After you have heard a few startup success stories, like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, you may be tempted to invest some money yourself, maybe by pooling your funds with other investors who claim to have a great track record. My advice is to leave the investing in startups to the professionals (or friends and fools). […]
Angel Investors
How To Start A Small Business With No Money
A couple of years ago, there was a minor uproar when Forbes called Kylie Jenner the “youngest self-made billionaire”. Those of us who did not come from families with tremendous wealth and fame took issue with the term “self-made”. That moniker is usually used to describe someone who actually built their wealth from nothing. However, […]
What Happens When Selling Your Company for Less Than Expected
Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event. Especially when outside investors, venture capitalists, or angels have put in substantial money and the sales price is less than the value of their investment. Most experienced VC and angel investors have found themselves in such a situation, since it is […]
Do Those Summaries. Use Those Frameworks. But Don’t Think They Replace Business Planning.
There is some bad advice floating around in the startup world. Useful as the Lean Canvas is, and despite some well-intentioned suggestions of summaries, those are not business plans. They don’t deal with the drivers and components of cash flow. They don’t set milestones, metrics, and tracking. You can’t run a business with them. And […]
Finding the Right Angel Investor for Your New Venture
If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. Or does it? Actually numbers and locations are just the beginning. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and […]
6 Common Misconceptions About Angel Investors
The question on Quora was “What do investors ‘get’ that other people don’t?” I answered that question from the point of view of angel investors, specifically … not just investors. 1. Some of the healthiest businesses are not good investments Many people think that a good business makes a good investment. The truth is not […]
My Advice to Startups Seeking Angel Investment
Over the weekend I was asked what advice I’d give to founders of a startup seeking angel investment. Here’s my list. First, make sure you really want angel investment. Read 10 good reasons not to seek investors for your startup. Take it to heart. If you don’t need investment, really, you are better off without it. […]
What are the Normal Steps for Angel Investment?
Question: What are the normal steps for angel investment? What’s involved in submitting a business plan? I decided to answer this question here because I see it so often in email and in question and answer sites on the web, especially Quora, which is where I first saw it and answered it. Yes you do need […]
If You Can’t Find an Angel Investor, Look Again, Here
If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. Or does it? Actually numbers and locations are just the beginning. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and […]
3 Flexible Funding Options for Small Businesses
One of the most significant challenges any startup or small business faces in its early phases is gaining the necessary funding to allow it to function. Every business needs money to survive, and luckily there are many external sources from which funding can be acquired. These sources are all different, and different businesses need differing […]
