Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 15, 2010

Last night I attended the inaugural Open Angel Forum event started by Jason Calacanis , a fellow LA resident. Jason started the Open Angel Forum in response to his frustration that entrepreneurs were being charged by some angel organizations to present at their events. The event last night in Los Angeles was great.

advice 254

advice angel investing entrepreneurs pitching 254

Angel Capital Association

AUGUST 13, 2021

By: Daren Cotter, Tech Entrepreneur & Investor, Member of Gopher Angels I’ve been asked this question many times over the past 8 years. I’m sharing my thought process because perhaps it will nudge some of you to angel invest too! My angel investing hobby was making me a better Founder, CEO, and business leader.

angel investing 69

angel investing investing investment leadership 69

TechCrunch

JANUARY 13, 2022

Marjorie Radlo-Zandi is an entrepreneur, board member, mentor to startups and angel investor who shows early-stage businesses how to build and successfully scale their businesses. From my point of view as an angel investor and former entrepreneur, here are five essential factors I look for when considering my next investment.

angel investing 106

angel investing investing investment venture capital 106

Feedough

DECEMBER 21, 2020

Of these, only 70,000 get angel investment, and less than 5,000 get venture capital. But the problem is that entrepreneurs realise these mistakes only after they make it and get rejected. Moreover, as an entrepreneur, never be greedy. Substandard Pitch Decks. That is, the remaining 5.92 Relying On One Source.

entrepreneurs 98

entrepreneurs pitching incubation angel investing 98

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 5, 2024

These insights from top entrepreneurs benefit EO members plus the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem. Set Goals Like Google: Why OKRs Surpass Other Goal-Setting Methods for Entrepreneurs Eric Crews (EO Boston), founder and CEO of management consulting firm Crews & co., I’ve set many goals in 30+ years as an entrepreneur.

consulting 211

consulting real estate entrepreneurial ecosystem entrepreneurs 211

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2011

The best business plans are stories, and the best pitches are stories. Pitch tip: don’t start with a boring introduction; start with a slide showing a great picture, nothing else, and use that picture to tell your story. It’s well worth the time and money for anybody who ever talks to a business meeting, let alone an investor pitch.

pitching 98

pitching strategy technology angel investing 98

Gust

OCTOBER 11, 2011

An “ elevator pitch ” is a concise, well-practiced description of your startup and your plan, delivered with conviction and enthusiasm, that your mother should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. A good elevator pitch is not just for an elevator discussion. About 150-225 words.

pitching 174

pitching startup energy sustainability 174

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

I’m also on record as saying I invest in lines & not dots. If you haven’t read the post the thesis was that I care way more about watching the trajectory of your performance as a team (or individual) than I do about how good you “pitch” on the first day you come to see me. He wanted to be an entrepreneur. I still do.

investing 303

investing investment VC media 303

StartupNation

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

The stats for women in investing are somewhat bleak. Only 11% of VC partners are women , and as a whole, women angel investors have only reached 22%. On the entrepreneur side, things look better, with over 40% being women. Make sure you are pitching to a fund that is appropriate for where your business is right now.

pitching 88

pitching entrepreneurs real estate angel capital 88

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2011

Ask around for who the top entrepreneurs are and this is a name that always comes up--mostly because of the big name angel round they raised and the upward trajectory of the business they run. I'm on the board of a yet to be announced investment that we have in common and this entrepreneur gets inbound calls from him.

board 278

board advice consulting angel investing 278

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 1, 2013

VCs, I believe that the purpose of venture investment is to serve entrepreneurs. Many of us, however, seem to regard investing as some kind of dodge or hustle. That is why some entrepreneurs have turned towards an alternative to getting investment from us. Many of us, fellow VCs, are a poor investors.

angel investing 277

angel investing financing finance entrepreneurs 277

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 25, 2013

Back in 2006, when I started working on putting together some community groups for entrepreneurs and tech people, I looked for a better name to reference this collection of people. Want to get involved in this community in some way--working for these companies, moving here to start one, angel investing, bringing more creative space online?

