We all make New Year’s Resolutions, but to increase the odds of crystallizing achieving them, a written plan for success needs to be part of the process. You can then run that plan by your friends and get constructive feedback to enhance it.
AIO believes that joining one of the 18 organization angel groups across the province, complete with a plan in hand, is a great way to start the year. First start by assessing how much capital you are comfortable in allocating for this pursuit, capital that you can classify as at-risk, but when properly deployed, capable of achieving high growth returns.
Angel Investing Needs Diversity of Opportunities
Find your nearest angel group and contact the executive director or email AIO for a referral. Three things I suggest:
- Spend a couple of group meetings getting to know the process of a group. It’s nice to know that “me, myself and I”, aren’t responsible for everything, and there are many like minded individuals to discuss a startup’s potential.
- Divide your allocated capital in parts, with an amount for a particular target divided into two; some which is used to buy in now, and a tranche to do a follow-on investment at a later date.
- Don’t let FOMO overtake common sense and invest everything into one company. The stats don’t lie, diversify!
Angel Groups Let you Move Away from Just investing in a friend’s Startup.
Investment from friends and family provide critical startup capital for many new innovators, but Angel groups add value by the collective analysis of those opportunities to assess their ability to scale up to where a VC will invest. Angel groups perform professional-like diligence on the potential of a startup, but individuals still need to make their own investment decisions. Groups don’t post a price target and a “BUY” recommendation.
Most Angel Investors Need to Aim for Very High Return on Capital
New angels will find that organized angel groups tend to focus on the innovation sector, and with the inherent risk of innovation, a potential high return on capital over 5 to 10 years. So, in general, groups are not looking for founders that suggest only a “doubling of your money”.
Investors Invest Cash, Mentorship Time and Learned Skills and Contacts
- Some angels just want to get a high return and play a passive role.
- However, the majority want to help mentor a new company with skills they have learned, tech and marketing contacts that have gained, and the resilience they have mastered to help overcome encountered hurdles.
- Many funders also are aware of the social impact potential from a new startup, and may allocate part of their portfolio to various levels of impact goals, both locally and provincially.
Meeting Like Minded Investors Should be a Big Part of your Plan
Members of groups also want to meet like minded individuals from their own community, and also be able to utilize some of their specialized skills in examining startups identified by groups across the province.
Creativity Meets Capital and Angel Investors Can Help Their Community Build a Talent Pool That Ends up Enhancing the Quality of Life for Everyone
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Entrepreneurs attract Angel investors, that in turn attracts more startups, which eventually creates a talent base of innovation workers that attracts large international firms to invest in their community.
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Your Resolution Plan is such a critical element of helping to improve our provincial innovation economy and attract more outside capital to scale ventures globally. Don’t just make resolutions, make an actionable plan and reach out and join that Angel Group TODAY!