This step-by-step guide written by best selling business author and syndicated columnist Rhonda Abrams takes the mystery out of raising money and provides entrepreneurs a clear, comprehensive understanding of angel financing. Topics include: the valuation process and getting the best valuation for your company; preparing your business for the investment process; finding and convincing an investor; 12 key presentation slides; equity ownership calculation worksheets; questions investors will ask and red flags for investors; staging investment rounds to maximize your equity ownership; understanding investors' expected ROI; glossary of key financing terms; and negotiating the best deal. Kinkos founder and angel investor, Paul Orfalea, shares real world advice in the foreword to this guide. Finding an Angel Investor In A Day will help entrepreneurs understand what it takes to get a business funded--fast! From the Publisher Are you looking for money to start or expand your business? Do you wonder how to locate someone with the funds to help you achieve your dreams? Do you want to learn how to make the kind of pitch that will cause potential investors to whip out their checkbooks? Then this book is for you!
WHAT IF YOU HAD AN ANGEL ON YOUR SIDE? "Terrific advice from a master of the angel investing game. Brian Cohen reveals the art and craft of raising angel money. An investment in this book will pay off a thousandfold." -- DR. HOWARD MORGAN, founder and partner at First Round Capital When you connect with the right angel investor, it's like finding a new best friend--you just have to know what makes him or her happy. Smart funding is waiting for smart founders. Raising funds is all about connecting with the investor who's right for you--and What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know shows you exactly how to succeed. Veteran early-stage investor Brian Cohen knows how to spot a great company destined for success, and in this groundbreaking book he offers soup-to-nuts guidance for any entrepreneur seeking to launch an invention, a product, or a great new idea into a receptive marketplace. As chairman of the board of directors of the New York Angels, Cohen is one of the most engaged angel investors out there today. The first investor in Pinterest, he describes exactly what angels want to see, hear, and feel before they take out their checkbooks: A clear exit strategy before the startup even launches Facts that turn "due" diligence into "do" diligence Authenticity--"save your spinning for the fitness center" Proof that you "live inside the customer's head" Cohen gives invaluable insight into how the most successful angels view due diligence, friends and family money, crowdfunding, team building, scalability, iteration, exit strategies--and much more. This one-of-a-kind book provides a rare look inside the minds of people who are in the business of funding businesses just like yours. Read What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know to get your best shot at funding for your product after your very first pitch. PRAISE FOR WHAT EVERY ANGEL INVESTOR WANTS YOU TO KNOW: "Brian Cohen is truly the entrepreneur's best friend. Cohen and Kador haven distilled their first-hand experiences into an intensely personal, highly readable journey into the mind of angels that should be kept at the bedside of every startup CEO." -- DAVID S. ROSE, founder, New York Angels, and CEO, Gust "Meet one of the fundamental building blocks of the entrepreneurial scene. In one easy-to-read package, readers now have the wisdom of Brian Cohen, perhaps the most well-connected investor/entrepreneur in New York." -- MURAT AKTIHANOGLU, founder and managing director, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator "What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know gives you an actionable checklist for success in fund-raising and entrepreneurship. Cohen and Kador provide an exhilarating ride for those who want to pilot their own business." -- REED HOLDEN, serial entrepreneur and author of Negotiating with Backbone "Personal insights from a seasoned angel investor. An important addition to the reading list for today's entrepreneurs." -- SCOTT CASE, CEO, Startup America Partnership "What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know is a must-read for entrepreneurs and investors who want to fi nance startup dreams--an accessible, jargon-free, practical primer." -- WHITNEY JOHNSON, author of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream and cofounder, Rose Park Advisors
Angel Investing: Start to Finish is the most comprehensive practical and legal guide written to help investors and entrepreneurs avoid making expensive mistakes. Angel investing can be fun, financially rewarding, and socially impactful. But it can also be a costly endeavor in terms of money, time, and missed opportunities. Through the successes, failures, and collective experience of the authors you’ll learn how to navigate the angel investment process to maximize your chances of success and manage downside risks as an investor or entrepreneur. You’ll learn how: - Lead investors evaluate deals - Lawyers think through term sheets - To keep perspective through losses and triumphs This book will also be of use to founders raising an angel round, who will be wise to learn how decisions are made on the other side of the table. No matter where you’re starting from, this book will give you the context to become a savvier thinker, a better negotiator, and a positive member of the angel investing and startup communities.