communities 296

communities innovation creativity real estate 296

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

So even if my own mother asked me to meet with you, and you were pitching me a biotech opportunity for a $10 million investment at a $90 million valuation, I might take the meeting, but it wouldn’t be particularly useful for either of us. In this case, it’s not a lack of interest, just a lack of time and efficiency.

pitching 153

pitching angel investing investing investment 153

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

It sounds obvious, but the majority of entrepreneurs who pitch me have obviously never thought through many of the major issues surrounding their companies. With #1 – #3 under your belt, you should start preparing the components you will use to support your pitch to outside investors. Understand your business.

investment 164

investment investing pitching mix-use 164

Gust

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Leaders and active members of all the major North American angel groups attend this three day conference, along with a large delegation of international business angels. Sessions are all about how to improve angel investing and manage angel groups, as well as connecting with other industry players and getting technical presentations.

ventures 125

ventures angel investing education pitching 125

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 13, 2022

A Very Honest Guide to Writing Your Fundraise Pitch Deck How to optimise yours for success Congratulations! You know you need a pitch deck to do this and so fire up your slide software of choice and crack your knuckles, ready to wow. I often see pitch decks positioning themselves as a Seed raise but realistically are at Pre-Seed.

pitching 79

pitching advice accelerator investment 79

American Entrepreneurship

MARCH 26, 2024

Angel investment fund selects six companies to pitch live on USD campus on May 9. Tickets for live pitch event now available. Over 100 companies applied for SDAC VI, hoping to land at least $200,000* in angel investment or attract investors interested in funding their companies.

angel investing 111

angel investing education pitching consulting 111

Gust

JULY 12, 2012

The goal was to share our experiences in the realm of angel investing with an array of global audiences, by participating in various lectures, discussions and workshops. In all four countries we met passionate entrepreneurs who were eager to discuss their exciting startups, as well as angel investors looking to support them.

communities 121

communities startup pitching entrepreneurs 121

American Entrepreneurship

MAY 14, 2024

Four startup finalists pitched to an audience of entrepreneurs and angel investors For the sixth consecutive year the San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC), held at the University of San Diego, made sizeable investments into two startup finalists of its four-month-long program.

peer-to-peer 111

peer-to-peer sustainability pitching angel investing 111

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. Remember that you will have total control over who can see this material.

VC 159

VC angel investing pitching entrepreneurs 159

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them & entrepreneurs that run them. Invested Interests. For example, with any outside investment, you give up some ownership and control, and with bootstrapping your growth curve will likely be longer and more organic. Power Pitches. Invested Interests. Power Pitches.

startup 180

startup pitching disruption mix-use 180

Gust

JANUARY 4, 2012

Entrepreneurs: if you’re looking seriously at angel investment, and you have the kind of product-market fit and management experience investors will like, you need to take a good look at convertible notes. Do yourself and the investors you want to talk to a favor: take a few minutes and do some homework on this issue.

angel investing 114

angel investing finance financing VC 114

Startup Catalyst

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

In November 2017 we delivered our first Investor Mission, heading to San Francisco for an intensive week meeting with angels, VCs, corporate venture programs, accelerators, startups, pitch events, and dinners. The mission was led by Steve Baxter, an investor on Shark Tank and the current Queensland Chief Entrepreneur.

angel capital 100

angel capital angel investing VC accelerator 100

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 1, 2022

It started out as a vehicle for joint angel investing for the two general partners, who later brought in Reider to lead the investment team. Our model is that a founder has a high degree of flexibility similar to what you’d expect from an angel. The firm has quietly backed over 40 companies in the U.S.,

pitching 86

pitching founder energy SaaS 86

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

All entrepreneurs know the feeling: your vision is crystal clear, but potential investors don’t get it. But that’s not something the kinds of folks who do most angel investing understand. One pitched investor whispered “don’t we have better things to do with our time?”). They ask small-minded questions. It’s maddening!

