Wisconsin Angel Groups 60

Gust

JANUARY 25, 2014

There are actually no angel investing ‘journals’ per se, because there simply are not enough active, professional angel investors to make a market. There are, however, quite a few blog posts on the subject, although most are written for an entrepreneurial audience, rather than angels themselves.

Angel Investor 180

Angel Investor Angel Groups New York Audience 180

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

We have a theme we call Protocol, which are technology protocols and markets built around technology protocols like SMTP for email and RSS. National Venture Capital Group endorsed it. Some Angel groups endorse it. So we have five themes – Digital Life and Distribution are the other two.”. Human Computer Interaction.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2023

The Angel Capital Association recently published a study contributed to by several of my friends quoting that seventy percent of investments made by angel investors to date return less than the amount invested – upon a sale or closing of the business – the great majority of these outright losses as businesses die.

SBA 62

SBA Angel Investor Early Stage Liquidity Event 62

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

Berkonomics

MARCH 9, 2017

The Angel Resource Institute (ARI) recently published a study conducted by well-respected Rob Wiltbank, quoting that seventy percent of investments made by angel investors to date return less than the amount invested – upon a sale or closing of the business – the great majority of these outright losses as businesses die.

Angel Investor 106

Angel Investor Angel Groups Liquidity Event Early Stage 106

Austin Startup

JUNE 30, 2017

Here are some thoughts, based on conversations I’ve had with founders and my own observations in the market, about the evolution of accelerators and how entrepreneurs are likely to engage them going forward. Top accelerators have corrected an imbalance between the strength of founders’ networks and those of VCs. Some VCs really do add value.

Curation 48

Curation Startup Cofounder Equity 48

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2015

In all cases, due diligence is recommended on every potential investor and angel group before spending money you don’t have, looking for money you need. The right investor will have specific feedback on pricing models, distribution and market positioning to improve scalability. Use initial feedback wisely to improve your case.

Cost 120

Cost Angel Groups Due Diligence Silicon Valley 120

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 5, 2012

Thanks to the SEC, you don't know who's actually fundraising, what kind of performance they have, and you'll never get reached by their marketing. Angel groups started dropping their application fees or making them minimal. Open Angel Forum created a costless way for the best startups to get in front of the best capital.

LP 97

LP Venture Capital Technical Review Nebraska 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 234

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 234

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

2) You’re not a specialist—so a company at that stage would be hard pressed to hire you as a head of sales or marketing, for example, because there are plenty of people out there who already have that specific skill set with startup leadership experience behind it.

Startup 191

Startup Cofounder Angel Groups Limited Partner 191

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

But many entrepreneurs don’t realize that Angels are also extremely discerning in the projects that they will invest in, rejecting approximately 97% of the proposals submitted to them, according to the California Investment Network. Don’t expect the pomp and celebrity of the Angels on Shark Tank , but they do ask a lot of the right questions.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

View from Seed

MARCH 16, 2016

I’ll discuss the latter in a second, but first, the increase in investors… A number of super-angels and angel groups institutionalized in the past year, creating a broader set of seed-stage funds, like Converge Venture Partners. A handful of industry-focused funds have also burst onto the scene.

Boston 215

Boston Early Stage Artificial Inteligence Semantic 215

David Teten

JANUARY 28, 2013

The only way to get data is to reach out to individual angels. Unfortunately, angels aren’t easy to find; many intentionally keep a low profile. Researchers are forced to rely on angel group registries and word of mouth. First, all respondents are accredited and belong to angel groups.

IRR 114

IRR Angel Investor Angel Groups Cofounder 114

Haystack

JULY 3, 2019

Yet, there are things that are in the VC’s control, and Susa is one of a few firms at seed that’s nailed it a short period of time: 1/ Started Out As An Angel Group – The core group started off writing angel checks and enjoyed each other’s company. They also put their skin into the game early.

Chad 106

Chad Cofounder Angel Groups Limited Partner 106