Achieve annual returns of 25% or more with a well-designed angel portfolio Written by David S. Rose, the founder of Gust—the global platform that powers the world of organized professional angel investing—Angel Investing is a comprehensive, entertaining guide that walks readers through every step of the way to becoming a successful angel investor. It is illustrated with stories from among the 90+ companies in which David has invested during a 25 year career as one of the world’s most active business angels and includes instructions on how to get started, how to find and evaluate opportunities, and how to pursue and structure investments to maximize your returns. From building your reputation as a smart investor, to negotiating fair deals, adding value to your portfolio companies and helping them implement smart exit strategies, David provides both the fundamental strategies and the specific tools you need to take full advantage of this rapidly growing asset class. He details the advantages of joining an angel group, explains how seed and venture funds can help leverage an investor’s resources, and reveals how recent regulatory changes and new online platforms are making startup investing accessible to millions of Americans. Making money is no longer about sitting back and reading stock listings, David says. It is now about being part owner of an exciting startup that can be fun and financially rewarding. Angel Investing teaches investors how to carefully select and manage investments, establish a long term view, and approach angel investing as a serious part of an alternative asset portfolio while also enjoying being an integral part of an exciting new venture.
One of Silicon Valley’s most successful angel investors shares his rules for investing in startups. There are two ways to make money in startups: create something valuable—or invest in the people that are creating valuable things. Over the past twenty-five years, Jason Calacanis has made a fortune investing in creators, spotting and helping build and fund a number of successful technology startups—investments that have earned him tens of millions of dollars. Now, in this enlightening guide that is sure to become the bible for twenty-first century investors, Calacanis takes potential angels step-by-step through his proven method of creating massive wealth: startups. As Calacanis makes clear, you can get rich—even if you came from humble beginnings (his dad was a bartender, his mom a nurse), didn’t go to the right schools, and weren’t a top student. The trick is learning how angel investors think. Calacanis takes you inside the minds of these successful moneymen, helping you understand how they prioritize and make the decisions that have resulted in phenomenal profits. He guides you step by step through the process, revealing how leading investors evaluate new ventures, calculating the risks and rewards, and explains how the best startups leverage relationships with angel investors for the best results. Whether you’re an aspiring investor or a budding entrepreneur, Angel will inspire and educate you on all the ins of outs. Buckle up for a wild ride into the world of angel investing!
Startup money is moving online, and this guide shows you how it works. The Art of Startup Fundraising takes a fresh look at raising money for startups, with a focus on the changing face of startup finance. New regulations are making the old go-to advice less relevant, as startup money is increasingly moving online. These new waters are all but uncharted—and founders need an accessible guide. This book helps you navigate the online world of startup fundraising with easy-to-follow explanations and expert perspective on the new digital world of finance. You'll find tips and tricks on raising money and investing in startups from early stage to growth stage, and develop a clear strategy based on the new realities surrounding today's startup landscape. The finance world is in a massive state of flux. Changes are occurring at an increasing pace in all sectors, but few more intensely than the startup sphere. When the paradigm changes, your processes must change with it. This book shows you how startup funding works, with expert coaching toward the new rules on the field. Learn how the JOBS Act impacts the fundraising model Gain insight on startups from early stage to growth stage Find the money you need to get your venture going Craft your pitch and optimize the strategy Build momentum Identify the right investors Avoid the common mistakes Don't rely on the "how we did it" tales from superstar startups, as these stories are unique and applied to exceptional scenarios. The game has changed, and playing by the old rules only gets you left behind. Whether you're founding a startup or looking to invest, The Art of Startup Fundraising provides the up-to-the-minute guidance you need.
