Rich: Okay, just so we can wrap up and sort of summarize this, what I’m hearing you say for the angel investment marketplace is that they need to have patience. It’s a different environment over there, and you need to be aware of the company’s legal structure. Anything else you would like to add that would be good for angel investors to be thinking about?
Bruno: Yeah, if you are a foreign investor you need to be patient to make your first investment, but the return could be much quicker than it is in the US.
* This is an excerpt from an interview report. Download full report at Angels and Startups, Don’t Play in China Until You Read This.
Right now, there’s a lot of hot money in China. The differentiation you can make is the people you know on the ground. Being here, or working with people whom have been here for a while, is one of the keys of succeeding as an investor here. I have been able to — and my group as well — to find companies that are both a good investment from a team perspective, as well as from a valuation perspective.
To be credible, to be consistent, and to make sense, you need to be on the ground for a little bit. When you’re confident that you’re working with the right people on the ground, let’s say AngelVest, my angel group, or any other person that you feel is trustworthy, then once you have made the first investment it’s actually pretty quick to…
Photo: ~Brenda-Starr~
Rich: So, the patience comes not so much with the return, but with getting started, making sure you’ve got your feet on the ground and that you’re working with credible people.
Bruno: Yeah, and it’s much easier now than it used to be because you can now easily connect to investors in the US as well as China.
To be confident that you understand the market well enough you need to spend time on the ground. Otherwise you’ll need to rely on other people; however talented they may be, it’s always better if you see the company that you’re going to invest in.
The other thing is investing here in China is no different. Because the market has been educated about this offshore legal structuring, it is not that difficult to invest here in China.
What you have to focus on is actually the same as what you have to focus on elsewhere, which is the team, their talents, and their track record.
And you need to understand the regulatory environment because this is apparently a component that is not as strong as it is in the US, especially in the Internet arena.
* This is an excerpt from an interview report. Download full report at Angels and Startups, Don’t Play in China Until You Read This.