angel investing 107

angel investing pitching communities board 107

StartupNation

AUGUST 8, 2021

Here’s a great story from an entrepreneur who bootstrapped her business that will help give you an idea of how you can scale your business via bootstrapping. Related: This Entrepreneur Shares How She Bootstrapped Her Startup (and How You Can, Too). Pitch your business idea at a competition to earn startup funding.

creativity 104

creativity financing finance startup 104

TechCrunch

JULY 6, 2021

Influential entrepreneurs like Paul Graham and Naval Ravikant always preach the need for startups to have founders-turned-investors on their cap table. Olubusi, who had built and exited a couple of startups over the years, also dabbled with angel investing for some time.

founder 130

founder angel investing pitching strategy 130

Gust

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Too many entrepreneurs develop a new product without regard for market demand , then build an entire strategy based on creating a need, rather than acting on an existing market need. The best entrepreneurs solve problems that they and their team have personally experienced. These don’t get funded. Experience the pain first-hand.

technology 167

technology disruption entrepreneurs education 167

Onevest

APRIL 30, 2015

In a report on startup investing and “How the Rich Invest” Forbes notes that the Angel Capital Association counted more than 330 active angel groups in North America as of 2013. Just 2% of startup financing actually comes from venture capital firms.

investing 116

investing investment coworking spaces startup 116

Jason Malki

AUGUST 3, 2023

Andres, an Industrial Engineer by training, was previously investing in the B2B vSaaS space and comes from a background of strategy consulting. He is also an angel investor and former EdTech entrepreneur. How did you break into tech investing? Traditional VC firms raise money and invest in already created startups.

entrepreneurs 52

entrepreneurs consulting VC incubation 52

Angel Capital Association

JULY 23, 2020

Or, do you have additional advice for founders who pitch to your group? I answer more questions and provide more coaching about investor pitches than anything else. Once you decide that you need investment to grow your company, your task as a founder is to convince investors to give it to you. Valuation if set.

pitching 65

pitching angel investing investing investment 65

Gust

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Twenty or so angel investors (me included) sit on tables arranged like a big U, with a table in the middle for a projector, and a screen in front. An entrepreneur has just finished his pitch. He did a good job on the pitch and the business looks like it has potential. We go on to the next pitch. Raise your hand.”

pitching 93

pitching strategy entrepreneurs startup 93

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 5, 2024

These insights from top entrepreneurs benefit EO members plus the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem. Set Goals Like Google: Why OKRs Surpass Other Goal-Setting Methods for Entrepreneurs Eric Crews (EO Boston), founder and CEO of management consulting firm Crews & co., I’ve set many goals in 30+ years as an entrepreneur.

consulting 109

consulting real estate entrepreneurial ecosystem leadership 109

TechCrunch

MARCH 29, 2023

In 2017, they began investing some of Gettinger’s gambling winnings, and then later Teran’s Managed by Q proceeds, building a portfolio of over 100 angel investments, which included Bowery Farming, Electric.ai He explained that when pitching as a founder, you share the vision of the company and can show what you are building.

venture capital 76

venture capital angel investing economic environments pitching 76

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Ideally, a business pitch is exciting because the business potential is exciting. Frankly, in a business pitch, I mistrust shows of undue optimism, passion, and resolve. I worry that early-stage entrepreneurs are working towards some mythological promise that will alone can make a business successful. Absolutely.

pitching 70

pitching entrepreneurs investment investing 70

Gust

JANUARY 5, 2012

But, the SEC limit on the number of shareholders is not the only issue entrepreneurs should consider. If large amounts of capital are required for startup companies to dominate a market, then the preferences of larger investors, such as angels and venture capitalists should be paramount in importance to entrepreneurs.

entrepreneurs 131

entrepreneurs investing investment capital 131

Gust

NOVEMBER 29, 2011

I saw a great answer to that question in Pitching a VC: Why Financials Matter , posted earlier this month by David Hornik on his Ventureblog. Here’s what he says: It is well understood by entrepreneurs and VCs alike that the specific numbers an entrepreneur pitches when describing her early stage business are completely made up.

pitching 70

pitching entrepreneurs VC financing 70