
Ask HN:  How do I start angel investing? - bpick
I am interested in becoming an angel investor, but I lack the whole "bringing something extra to the table" outside of the money aspect.<p>What advice would you give to someone like me, who is willing and able to put money into an early-stage start-up?
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pg
Come to Demo Day at YC. It will be March 25.

How to be an angel investor: <http://www.paulgraham.com/angelinvesting.html>

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toisanji
So does that mean anyone who is interested in investing can show up on demo
day? If so I would also be very interested in investing.

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pg
Anyone who's genuinely interested in investing in startups, sure. Just send an
email to info@yc asking for an invitation.

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angelbob
Done :-)

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vaksel
According to your blog, you are a 20 year old college student, even if you
have the money(which I kinda doubt, unless of course parents), few will take
you seriously.

Think of angel investing as doing startups, before the big results...you have
to spend 3-5 years growing your site, 1 user at a time. So take the next 5-10
years building up your credentials and contacts, and by then you'll have
something to offer besides money.

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webwright
"...few will take you seriously."

What a ridiculous notion. I won't disagree that an angel has to build their
"practice". But really? You think the majority of Startups out there wouldn't
take cash from someone who brought nothing else to the table?

1 in 100 startups has the luxury of being super choosy with investors. Every
YC session, there are YC companies that raise less than they wish they could.

And, to be honest, there isn't consensus about whether investors generally DO
bring more to the table.

To the OP, go get 'em. You won't get in on the competitive deals but there are
still more promising startups than there are angels to fund them. But yeah,
first and foremost, you have to be an accredited investor.

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vaksel
my implication was more of a...people not trusting that he has the money
because of his age or thinking that at 20 he'll be a horrible investor who
doesn't know what he is getting into.

And yes most people only want the money, but money comes from different
sources. Would you really want a crack dealer as your investor? How about
someone with a criminal record?

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webwright
Yaw, certainly most of us have the luxury (or wisdom, at least!) of saying no
to destructive/unscrupulous investors.

And yeah, I think most 20 year old folks would be terrible at investing (I'm
pretty sure I would've been at 20-- hell, maybe now!). We have a 24 year old
investor, FWIW.

But I think there is this (largely incorrect) notion that your investors are
going to be working for you. For the most part, they aren't. Oh, they'll keep
their eyes peeled for opportunities for you. And if you are on fire, they
might smell the win and start pouring on some effort. But for the most part,
they are filthy rich, have tons of investments, and tons of interests. They
are stretched SUPER thin and their time is way more scarce than their money.

My favorite quote from a YC dinner (names redacted):

Q: "How to you make sure you get investors who bring more than money to the
table?"

A: Famous Internet Entrepreneur: "What? Investors don't bring anything to the
table other than money. Wait. Scratch that. One time [famous web 2.0 investor]
carried a few servers up a flight of stairs for us."

(that's paraphrased, but that exchange actually happened)

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BerislavLopac
Where do you live? The simplest advice would be to join one of the local angel
networks and join a more experienced member to mentor you.

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mbenjaminsmith
Send me an email: mbenjaminsmith AT gmail DOT com

