Give Entrepreneurs 5 Minutes

Credit: Joe Crawford

Angels Rob Hayes of First Round capital, Jeff Clavier, and early Googler-turned-angel Aydin Senkut recently shared their views on the state of angel investing. These angels back consumer Internet companies, with recent activity in personalized medicine and cloud-based ideas. Hayes also highlighted the key to ultimate investment success is the character and history of the founder. Said Hayes, “I look for a kick-ass CEO entrepreneur and a big-ass market — I guess I look for 2 asses.”

What you want might or might not be the same as the 3 investors above. You might be an angel who wants more than the opportunity to make money. Unlike VCs, you aren’t in it just to round out your portfolio. You likely want to see excitement; you want to see new; and you want to see the entrepreneurs.

Every angel is different. And this is the point. As an angel seeking investment opportunities, you want to see proposals from entrepreneurs who understand your likes and dislikes. Entrepreneurs must do their homework and shouldn’t pitch you their enterprise software startup if you have no interest in this market. You want to meet with that idea-holder who walks your walk and talks your talk to make sure objectives and expectations are effectively communicated and aligned down the road. Researching about you and your preferences does require effort. If the entrepreneurs have done their homework, consider giving them 5 minutes. You might be pleasantly surprised.

P.S. Even if an entrepreneur can offer great character, significant history and a winning idea, it still doesn’t guarantee a “yes” from the angel. In fact, entrepreneurs are working against the statistic that angels still reject over 75% of investment proposals before even cracking the cover.