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. Conventional wisdom dictated that they made reckless investments in very early-stage ventures mostly doomed to fail. So which is it?

angel investing 152

angel investing venture capital investing investment 152

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

For years there has been a pervasive opinion across the entrepreneurial landscape that the US has a shortage of capital required to startup and grow new ventures. It is suggested that companies cannot find the cash necessary to start new and exciting ventures. But, what evidence do we have of this shortage of capital?

capital 120

capital startup angel capital VC 120

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

It definitely impacted where I am now in the sense that this was an inflection point,” said Kramer, who is one of many former Carta employees embroiled in legal battles with the company. And I want to invest in companies that I think care about DEI.” She declined to comment further. “It

VC 75

VC founder angel investing investing 75

Paul G. Silva

JULY 11, 2018

Due diligence (AKA “doing your homework” on a startup to see if investing is the right call) should clearly take time… but how much? Marianne Hudson, executive director of the Angel Capital Association (the trade association for angel investors in the US) wrote an article on this topic.

angel investing 100

angel investing angel capital entrepreneurs investing 100

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I’ve recently taken a look at seed stage funding by venture capitalists (VCs) and angel investors over the past five years. Here are the trends in venture capital financings from 2006 through 2010 – the number of seed stage deals funded and total investment by region in millions of dollars. . Investment.

entrepreneurs 162

entrepreneurs angel investing VC venture capital 162

TechCrunch

JANUARY 21, 2022

2021 was a year like no other when it came to venture investment, and this year is poised to tread a similar path, writes 500 Global’s CEO and co-founder, Christine Tsai. The trick, according to Prashant Fonseka, a partner at Tuesday Capital: only ask easy questions. Fintech is like most venture, but simply more extreme.”.

VC 80

VC incubation angel investing investing 80

Onevest

APRIL 30, 2015

By definition Angel Investors are individual investors. But the data shows a rapidly growing trend in accredited investors investing together. This is something that we have experience at 1000 Angels , the private investor network that connects startups with investors. It can be lonely as an angel investor.

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investing investment coworking spaces startup 116

Angel Capital Association

JANUARY 17, 2021

By: Emily Angold, ACA Marketing Manager As an entrepreneur and seasoned angel investor, Bill Payne understands the critical importance of education to make well-informed decisions that determine the success or failure of a startup. The higher the valuation at investment time the lower your equity stake (and return) will be upon exit.

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founder angel investing education board 40

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

Angel investing today is similar to where venture capital investing was in the mid-1980s. As a result, there is tight agreement today on the form of VC term sheets and definitive investment agreements. Very often, the initial opinions of the people around the table are radically different.

angel investing 91

angel investing entrepreneurship strategy venture capital 91

Angel Capital Association

OCTOBER 26, 2021

By: Sonia Gioseffi, Partner, K&L Gates The venture capital industry has exploded in both dollars and geography since its beginnings, as evidenced by an increase in the size of venture capital funds and the attraction of large pools of capital from institutional investors.

venture capital 40

venture capital angel investing advice VC 40

TechCrunch

MAY 11, 2021

The country’s capital Warsaw has an angel investment scene, but founders instead often look to Germany for smaller investments because “the distance from Wroc?aw We surveyed: Alena Hloba , community manager, RST Ventures for Earth. Alena Hloba, community manager, RST Ventures for Earth.

SaaS 95

SaaS founder startup sustainability 95

StartupNation

APRIL 23, 2021

There are several different ways a startup founder might fund his or her business, including series funding, crowdfunding, loans, venture capital and angel investments. As an entrepreneur, investment advisor and consultant to startup founders, I understand that each startup is different.

entrepreneurs 112

entrepreneurs startup networking SaaS 112

David Teten VC

MAY 2, 2020

But on the other side, I definitely recommend seeing what information others have made public. Even if you don’t find your specific competitor’s pitch deck, you can always learn from the pitch decks of some of the successful VC funded startups; I provide links to them at Please don’t pitch a venture capitalist without this checklist.

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pitching VC capital ventures 59

WSJ - The Accelerators

JUNE 26, 2015

ED ZIMMERMAN : In 2003, I remember the general counsel of a prestigious venture fund shouting down the idea of “secondary” or “founder liquidity” (i.e. While I don’t think it signals a tectonic shift in the market, it definitely raises questions. Venture capitalists, however, like to see founders stay hungry. Rich vs. liquid.

ventures 31

ventures founder board angel investing 31

Gust

OCTOBER 5, 2011

A term sheet keeps things relatively straightforward by summarizing the most significant deal terms in outline form, whereas the deal documents themselves (often referred to as definitive agreements ) — even for a relatively simple convertible debt financing — inevitably contain some densely written legalese.

financing 79

financing finance angel investing investing 79

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

“Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator. So what are you waiting for?

strategy 293

strategy venture capital SaaS investing 293

David Teten VC

MAY 2, 2020

But on the other side, I definitely recommend seeing what information others have made public. Even if you don’t find your specific competitor’s pitch deck, you can always learn from the pitch decks of some of the successful VC funded startups; I provide links to them at Please don’t pitch a venture capitalist without this checklist.

pitching 40

pitching VC capital ventures 40

Gust

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

It’s the result of several decades in high tech, three years as an investor in a local Oregon angel investment group , some consulting in due diligence for venture capital, and my experience as founder and co-founder of successful ventures. What I say here is my opinion and mine alone. Startup experience.

investing 70

investing investment startup angel investing 70

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it. Use Gust to research funding sources.

