This is the fourth post on Term Sheets and how they impact returns to investors. In addition to economics and control, term sheets also contain provisions that impact how as investors we can add some level of protection for the value of our investment. Although there are a number of provisions in the term sheet addressing this, the three most important to me are:
Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Due Diligence, Opinion, Term Sheets, Uncategorized, Venture Capital
Tagged Angel Investing, Angel Investor, Anti-dilution, Female Investors, Golden Seeds, Information Rights, Term Sheets, Valuation, Value Protection, Women Angels, Women in Angel Investing, Writing Checks
In a recent post, I published an excerpt from a new book called “What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know” by Brian S. Cohen and John Kador.
I had the opportunity to read the book en route to the Angel Capital Association (ACA) Summit and would highly recommend it to both entrepreneurs and angel investors alike. Written in the first person and filled with anecdotes, war stories and wisdom gained from Brian’s many years of angel investing, this book is both a fun and insightful read.
Having started investing in this space back in the late 90’s (yes I was only 14 at the time!!), I have learned that when all is said and done, for me angel investing is all about investing in great people and helping them build great companies.
Thank you Brian for sharing your wisdom and insights in your new book! I am looking forward to the next one!
Due Diligence is defined by Merriam Webster as “research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction (as a corporate merger or purchase of securities)“. When it comes to Due Diligence in Angel Investing, there are many schools of thought. With the advent of Angel List and other online platforms as well as a myriad of crowdfunding sites, it is possible to make investments in early stage companies without ever actually meeting the entrepreneur. Conversely there are Angel Groups like Golden Seeds, of which I am an active member, whose members conduct a rigorous due diligence analysis of potential investment opportunities. And there is every variety in between. Continue reading
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Golden Seeds Innovation Summit. During this annual event, CEOs from the Golden Seeds Portfolio Companies, Golden Seeds Members, LPs in the Golden Seeds Funds and guest speakers come together for two days in NYC. It is a venue for the CEOs to update current and potential investors about their companies and also to interface with one another, a powerful networking opportunity. In addition to hearing about the progress of our portfolio companies, members are able to attend sessions on topics including; positioning for exit, brand building, trends in various industry sectors, and many others.
To me, angel investing is so much more than just writing a check, as I discussed in an earlier blog post. The ability to interface with our dynamic CEOs and to collaborate on investment opportunities with a great group of investors, like my colleagues at Golden Seeds, is “What it’s all about“. Each time I participate on a deal team, in addition to sharing my own expertise, I always learn something new. I follow my companies on Twitter and other social media venues and try to be a supportive “angel” (which means not trying to micromanage but being strategic with both advice and input). I feel extremely privileged to be a part of the Golden Seeds national network and look forward to investing with them in 2013.
In my last post, I discussed planning your angel investment strategy for 2013 and taking into consideration not only new portfolio additions but also participations in “follow-on” rounds emanating from your current portfolio. So how do you decide, if you have the option to invest, whether or not to participate in a “follow-on” round? When I am considering this question for my own portfolio, I first determine what type of “follow-on” round this investment opportunity represents. I use the following three categories: Continue reading
It’s a New Year and time to make those resolutions. In addition to thinking about personal goals for the year, it’s a great time to review your angel investment portfolio. As angels we see many interesting investment opportunities and it helps to set a goal at the beginning of the year for the investment amount that you want to commit to this sector over the next 12 months. When setting this goal take into consideration: Continue reading
Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Uncategorized, Venture Capital
Tagged ACA, Angel Capital Association, angel investment portfolio, Angel Investor, Equity, Female Angels, Female Investors, Follow-on Rounds, Golden Seeds, Kauffman Foundation, Money, Portfolio Company, Returns to Angel Groups, Robert Wiltbank, Warren Boeker, Women Angels, Women Investor, Writing Checks
Image source: Fotalia.com
There is a perception out there that angel investors and venture capitalists are only focused on monetary gain and don’t work to support the success of their companies post-investment. Angels are making investments with the hope of a successful exit and unfortunately the statistics on the failure of startups are quite sobering. According to Shikhar Ghosh, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, the failure rate of startups is 30-40%. ( Source: HBS Working Knowledge Article by Carmen Nobel). But in addition to the potential investment returns, angel investing provides a unique platform for engaging with the companies in your portfolio, which is not the case when investing in the public markets.
Posted in Angel Investing, Golden Seeds, Opinion, Uncategorized, Venture Capital
Tagged 500 Startups, Angel Investor, Angel Investor Training, Check, Checks, Corporate Justice Blog, Dave McClure, Digital, Digital Rolodex, Education, Equity, Exit, Exit Strategy, Exiting, Exits, Faculty, Failure, Female Angels, Female Investors, Ghosh, Golden Seeds, Golden Seeds Angel Investor Training, Gotham Gal, Greed, Harvard Business School, Harvard Faculty, HBS, Investing, Investment, Investments, Investor, Mentorship, Money, New York, New York City, NYC, Perception, Perceptions, Portfolio, Portfolio Company, Portfolios, Rolodex, Rolodexes, Shikar, Shikar Ghosh, Start Up, Start Up Failure, Start Ups, Startup, Startup Failure, Startups, Stereotype, Stereotypes, Strategies, Strategy, Valuation, Viewpoint, Viewpoints, Woman, Women, Women Angels, Women in Angel Investing, Women Investor, Write, Writing, Writing Checks
Women Invest 