Search results for: Angellist
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A Great Time for Startup Investing
These are strange and unique times. The world is changing in ways we couldn’t have imagined even six months ago. Everyone seems to be wondering when things will return to normal. In many ways, I don’t think things are going to return to normal. This crisis has exposed a lot of deep problems, including an overreliance on debt and global…
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Silver Linings
There’s not much to like about our current situation. Most of us are stuck at home. The economy is struggling. And the decade-long bull market may well be over. But there is a silver lining. We’re going to get a chance to buy great stocks at big discounts. And we’re going to have tremendous investment opportunities in the startup world…
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Stay on Top of Your Invited Deals
Once you make the decision to become an investor on AngelList, you need to devote time to it. Because after you have applied to be an investor on the platform, have been accepted and have joined some syndicates, you will start getting invited to invest in deals. And once you start receiving invitations, you need to take action in order…
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Startup Investors: Watch Out for These Five Red Flags
Today we’re going to talk about red flags in startup investing. These are signals that tell me it’s probably best to pass on a deal. Red Flag No. 1 – Too Much Focus on the Industry One of the most common negative signals I see is when a founder spends too much time telling me how amazing their industry is……
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Pro Rata Rights Explained
When you invest in an early-stage startup, you will often receive “pro rata rights.” This means you have the right to invest in future fundraising rounds. Pro rata rights are extremely important. They give you the option to invest in each subsequent fundraising round to avoid dilution (if you need a clear explanation of how dilution works, click here). Fred…
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SEC Considers Opening Up “Accredited Investor” Status to More Investors
As it stands today, there are two separate startup investing ecosystems. One is for accredited investors only, those who either make $200,000 a year in income or are worth more than $1 million. Accredited startup investing deals have been happening online since 2012 on sites like MicroVentures, AngelList and FundersClub. Accredited investor deals are extremely easy to conduct. Startups use…
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Investing Outside of the Bay Area
For decades, the venture capital (VC) market has been centered around the San Francisco Bay Area. As I pointed out in my fourth Angel Investing Master Class, the Bay Area captures 46% of all U.S. venture money invested. But I am beginning to see signs that the Bay Area is losing its edge. Startups in San Francisco are more expensive…
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Five Online Startup Investing Tips for Accredited Investors
Today, we’re going to go over some tips on the accredited side of online startup investing. Tip No. 1: Don’t share information about deals. On accredited sites like AngelList, all of the deals are considered private. And if the syndicate finds out you’re sharing deal details with others, you could be removed from the platform and even banned. After the…
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Top Blogs for Startup Investors
Today, I’m going to share my favorite blogs about startup investing. Let’s get started. AVC AVC (A Venture Capitalist) is run by Union Square Ventures (USV) co-founder Fred Wilson. USV is one of the best venture capital (VC) firms in the world. AVC is the industry blog I check most often. It’s always insightful, entertaining or both. For example, his…
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Tell the SEC to Update Its Definition of “Accredited Investor”
Equity crowdfunding is still a very young industry in the U.S. It’s been live to the general public only since May 2016. That’s when “Regulation Crowdfunding” (Reg CF) went into effect. For the first time, all investors had the chance to invest in private startup companies. Prior to this, only accredited investors were able to invest in these types of…
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Angel Investing Online and Offline
Today, we’re going to talk about offline versus online angel investing. You might be thinking about making some investments in startups locally – or offline. That’s great. But I must inform you about how much more difficult and involved offline investing is. It really makes sense to do offline (real-world) angel investing only if… You can do it full time,…
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Startup Investors: Watch Out for These Five Red Flags
Today we’re going to talk about red flags in startup investing. These are signals that tell me it’s probably best to pass on a deal. Red Flag No. 1 – Too Much Focus on the Industry One of the most common negative signals I see is when a founder spends too much time telling me how amazing their industry is……
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How Many Startup Investments Are Enough?
Peter Thiel, billionaire founder of PayPal, is one of the best startup investors of all time. He invested $500,000 in Facebook in 2004, when the fledgling company was worth around $5 million. He sold most of that stake after Facebook’s IPO in 2012, when shares traded around $20. All told, Thiel made more than $1 billion on that investment alone.…
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Why Crowdfunding Is the Best Way to Raise Capital
The biggest myth about crowdfunding is that crowdfunding investors get crumbs. The tasty dishes go to venture capital (VC) firms. And those startups that can’t get VC investors to scoop them up turn to crowdfunding. Nothing could be further from the truth. Scores of startups use crowdfunding because of its unique benefits. I sat down with two founders of a…
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How to Get Into a Top-Notch Investment Syndicate
Pre-IPO and startup investments are finally starting to attract the attention they deserve. Last week, CNBC published an article titled “Investors, ‘starved for returns,’ flood private markets in search of high-growth opportunities.” Here’s an excerpt: Many global investors are turning toward Silicon Valley instead of Wall Street in search of returns. The total invested in private markets hit all-time highs…
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Why Pre-IPO Investors Are in a Sweet Spot
Before we delve into a couple of interesting items in the pre-IPO investing universe, I want to remind you about two things: I know some of you have subscribed to Pre-IPO Profits but haven’t invested in the Pre-IPO Premier Fund. You still have time to invest in the fund. But make sure you don’t forget! Once the fund is closed,…