Across our series of posts last month, we tried to slay the myth that most angels lose money. Most VentureSouth angels do not.An avid reader and successful angel suggested we consider the post-tax returns (thanks Malay), so here we go.First, taxes on successful...
Myths
Other myths
Here are a couple more misconceptions and myths.I don’t have time to be an angel investor. False. Members of our group attend a 2-hour meeting 10 times a year. (Obviously many do more than that serving on diligence teams or reviewing their findings, being active...
Myth #8: There aren’t enough unicorns in the southeast
This “myth” is true – there aren’t many unicorns in the south east, and none in the Carolinas. There are also virtually no IPOs in the south east – perhaps six in North Carolina and one in South Carolina each year.Certainly if your investment thesis is to find the...
Myth #7: It takes too long to reach exits
This is too often, unfortunately, true. Startup companies take a long time to mature into middle market businesses that large companies are interested in acquiring. Everything takes longer in a startup – from building up a base of engage clients to replacing your...
Myth #6: It costs too much to be an investor
Finding deals yourself; conducting your own diligence; negotiating a deal; paying attorneys to create a suite of transaction documents; paying accountants for tax returns each year; chasing management teams to provide the information to monitor your investments;...
Myth #5: Angel investing is for philanthropy or fun, not making money
Angel investing is about making money. VentureSouth itself is a private business (a SC LLC), not a government entity and not funded with public dollars. (Venture Carolina is a separate 501c3 non-profit that provides education for entrepreneurs and investors, funded by...
Myth #4: You need to be an expert
Nope. Most people (nearly two-thirds) that join VentureSouth tell us that they are becoming angel investors for the first time.This is not deliberate: we are not seeking out people that do not know what angel investing is. Finding them, educating them, and then...
Myth #3: It takes a long time to build a portfolio
It simply does not take a long time to build a portfolio of angel investments. When we published the first article, there were 13 investment opportunities available to our members, so you could create a pretty well-diversified portfolio immediately in theory.This...
Myth #2: You need to invest a lot of money
Following the math in the original article, you can create a portfolio of investments as a VentureSouth member for $50,000 (10x $5,000 investments) to $100,000 (20x $5,000 investments). The minimum commitment to our previous sidecar index fund, the Palmetto Angel...
Myth #1: Not many people can be angel investors
Anyone can invest in early stage companies. (You can invest as an “unaccredited investor” in certain situations or platforms, subject to limits on how much you invest and rules on how many other unaccredited investors are investing with you. But for simplicity, we’re...