Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2020

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs, and a former angel myself, I still find startups confused about the definition of an angel investor, and how and when to attract one. Angels are actually serious investors who invest their own money, versus venture capitalists who invest institutional money, or regular people who invest in crowdfunding. Angels spread their risk by making multiple smaller investments. angel investor crowdfunding venture capital

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2019

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas. Angel investors are people too. USA Angel Investment Network. Angel Capital Association (ACA).

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Up and Running

JULY 29, 2019

Are you wondering how to land funding from angel investors? This article focuses on angel investors in the U.S., and the process of raising angel investment for high-tech or high-growth startups. We should also point out that angel investment is different from venture capital. People often use “ venture capital ” as a bucket term to include angel investment, but that’s unnecessarily confusing. Your angel might be a rich uncle, for example.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2014

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. Accredited Angel investors are non-professionals investing their own money, while venture capitalists are professionals who invest someone else’s money (usually from large institutions). Angel investors wish for the same return, but may accept a 5X deal.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2015

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). New crowd funding platforms on the Internet, like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as well as the Jobs Act of 2012 , are expected by many to ramp up regular people’s ability to fund new opportunities and kill the need for angel groups.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which actually funds more startups then all other venture sources combined (over $25 billion annually). In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how Angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Thus, angel investments from across the country or internationally are rare.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2012

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors. In fact, most angels are pure, but there are some exceptions that may cost you more than an investment: Shark angels.

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The Startup Magazine

MARCH 22, 2019

The question of venture capitalist versus angel investor often arises. Venture capital and angel investments offer excellent options to startup businesses. Investor Involvement. They are less likely than angel investors to provide capital to companies that don’t have at least some proven success in their markets. Entrepreneurs can usually expect a larger investment from venture capitalists than they can from angel investors. Angel Investors.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2013

If your startup is looking for an Angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of Angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right Angel for you, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas. Angel investors are people too. Angel Capital Association (ACA).

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YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 3, 2015

Your first investors can be your most valuable assets so when looking to raise finance you should always look beyond the capital to what else the angel can bring to your business. For that reason you should do due diligence on all potential investors before pitching, and then pay careful attention to the questions they ask after you’ve made your pitch. Below is some guidance on what to look for in a potential investor: 1.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. 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.

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YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 4, 2017

An angel investor who also has experience in the start-up world has a much greater understanding of how businesses work, what fears and concerns the start-up owner or owners have and much more. 3 Great Examples of Entrepreneurs Turned Investors. Operating executive, entrepreneur and investor Varsha Rao is a good example of someone who has seen both sides of this situation. Angel Investors Understand the Difficulties Startups Face.

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View from Seed

AUGUST 13, 2014

We at NextView Ventures invest exclusively in a startup’s seed-stage round , meaning that many if not most of our deals are made alongside individual angel investors. These angels, however, come in many different shapes and sizes. So to successfully raise a seed round of capital, founders should possess at least a basic understanding of the different types of angel investors they’ll encounter. The Super Angel. The Domain Angel.

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YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 12, 2017

Securing adequate financing for any new venture nowadays is an exceptionally difficult proposition, which is why angel investors are considered so valuable to the startup ecosystem. To successfully secure the early stage support of an angel investor, entrepreneurs need to determine what precisely they are looking for when evaluating an investment opportunity. In general, angel investors tend to group entrepreneurs into two distinct categories.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2011

A while back, I outlined “ Most Startups Get No Professional Investor Cash ” for startups, listing angel investors as alternative #6. I still get a lot of questions on these mysterious and often invisible investors, so here is another attempt to bring them out of the ether. By definition, an angel investor is not an “institutional investor.” So “good” angels are ones with motives that are consistent with what you bring to the table.

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Feld Thoughts

JUNE 2, 2010

I’m on an Acela train between Boston and New York (listening to Boston’s More Than A Feeling – how recursive) on my way to the TechStars Boston 2010 Investor / Demo day. I wasn’t able to make it to Boston yesterday for the Angel Boot Camp as I was running around NYC with the CEO of a company I invested in last week introducing him to a bunch of potential customers and partners. It sounds like Angel Boot Camp rocked. Run in a pack: The best angels run in packs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. Yet as an active Angel investor, I still get this question on a regular basis, so I’ll try to outline the considerations in common-sense terms. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

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Austin Startup

JULY 29, 2018

Raising funding from Angel Investors can feel like a catch-22. It’s easy to figure out who the active angel investors are but it’s hard to find the right time to pitch them. Not all investors are the same. Some like to be the first investor to commit and others prefer to be the last. Angel Investors are investing their own money?—?they they have some other job that pays the bills and let’s them be angel investors.

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Up and Running

APRIL 7, 2015

When you pitch a startup to angel investors, you want to get questions. Don’t expect that when you’re pitching real angels. Right or wrong, most angel investors consider themselves busy, full of insight, and worth listening to as much as they are worth talking to. So few pitches last through a slide deck’s worth without the investors interrupting with questions. See Also How to Impress Angel Investors. Who are your investors so far?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

I see now emerging a new wave of investors, popularly known as “super-Angels,” micro-VCs, or “super-seed” investors. Due to the struggling economy as well, traditional individual Angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap. It’s higher risk, but higher return, to pick the big winners early, before Angels have set unreasonable valuations and restrictive terms. These Angels typically don’t demand board seats, and are not as heavy-handed as VCs.

