Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups—Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000
updated 1d ago
updated 1d ago
I prefer founders who are willing to pursue their visions long before an investor comes along and takes some of the pressure off of them. What this signals, in my experience, is that if these founders someday run out of money—and almost all startups do—they will likely revert back to not paying themselves, while still pushing the company forward wi
... See moreJean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
I know folks who were broke and busy but had huge networks and tons of knowledge, who weaseled their way onto cap tables by being advisors. In fact, before I had any money, I would trade my network and knowledge of how to promote startups for equity.
Jean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
How to allocate your finite time and energy efficiently is something you constantly have to revisit as an investor, founder, parent, and human being. The cost of not revisiting your allocation of time is great, leading to massive regret at having spent too much time on a startup, marriage, friendship, or investment that is destined to disappoint yo
... See moreJean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
Now the safest investment vehicles in the world, traditionally, have been things like bonds, treasuries, gold, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), and mutual funds. These devices are highly regulated, safe, and predictable when compared to angel investing. It’s widely accepted that the stock market in the United States has returned, on average, 7 percent
... See moreJean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
Let’s run the numbers. In the United States, being an “accredited investor” means you are, in the eyes of the Securities and Exchange Commission, smart enough to invest in very risky things like startups.
Jean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
According to the SEC, an accredited investor includes anyone who: earned income that exceeded $200,000 (or $300,000 together with a spouse) in each of the prior two years, and reasonably expects the same for the current year, OR has a net worth over $1 million, either alone or together with a spouse (excluding the value of the person’s primary resi
... See moreJean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
In order to be an effective angel investor, you need some combination of money, time, network, and expertise.
Jean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
Carry is short for “carried interest,” and it’s defined as the share of profits that go to the fund manager—in this case called the syndicate lead. The term dates back to the sixteenth century, according to the Wikipedia entry, where captains of ships would charge merchants 20 percent of the profits from cargo that they took the risk and effort to
... See moreJean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago
You can largely forget Europe, with its socialism, red tape, and generally anti-entrepreneurial policies. The one notable exception is Sweden, which has produced recent unicorns like Spotify, King (Candy Crush), Mojang (Minecraft), Skype, and SoundCloud. Some folks argue that it’s their focus on design or decreased daylight forcing them to work har
... See moreJean-Charles Kurdali added 2mo ago