VC 159

VC angel investing pitching entrepreneurs 159

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I recently wrote a post on angel financing covering the topic of convertible notes but I realized I was thinking about the issue more from investor perspective and a very narrow topic of how to price the round. This post is for those who want to raise angel money. Definitionally not a short post (sorry for letting you down, Ari ;-).

advice 291

advice VC pitching angel investing 291

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2011

If you think all this sounds a bit sinister and unnecessary, go back and some of the articles about Bernie Madoff and other recent investment scams. Entrepreneurs are optimists by nature, so I definitely recommend the involvement of your favorite attorney (usually the pessimist).

entrepreneurs 119

entrepreneurs peer-to-peer networking investing 119

Gust

JANUARY 3, 2012

The dictionary definition of a mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor,” or “leader, tutor or coach.” The definition of a critic sounds similar, “a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis.” We can all learn from both of these approaches, but in my view the mentor is far more valuable than a critic.

peer-to-peer 98

peer-to-peer consulting advice entrepreneurs 98

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

That is obviously a challenge for the typical cash-strapped early stage startup that is seeking to raise more capital and is not in any kind of position to be repaying loans. Thus, it’s in everyone’s best interest to see the startup raise more capital rather than declaring default and demanding repayment.

financing 107

financing finance construction investing 107

Gust

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

Being relentlessly resourceful is definitely not what you learn in big companies, or in most schools. Relentlessly resourceful. Not merely relentless and passionate about your journey, but able to overcome novel difficulties (per Paul Graham ). The buck stops here. ” The CEO has to be confident and clearly the final decision maker.

startup 147

startup networking energy entrepreneurs 147

propel(x)

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

But if an additional 10m shares were issued by the company in future capital raises, and the seed investor did not buy any more shares, then their percentage ownership of the company would be diluted and would drop down to 10% (their original 2m shares out of the new total of 20m shares). Why is pro rata important?

investing 91

investing investment angel investing startup 91

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 15, 2021

VC Lab , an accelerator for venture capital firms, wants to create investors who will back the rest of the world. The last cohort enrolled venture investors from 62 different countries, including Central Asia, Africa, and every other place you can imagine.”. There may be plenty of funding for some startups these days.

VC 101

VC investing investment startup 101

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 16, 2013

Someone gets all of the most powerful and connected women in NYC--Barbara Corcoran, Beth Comstock, and maybe even folks like Lady Gaga--and puts together a Founder Collective--like venture fund. Everyone could toss in 100k and you could definitely find 1:1 matching from various instructions to bring it up to $10mm.

pitching 353

pitching angel investing education VC 353

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 25, 2013

Anyone who was doing something new and cutting edge should feel connected to each other--whether or not they are building a venture backed startup. It's even more relevant now that I've started the first venture capital fund in Brooklyn-- Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --and invested in four Brooklyn based companies.

communities 315

communities innovation creativity real estate 315

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 21, 2011

But I am also someone who is very colored by my past experience of seeing the venture implosion after the first bubble and walking through the fundraising tumbleweed of late 2008. I'm all for people putting $25k to work to try something out--and if it works, having the momentum to raise more capital.

communities 332

communities innovation incubation angel investing 332

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 2, 2021

EB: I think definitely a combination of both. TC: Can you talk about some of the business metrics that made these people decide to commit to the venture? EB: Definitely not, but it’s very intentional. The best friends met at a co-working space when Costa was doing angel investing in London.

networking 101

networking communities angel investing culture 101

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

There are many good books on this subject, and you owe it to yourself to read at least one of them before you begin talking to angels. A good beginning would be Bill Payne’s The Definitive Guide to Raising Money from Angels, available as a free download from [link]. And that capital is going to come from…YOU.

investing 164

investing investment pitching mix-use 164

Angel Capital Association

OCTOBER 26, 2023

By Christopher Mirabile , ACA Chair Emeritus & Launchpad Venture Group Executive Chair Every experienced angel knows how important the quality of the founding team is when selecting investments. At Launchpad Venture Group we wanted to know the answer to that question of whether investors are taking a hit on CEO transitions.

angel investing 52

angel investing leadership board ventures 52

Gust

JULY 1, 2012

These people are highly focused on investment areas they know, which have a large opportunity for growth, revenue projection of $20M or more in five years, and a high return that can be realized via an exit within five years. This is definitely the space for bootstrapping and personal networking. Real estate.

real estate 143

real estate startup angel investing consulting 143

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Individual accredited investors in typical angel deals put personal capital at risk for an equity share of growth-oriented, start-up companies. These angel investors generally invest $25,000 to $100,000 in a round totaling $250,000 to $1,000,000. In building a business, the quality of the team is paramount to success.

angel investing 146

angel investing investing investment opportunity 146

Gust

MAY 24, 2012

By contrast, venture capital and angel investments normally take the form of Preferred Stock with rights and preferences set forth in the company’s Certificate of Incorporation and other governance documents. Options and warrants, when issued, are also typically exercisable for shares of Common Stock.

board 159

board incumbents angel investing investing 159

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2011

I have to admit my West Coast bias here, having learned the ropes at a large Silicon Valley firm ; it makes little sense to me to have investor’s counsel drafting documents that are woven into the fabric of a company’s governance and capital structure, with which the company will likely be living for years after the investment is made.

financing 79

financing finance VC investing 79

Gust

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Definitely, absolutely, today’s non-monetizing business ideas are not the same thing at all. Of course, I fully appreciate that all these social networking things are very, very different from the wishful days of the 90s, when “aggregated eyeballs” were as good as currency (until the tech crash came). Nonetheless….

networking 70

networking financing finance investing 70