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VC Adventure

JANUARY 24, 2014

I’ll be speaking at an Impact Angel Group event on February 12th. With a few other angel investors, I’ll be talking to other angel investors, along with prospective angel investors, about the role of impact investing the community, as well as in our own portfolios. Among other things, we’ll discuss our angel investment strategies and openly share things like the percentage of our wealth that we allocate to angel and impact investing.

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Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 10, 2015

“I’ve had a few conversations recently about how individual seed investors are getting kind of tapped out – for a variety of reasons, but in general it’s not that easy to find people who are still actively investing. If you are an active angel, I’d love to hear what you think. But generally the pool of angel investors is increasing and the prolific ones who have a strategy ( such as the angel strategy I advocate ) seem to be keeping a steady pace.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even before the investment is considered. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2013

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors. In fact, most angels are pure, but there are some exceptions that may cost you more than an investment: Shark angels.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2017

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas. Angel investors are people too. USA Angel Investment Network. Angel Capital Association (ACA).

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Up and Running

DECEMBER 22, 2015

Angel investors can teach you a lot about money, whether or not you’re seeking funding from them. I’ve seen this over and over in my dealings as a member of a local angel investment group. What we do at the Willamette Angel Conference is the rule, not the exception. Angel investors are individuals willing to invest their own money to fund new startups. “Investing in a startup that becomes a healthy small business can be a loss for investors.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2010

A while back, I outlined “ Ten Top Funding Sources for Startups ” for startups, listing angel investors as alternative #6. I still get a lot of questions on these mysterious and often invisible investors, so here is another attempt to bring them out of the ether. By definition, an angel investor is not an “institutional investor.” Angels are typically high net worth individuals who are investing their own money, for a wide range of motives.

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Up and Running

MARCH 27, 2015

In the business world, angel investors are sometimes equated with actual angels, sent to help us fund what could not otherwise be funded. These guardian angels of innovation are responsible for bringing many new ideas to life. The thing is, many of us—most notably those seeking investment—don’t know a lot about what angel investors are looking for in a person, idea, or company, before they agree to invest. A2A—Analyst to Angel.

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Mike Michalowicz

JANUARY 11, 2013

Entrepreneurs seem to confuse “angel investors” with givers of free money grants. An angel investor is an investor. Just like you buy Ford stock with an expectation for return, angel investors do the same. Angel investors do grant your wishes for growth and stability, but they do it strategically. And now that I think about it, angels do it that way too. Entrepreneur Strategies Money Strategies angel investor find an investor

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View from Seed

OCTOBER 5, 2016

Whether an entrepreneur is raising a smaller (pre-)seed round entirely from individuals or she has a seed-stage or larger VC firm involved in (leading) the seed syndicate, it’s somewhere between necessary and optimal to have multiple individual angel investors involved. First and foremost, angels can provide capital. That’s especially true for angels. Again, that’s especially true for angels.

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Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2015

One of the most common questions we get is: What are the biggest challenges and rewards of angel investing? High net worth individuals become angel investors for a number of reasons, but the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs and provide guidance to founders is typically high on the list. In this video, angel investor Chenoa Farnsworth explains why, interestingly, both the biggest Read more >.

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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. I’m not your average angel. According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right angel for your, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas. Angel investors are people too. Angel Capital Association (ACA).

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Gust

AUGUST 16, 2012

The reality is that results in angel investing tend to bifurcate: “Professional” angel investors, who are investing calmly, steadily, relatively-rationally, over a long period of time and with a strong knowledge of both investment math and early stage realities, tend to not only make money, but do quite well: the average return for a comprehensive, well-managed angel portfolio is between 25% and 30% IRR.

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Austin Startup

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Background Reading: Burned Relationships Burn Down Companies The Fiduciary Duties of Founders Angel Investors v. Continue reading on Austin Startups ». funding startup austin venture-capital

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2010

Mike Wolf is a mentor of mine, and a role model for many technology entrepreneurs and investors in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. I chair the Selection Committee of the Arizona Angels, and have been an active Angel investor as General Partner of Lobodos Ventures over the last thirteen years. Marty: What’s the most challenging aspect of being an investor? Tags: entrepreneur investor role model business

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Gust

APRIL 26, 2014

There are quite a few senior executives of large companies who are angel investors. The only legal issue is that they need, like anyone else, to be an accredited investor. Invested Interests angel investors fortune 500 executives private company public company

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a non-profit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. In addition, the best non-profits turn out to be the angel, rather than require one.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2010

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors. In fact, most angels are pure, but there are some exceptions that may cost you more than an investment: Shark angels.

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Angel Investor Term Sheet Due Diligence Early Stage 197

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

ABC Shark Tank Angels via Elite Daily. Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. 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. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.”

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Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

Got a question for one of the angel investors mentioned below? Today is Ask an Angel day! Tips from real angel investors about how to impress them and stand out from the crowd. Before I jump in and share the secrets of how to impress angel investors, I should tell you what an angel investor is, and how they differ from venture capitalists. Many angels are entrepreneurs themselves, or executives and business or community leaders.

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Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Just as often, however, we’re investing alongside individual angel investors who are participating in the round as well. Angel investors come in many shapes and sizes, however. And it’s not always easy to recognize the pros and cons of taking money from individual investors, or how to even seek them out in the first place. The choir of angel investors out there is comprised of a number of players which sing different parts: The Super Angel.

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Gust

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

The post Angel Investors Spotlight: An Inside Look at Hudson Valley Startup Fund’s Investment Process & Advice for Founders appeared first on The Gust Blog. Investors' Insights advice angel investors entrepreneursHudson Valley Startup Fund brings together a network of the region’s successful business and community leaders to give back, supporting the launch of the next Hudson Valley visionaries.

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