The Seraf Compass

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From Startup Founder to Investor: Lessons in Patience, Diversification, and Growth

The Seraf Compass

The shift from building a company to becoming an investor is an experience I’ve realized can’t all be learned from a playbook. It’s a massive shift I didn’t fully appreciate until I experienced it firsthand. As a founder, I was used to a fast-paced, high-reward environment. But as I moved into investing, I quickly realized that this new world required a different mindset.

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Angel Investing by the Numbers: Valuation, Capitalization and Startup Economics

The Seraf Compass

In the sport of Major League Baseball, the greatest hitters are those who get a hit just one out of every three times at bat and a home run 5 or 6 times out of 100 at bats. In the world of startup company investing, the best-known investors are those who invest in the tiny percentage of companies that make it big. Think Facebook, Google or Amazon.Should a typical angel investor apply the swing for the fences approach to their personal investing?

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Seraf Toolbox: Follow-on Investment Scorecard

The Seraf Compass

When a portfolio company raises a new round, the decision to reinvest isn’t always straightforward. Emotions, relationships, and momentum can cloud even the most experienced investor’s judgment. That’s why we created the Follow-on Investment Scorecard—a structured, easy-to-use template that helps you bring clarity and consistency to your reinvestment decisions.

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Ready Fire Aim: Is Entrepreneurship Really All About Big Risky Leaps of Faith?

The Seraf Compass

Are you walking around looking for swashbuckling daredevils as investment targets? Do you assume that the process of innovation is a series of great leaps and brilliant insights? You might be making a mistake. Entrepreneurship is arguably much more incremental, and much less risk-centric than that.

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Fund Investor Profile Series: Matthew Johnson, Managing Partner, Johnson Venture Partners

The Seraf Compass

This profile is the ninth in a series of interviews highlighting the work of interesting fund investors. Matt Johnson is the founder and Managing Partner of Johnson Venture Partners, a micro venture capital fund investing in seed and early-stage startups. Matt has invested in over 40 venture-backed companies throughout 15 years of early-stage investing experience.

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Impact Investor Profile Series: Melissa Bradley, Founder and Managing Partner, 1863 Ventures

The Seraf Compass

This profile is the sixth in a series of interviews highlighting the work of interesting impact investors. Melissa Bradley is the Founder and Managing Partner of 1863 Ventures, an investment fund that accelerates New Majority entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth by bridging entrepreneurship and racial equity.

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Seraf Toolbox: Capitalization Tables with Waterfall Analysis

The Seraf Compass

Have you ever been in a situation where you are negotiating an investment with an entrepreneur and you can’t agree on the pre-money valuation? Any early stage investor who makes more than one or two investments will certainly run into this issue. It’s never an easy discussion, so it helps if you are prepared ahead of time with concrete facts and figures for your recommended valuation.

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