Angel Investor Related Topics 
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 spread their risk by making multiple smaller investments.
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 11, 2016
Angel investors are still the lifeblood of early-stage startups, despite the surge of activity in crowdfunding and an increasing early interest from venture capitalists. According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S. These are all accredited investors who risk their own money. Contrary to a popular myth, angels don’t fund dreams.
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.
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.
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 >.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Gust
MARCH 12, 2014
But as a general rule of thumb, the investors in each round of financing will get somewhere between 15% and 35% of the equity in the company, and the total amount raised in each round should be enough to get the company to a significant increase in value. For an overview of the amounts raised at different stages from different sources, see the answers to What is the range of capital you can expect from an Angel vs VC?
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.
Gust
OCTOBER 17, 2012
I began studying angel investing returns about 10 years ago as a result of a problem I couldn’t resolve: The investing world seemed certain that angel investors were rubes. And whenever they might come close to succeeding, savvy “professional” investors would just swoop in, cram them down, and win the real returns. Are angel investors just unwitting philanthropists or legitimate entrepreneurial investors? times the angel investment (i.e.
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.
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
Gust
NOVEMBER 2, 2013
But taking a look at some operating US-based companies that currently come to mind when thinking about the space ( Kickstarter , Indiegogo , AngelList , Gust , CircleUp), some of the known angels who have invested in them include: Jack Dorsey. Industry Experts angel investors AngelList CircleUp crowdfunding Gust kickstarter startups
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.
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.
Gust
MARCH 15, 2014
If you are an angel investor, the only way to do it is to take things very seriously. If you take angel investing seriously, you should aim to develop a portfolio of at least 30-40 investments over 5-10 years of active investing. If you can’t psychologically take the complete failure of at least one company (let alone 20 or more), then you shouldn’t be angel investing in the first place. Invested Interests angel investor fail investment startup
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.
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.
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.
Growthink Blog
SEPTEMBER 23, 2012
When raising funding, you always have several options - from securing a loan from a bank, receiving a secured line of credit, crowdfunding, or seeking investors. When looking for investors, most people think of venture capitalists, firms who manage pools of money and invest it in startup projects. Angel Investors are a Realistic Option Another option for the shrewd businessman or businesswoman, though, is to find angel investors.
Gust
APRIL 30, 2014
The biggest change is the one that ALL serious angel investors eventually arrive at: no matter how smart or experienced you are, there are simply too many exogenous factors affecting outcomes for you to be able to pick only winners. Invested Interests angel investors investing startups VCs
Gust
JANUARY 30, 2013
I’m posting this here for two audiences: angel investors and founders (including would-be and wanna-be founders) of startups. . I was one of four judges, all of us members of local angel investment groups working with the gust.com platform. Actual, fundable, serious startups in a single weekend? Great learning experience? And worth doing? Yes. .
Gust
NOVEMBER 15, 2011
So how do angel investors fall on this question? My bias, as an angel investor: other things being equal, yes. Looking beyond my specific bias, thinking of people I’ve worked with in my groups and in different investor venues, I think it’s fair to talk about some general rules that will apply to most situations: most investors, looking at most potential deals. Angel investors are all individuals.
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
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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