Continuing our “back to basics” snippets (see here on basic deal types and here on the types of angel groups), we are going to have a few posts about the “economic” terms of angel investments.First up, what is “valuation” all about?Most people get the basic idea about...
Why “across the southeast”? This balances two offsetting requirements.1) Diversification. We make many investments in South Carolina because of where most of our groups are – but we can’t invest exclusively in deals in Charleston (let alone Spartanburg or Anderson)...
Over the last month we've outlined the thinking behind why VentureSouth groups are organized the way they are.Starting here we outlined the basic types of angel groups, then tried to explain the pros and cons of each part of our structure (of a network of angel...
Why “early stage” (not “seed” or “growth” stages)? We use “early stage” to mean companies that are beyond just an idea, have a team in place, have created a business plan and strategy, and can provide some evidence of traction (ideally some initial revenue). They do...
Why individual private capital (not public or institutional funding)?1) No strings. Grants or other public funding for early stage investment, if it even exists in a particular market, comes with significant strings. These might be obvious (e.g. can only invest in...
Why in person (not virtual or online)? There are a few reasons why we prefer in-person angel groups over virtual or online-only platforms.1) Pitch quality. It can be hard to judge an entrepreneur’s pitch based on a video, and hard for an entrepreneur to pitch...
Why a professional team? Angel groups can be led effectively by unpaid volunteers, often members of the group itself. But a professional team brings multiple additional benefits.1) Sustainability. When the volunteers get distracted by other activities (like their day...
Continuing from here and here.Why a membership group (not a fund)? Our lives might be easier if we had committed capital funds waiting for us to invest them. Instead, we have a membership group structure. Why?1) Encouraging new investors. We operate in markets with...
Types of angel groupsIn our last post, we outlined the different kinds of angel investor structures.Next, we wanted to explain why we chose VentureSouth’s structure – a network of angel membership groups, run by a professional team, whose members meet in person to...
Angel investment groups come in many flavors. Does it matter to know the different types? Potentially, yes:as an entrepreneur aiming to pitch, knowing whether an investor is a network or fund can help you understand if you are a good fit for each otheras a potential...