Gust

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

Since this is my inaugural post here, I decided it would fit the occasion to list the five things I value most in an startup investment proposal. Having been involved in a failed startup definitely doesn’t rule anybody out in my mind as long as they can talk to me about what went wrong and what might have been better. Defensibility.

investing 70

investing investment startup angel investing 70

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

Each one of these terms includes aspects of fairness, ethics, law, business, entrepreneurship, psychology and investing. Angel investing today is similar to where venture capital investing was in the mid-1980s. Very often, the initial opinions of the people around the table are radically different.

angel investing 91

angel investing entrepreneurship strategy venture capital 91

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. “I And I want to invest in companies that I think care about DEI.” So far, it has invested in 14 startups, including Anrok, Pocus, Plain and Vori.

VC 75

VC founder angel investing investing 75

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

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

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.

strategy 293

strategy venture capital SaaS investing 293

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 Alena Hloba, community manager, RST Ventures for Earth. We are excited by environmental and sustainability sector, which we invest in.

SaaS 95

SaaS founder startup sustainability 95

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

We have no measure of the changes in available capital resources from entrepreneurs and their friends and family, but we have no reason to believe they have changed radically over the past few years. Let’s take a closer look at trends in government grants, angel investment and venture capital financings.

capital 120

capital startup angel capital VC 120

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

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

Take the time to read, cover to cover, The Definitive Guide to Raising Money from Angels , by the legendary Bill Payne. A wonderful resource for startups in fundraising mode that most people don’t know about is the Frank Peters Show , the only weekly podcast that is all about (and only about) the world of angel investing.

VC 159

VC angel investing pitching entrepreneurs 159

propel(x)

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

What are pro rata investment rights? Pro rata investment rights give an investor the right (but not the obligation) to invest in future funding rounds, so they can maintain their percentage ownership of the company. Small investors generally would not be given pro rata rights when they invest. Why is pro rata important?

investing 91

investing investment angel investing startup 91

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2011

A while back, I published an article on “ Startup Due Diligence Is Not a Mysterious Black Art ,” describing what investors do to validate your startup before they invest. The investment community in any geographic area is not that large, and most investors have relationships or knowledge of most of the others. Talk to other investors.

entrepreneurs 119

entrepreneurs peer-to-peer networking communities 119

David Teten VC

MAY 2, 2020

But on the other side, I definitely recommend seeing what information others have made public. I advise my portfolio companies to be careful about what information they make searchable publicly. For each competitor, I suggest you do the following: Look on Angel.co for their pitch deck. .

pitching 59

pitching VC capital ventures 59

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 15, 2021

VC Lab , an accelerator for venture capital firms, wants to create investors who will back the rest of the world. I’ve had numerous founder clients who made money and want to put their capital to good use through investing. We believe that all the bottlenecks need to be done away with,” Ressi says about startup investing.

VC 101

VC investing investment startup 101

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

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. They know that the money they invest may be lost.

advice 291

advice VC pitching angel investing 291

David Teten VC

MAY 2, 2020

But on the other side, I definitely recommend seeing what information others have made public. I advise my portfolio companies to be careful about what information they make searchable publicly. For each competitor, I suggest you do the following: Look on Angel.co for their pitch deck. .

pitching 40

pitching VC capital ventures 40

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

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

It’s worth mentioning two key attributes of convertible note venture deals here: The debt is almost always unsecured , meaning there are no underlying assets to be seized as collateral in the event of default (unlike, say, a mortgage or car loan), and is not personally guaranteed by founders or shareholders. Prepayment.

financing 107

financing finance construction investing 107

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 285

communities innovation creativity real estate 285

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 2, 2021

EB: I think definitely a combination of both. 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. TC: You say this is your third or fourth startup. TC: Are you close to break-even at this point? They later co-founded Glorify.

networking 101

networking communities angel investing culture 101

Gust

JULY 1, 2012

We are talking about angel investors here, meaning people who invest their own money in early-stage startups for a share of the equity. Generally, the same criteria applies to venture capital investors, although they invest other people’s money, at a later stage, in larger amounts. Restaurants and retail.

real estate 143

real estate startup angel investing consulting 143

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

These angel investors generally invest $25,000 to $100,000 in a round totaling $250,000 to $1,000,000. million and is established by negotiations between the entrepreneur and the angel investors. Active angels invest in a diversified portfolio of 10 or more companies, usually spreading their investments over a few years.

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. The flocks of angels will fly away, and VCs will hoard cash to finance their existing investments. Nonetheless…. I just can’t help but worry. My favorite story as a kid was the Three Little Pigs.

networking 70

networking financing finance investing 70

TechCrunch

MARCH 15, 2022

It’s identical to what’s happening in Africa: Less than 1% of all VC dollars went toward startups with one or more women founders last year, according to The Big Deal , which details investments in Africa. On the bright side, founding teams counting both women and men as members raised 17% of VC investments in Africa in 2021.

VC 115

VC founder networking investing 115

Angel Capital Association

OCTOBER 17, 2023

During negotiations on Dodd-Frank, Congress considered changes to the definition of “accredited investor,” including the elimination of the value of a primary home from inclusion in an individual’s net worth. House and Senate staff turned to ACA to understand the impact of changing the definition on the angel community.

entrepreneurial ecosystem 52

entrepreneurial ecosystem leadership entrepreneurship angel capital 52