Angel Investing 101
Interesting session with Ron Conway and Mike Maples.
Key thoughts:
- Silicon Valley has an angel ecosystem like nowhere else
- The components of a good startup: The People = 80%, The Idea = 20%
- What is the job of a business angel? –> generating value – REAL value! BUT: it’s not the job of an angel to be the CEO! The angel has to make sure that all lights are green – the CEO still has to drive the car! If you’re an angel and your contribution is ZERO, why should an entrepreneur work with you again? That’s the reason why people like Ron Conway have been able to invest in 500 companies – they generate tangible value! Values like: helping recruit good people; introductions to VCs; introductions to exit-partners etc.
- A business idea without a prototype or proof of concept is no business idea.
- If you want to raise money, be aware of a major conflict of interest. What Angels/VCs are looking for are the billion-dollar-hits. That’s the only way they make money. But thats not necessarily in the best interest of entrepreneurs (see the posting below).
- Do your background checks. Call up references.
- Reputation is everything!
(via Morten)
Categories: Entrepreneurship
March 3rd, 2009 at 06:41
interesting article, i am not sure i’ve heard of investing angels, but it sounds like it could be used in a good way if one was careful. thanks for the info.
April 21st, 2009 at 00:59
investing for an angel in business is cool. unfortunately, it is not easy to look for an angel for your business. in these days now, we can not really be sure that a person is an angel that we can be confident to invest on them. we have to do a thorough investigation on the person’s personality and this is not easy. (www.kika.ca)
May 6th, 2009 at 10:03
check this out
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/04/20/is-venture-capitalism-dead-not-yet-advice-from-kleiner-perkins-hummer-winblad-shasta-ventures-and-clearstone-venture-partners/
June 7th, 2009 at 17:43
nice site. thanks remo.
August 14th, 2009 at 12:36
“Reputation is everything!â€
That is what companies bank on and that is what you should die for to protect.
August 15th, 2009 at 01:57
It’s funny that people aren’t able to note these when it comes to starting a business. What constitutes good people when considering a startup?
September 7th, 2009 at 17:29
“A business idea without a prototype or proof of concept is no business idea.â€
I could not agree more to this statement.
“Reputation is everything!â€
If you build a good reputation, you are building a good business.
September 9th, 2009 at 20:23
Funny that California should be such a hotbed of entrepreneurialism when it’s going broke as a state and is also noteworthy for looking for ways to tax people.
And it’s on a major fault-line, isn’t it?
September 12th, 2009 at 09:15
Funny that California should be such a hotbed of entrepreneurialism when it’s going broke as a state and is also noteworthy for looking for ways to tax people
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:26
Very good article you got here. Very informative. Thanks a lot. I’ll bookmark this for my own reference. I’d also try to refer this to some of my friends. Thanks for the info!