Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Here are the key considerations from my perspective: Dealing with known or trusted investors and advisors. If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive. Discussions with potential strategic partners. Build trust first.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

You need to build business relationships with partners, team members, investors, and of course customers. As an introvert myself, I remember worrying that I could never be comfortable giving a sales pitch, or networking to find clients. Actively expand your business networking activities. It doesn’t work in business.

Entrepreneur 261

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Incubator 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2020

As an angel investor, you can bet I wasn’t convinced he would ever start his next proposal. Spend more time nurturing partners and outside influencers. The best are willing to share what they know, actively build partner communities, and constantly expand their realm through new learning and experiments.

Entrepreneur 329

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Stealth Angel Investor 329

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

In that environment, you need to look broadly and work effectively on all the available sources of capital, including friends and family, angel investors, and strategic partners. Status: network, connections, and personal brand. In the business world, your ability to raise money is often paramount to your success.

Silicon Valley 325

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Technical Review Boston 325

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 338

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Accelerators provide these teams with technical and business expertise and connect them to a network of other founders and advisors. The culmination of this bootcamp is a “demo day” where all startups in the cohort have a few minutes to pitch their companies to venture capitalists and angel investors. (In

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas. The rest is history.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

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. Angel investors wish for the same return, but may accept a 5X deal. How good are your connections in the investor community?

Angel Investor 266

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Venture Capital IRR 266

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 9, 2021

Angel investors. An angel investor is an individual (and usually a wealthy one) who is willing to invest in small businesses. Angel investors aren’t as dedicated to the practice as VCs, so there’s often less competition for their attention. Finally, spend time professional networking. Crowdfunding.

Angel Investor 117

Angel Investor Equity Small Business Administration Venture Capital 117

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 31, 2021

The Angel Association of New Zealand ( AANZ ) is co-hosting with New Zealand Growth Capital Partners ( NZGCP ) a series of workshops on early-stage investment. Marcel spoke about five Cs that help him select the right investment opportunities: Connections: can your networks offer access to markets or relevant expertise?

Portfolio 87

Portfolio New Zealand Management Technical Review 87

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

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. Networked and connected.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angel investors wish for the same return, but may accept a 5X deal. How good are your connections in the investor community?

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor IRR Venture Capital Valuation 246

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

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. Networked and connected.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

The AWS APN Global Startup Program – for startup AWS Partner Network (APN) select and advanced technology partners looking to grow their products on AWS. Startups spend 10 weeks working closely with AWS experts, alongside an extended global network of investors and entrepreneurs. Physical space.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

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. The choir of angel investors out there is comprised of a number of players which sing different parts: The Super Angel.

Angel Investor 257

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 257

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Venture capital firms look for the most mature companies they can find, Angel investors typically deal a tier lower, while friends and family are most likely to help you get started.

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

Yet I recommend to every entrepreneur that there are still situations where an NDA (sometimes called Confidential Disclosure Agreement) makes sense compared to normal situations, where your risk of losing an investor or advisor is greater than the risk of your idea being compromised. Don’t ask for an NDA from trusted investors and advisors.

Non-disclosure Agreement 153

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Technical Review Due Diligence 153

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Even the homework is easier, with free and mobile access through the Internet to more business assistance sources, opportunity data, investors, and competitor details around the world. Yet, as an angel investor myself, I can attest that many potential entrepreneurs try to take shortcuts, or ignore the realities of business.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

View from Seed

JANUARY 24, 2018

For this reason, we’ve partnered with Guild members who have experience across different kinds of customers, business models, and distribution channels. This is an initiative that we will continue to refine in the coming years, but we are so excited to be partnering with these Guild members going forward. Jared holds a B.A.

Operations 176

Operations Cofounder Technical Review Angel Investor 176

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angel investors wish for the same return, but may accept a 5X deal. How good are your connections in the investor community?

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Entrepreneur IRR Valuation 314

Version One Ventures

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

We’re on our fourth fund and second opportunity fund , and we are looking to add a third partner over the course of the next year or so. You want to be a great partner to founders, asking good questions but not always shouting out the answers. You learn from others, and they learn from you, which makes your network sticky.

Partner 60

Partner Early Stage Angel Investor Differentiation 60

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

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. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas. Look to grants and strategic partners for seed funding.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Venture Capital Startup 120

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 3, 2020

Vancouver executive Christopher Kape is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who founded JAMCO Capital Partners , an early-stage investment and strategic advisory firm that focuses on a number of industries, including gaming, high-tech, food and wellness. The next group I would look to are angel investors.

Partner 147

Partner Uganda Angel Investor Bulgaria 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Venture capital firms look for the most mature companies they can find, Angel investors typically deal a tier lower, while friends and family are most likely to help you get started.

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

Angel investors, venture capital firms, accelerators, and (maybe) the newer equity crowdfunding will look to see if you have previous experience in startups. Not just that, but working for a startup grows your personal and professional network. You could also find people with complementary skills you might lack.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

YoungUpstarts

MAY 25, 2018

As the years went on, Pat Mackaronis continued to grow his network and partners in a second restaurant as well as a nightclub, he also invested in several small businesses and worked with teams to grow their projections. You need to have a vision,” he advises others similarly on the entrepreneurial path.

Developer 159

Developer Investment Bankers eCommerce Social Media 159

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2014

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than Angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.

Technical Review 266

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Startup 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Investors talk to each other and they love warm introductions to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Startup 152

Gust

FEBRUARY 1, 2014

The ideal angel investor would spend a great deal of his/her time working on behalf of the company in support of the CEO, in every way other than being a full-time employee. Invested Interests angel investors committed entrepreneurs startup wealth wisdom work'

Angel Investor 148

Angel Investor Startup IPO Early Stage 148

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2012

As an Angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas. The rest is history.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review Entrepreneur Kentucky Due Diligence 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2013

As an Angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas. The rest is history.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Entrepreneur Kentucky Due Diligence 278

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. This is traction that will impress investors, and get you customers.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

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. The choir of angel investors out there is comprised of a number of players which sing different parts: The Super Angel.

Angel Investor 128

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 128

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than Angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 273

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. I was a proud angel investor in Jody’s company, EcoMom. His first seed investor came from an intro Jody provided him. And the idea?

San Francisco 372

San Francisco Jordan Angel Investor Partner 372