1. What matters most to you: team, market or product?
2. You've said that you typically don't lead rounds and let others lead instead. What other angels do you respect the most?
3. Are there any deals that you regret passing on?
I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
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Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#12Whats the range of your investment size?
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#13I think you can safely say you are an intermediate or advanced angel.
I guess junior is opposite to senior. I don't sit on boards, I don't lead deals, etc.
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#14What value do you add (besides the money) to a project you invest in?
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#15* What do you like to see before you invest? idea? product? traction? * What do you give more importance? idea or team? * You've had incredible dealflow recently, how are you getting into all these deals? (Foursquare, Square, StackOverflow, DailyBooth, Canv.as) * Since you don't lead, if you run across an interesting startup, do you make introductions or only co-invest in deals that come from other people? * Better l…
> What do you like to see before you invest? idea? product? traction?
I am trying to build intuition. So some of this is gut sense. Sometimes I look at deals and say, this is obvious. Sometimes I have to sell myself.
I look for new things that are in spaces that have a comfortable competitiveness climate.
> What do you give more importance? idea or team?
Both are important. See above.
> You've had incredible dealflow recently, how are you getting into all these deals?
Luck is a matter of being in the right place at the right time, so I take care to be everywhere. I know everyone. Foursquare: I knew Dennis from NYC. Square: I knew Jack from twitter. StackOverflow: I was on a panel with Joel once. Canvas: I suggested moot to TED and introduced myself at the conference. Dailybooth: Asked for an introduction to me.
> Since you don't lead
If I like the product, I introduce it to relevant people.
> Better location for a pre-funding internet startup
I'm fond of both NYC and Bay Area. I started Delicious in NYC.
> Bootstrap or raise money
Venture money is only useful in some situations - where capital will help grow the business. I also want to see something where I will conceivably get out someday; that's either acquisition or IPO. Do many privately held companies pay dividends?
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#16The "valley advantage": what attributes of a business makes a company most able to take advantage of the valley? Do this apply to b2b as much or just consumer tech? PS for the uninitiated, AMA = ask me anything
I think the Valley offers much easier access to funding. There are also lots of support organizations here -- lawyers, banks, etc, who will understand your needs much better.
I don't understand b2b and am terrified of it.
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#171) Entrepreneurs need to understand that [ ... ] or I will stab their eyes out. Please fill in the blank.
2) What is the most broken thing about angel investing?
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#18Is Christopher Poole really moot's real/birth name?
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#191. What matters most to you: team, market or product? 2. You've said that you typically don't lead rounds and let others lead instead. What other angels do you respect the most? 3. Are there any deals that you regret passing on?
> team, market or product
All are important.
> other angels
There's a lot of great angels out there that I like to learn from. Aydin Senkut has shown me a lot that I've liked lately.
> deals that you regret passing on
There are always surprises. I think it's important to compare my feelings at the time I passed to the current feelings to benchmark my intuition.
What I regret more is companies I did want to invest in but either flubbed or wasn't able to get into.
Re: I am a junior angel in Silicon Valley. AMA
#20* How do you hear about the startups you invest in? (Introductions from people you trust?) * What is the one piece of advice you would give to people who pitch their startups to you? * How do you add value?
> How do you hear about the startups you invest in? (Introductions from people you trust?)
They come from all directions. One of my best investments came from a chance meeting with the now CEO at a party.
> What is the one piece of advice you would give to people who pitch their startups to you?
Hard to explain. I do a lot of this by gut sense. I look for: - strong people doing things in interesting spaces - belief but not inflexibility; religion is bad. - an ability to roll with the punches: reactions are as important as planning
> How do you add value?
I am a product guy, so I look at the product and can evaluate it. Same thing I use to choose the investments, I guess. I am also reasonably well connected and will use that as asked.