Entrepreneurs who dream of building the next Amazon, Facebook, or Google can take advantage of one of the most powerful economic engines the world has ever known: venture capital. To do so, you need to woo, impress, and persuade venture capitalists to take a risk on an unproven idea. That task is challenge enough. But choosing the right investor can be harder still. Even if you manage to get backing, you want your VC to be a partner, not some adversary who will undermine your vision in order to make a quick return. Jeffrey Bussgang is one of a few people who have played on both sides of this high-stakes game. By his early thirties, he had helped build two successful start-ups-one went public, the other was acquired. Now he draws on his experience and unique perspective on the "other side" as a venture capitalist helping entrepreneurs bring their dreams to fruition. Bussgang offers detailed insights, colorful stories, and practical advice gathered from his own experience as well as from interviews with dozens of the most successful players on both sides of the game, including Twitter's Jack Dorsey and LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman. He reveals how to get noticed, perfect a pitch, and negotiate a partnership that works for everyone. An insider's guide to the secrets of the world venture capital, Mastering the VC Game will prove invaluable for entrepreneurs seeking capital and successful partnerships.
"This book is designed to provide an overview of early-stage angel investing from both the investors' and the entrepreneurs' perspectives."--Introduction.
Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs will give you the information you need to understand how angel investors think, as well as how to identify investor expectations, understand the investment analysis process, and prepare for post-investment requirements. Written by Susan Preston, an experienced angel investor, worldwide speaker and consultant on angel financing, and former Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur-in-Residence, this hands-on resource, explains the factors that determine how private equity investors spend their money and what they expect from entrepreneurs. For example: Most venture capitalists do not invest in seed or start-up financing rounds Investors typically require seasoned management, with successful start-up experience Investors are looking for entrepreneurs with passion for their ideas and the willingness to take and apply sound advice Business plans must be well-written with detailed financial projections that extend 3–5 years Investors are looking for a clear path to profitability in the business model Entrepreneurs must have developed a corporate structure that is clean and uncomplicated And much more
What’s the biggest problem most entrepreneurs face? Raising money: Without cash, you can’t get a business off the ground or keep it running. However, many entrepreneurs have a problem. On one hand, the traditional sources of financing—family, friends, personal savings, the local bank—are often inadequate. On the other, the venture capitalists who have played such an important role in the high-tech industry are interested only in investing much higher sums than most entrepreneurs need. Enter angels: a new type of investor looking to invest between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in a company. There are about three million angel investors, and there’s a huge market of entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs who want to learn how to attract angels’ interest—and their money. John May and Cal Simmons are at the forefront of this trend. Not only do they have years of experience in advising, managing, and investing in early-stage companies, they are also the originators of The Dinner Club, a Washington, D.C.–based group of successful businesspeople who hear pitches by entrepreneurs seeking funding and then decide whether to invest their own or the club’s money in those entrepreneurial ideas. Every Business Needs an Angel offers a fly-on-the-wall look at how angel investors evaluate new entrepreneurial ideas, and provides a wealth of practical advice and insight for the countless entrepreneurs seeking help in their quest to find investors for their businesses. The book covers all phases of the process of finding angels and persuading them to invest, drawing on many examples of real-world companies that have pitched angels successfully—as well as unsuccessfully. These entrepreneurs are in a broad range of industries—from high-technology companies to more traditional businesses as diverse as breweries and concierge services—some quite well-known, like Nantucket Nectars and Preview Travel, whose founders had their own guardian angels. For entrepreneurs who need money and advice on how to find it, the authors offer enormous insight into this new breed of investor. As the title says, every business needs an angel; this book tells you how to find one.
