![]() People often forget that angel deal flow is a tradable asset. As a result, he doesn’t need to build the brand, and we both synchronously gain from one another. He’s incredibly valuable because I can make much better decisions with him on my team. On my bench right now is one person who many people don’t know, but he’s probably the single best thing when it comes to product design and product marketing. I think about building my bench, like building a sports team. Or, if you’re building a bench, you need one person in your team who builds the brand. You either have to build the sign outside of the shop so that everyone wants to come in. You have to differentiate yourself to founders in a meaningful way. But in a world of capital abundance, you have to have a brand. Some people can go under the radar and sniper shoot very well in the thesis that they’re specialising in. I’m biased, and right now, I don’t think you want to be internal. Can you be a great angel without having a personal brand? Otherwise, you’re in a mixture of worlds. There is no right answer you just need to understand which part of the quadrant you sit in as your starting point. External: you share with the world, and it’s all about building the sign outside of your shop.Internal: you think about things privately, but you don’t share and have a very closed brand.Reactive: your mind is mentally passive to whatever incredible founders want to work on.Proactive: you have a thesis that you go after, for example, DTC.How one should think about being any form of investor, whether you’re an angel or an institutional investor with a fund, is in a 2x2 matrix. ![]() Tell us about your 2x2 matrix of what makes a great VC. Understanding at its core what is driving someone to build the business they’re building is everything for me. But pre-seed and seed are so transient I’m interested in human motivation. Yes, I love business, unit economics and how to build leverage into a model. ![]() How do you make a great first impression on a founder as an angel investor? Between 5 angels, you can build real mindshare, collective wisdom and power as a group. We have a set rule that whoever brings the deal has complete autonomy in terms of their cheque size and desires, but we share and win as a group. In my case, I am the sole decision-maker of the 20VC fund, but I have four partners in my mind and I speak to them every single day. As an angel, you have to build a collective around yourself. If you’ve marketed yourself well, you’ll be thought of in those circles and pulled into those syndicates. Whether you’re going to label yourself the DTC angel, or the Bottoms-Up-SaaS angel, specialisation is important in the early days because it helps you find your crowd and become known as the person for that space. We made early-stage our bread and butter and got a name for it. When I look back at why 20VC was successful in the early days and still is today, it’s because it’s incredibly specialised. There are 2 things angels should do to build their network the first is to become known for something. What advice do you have on building a network from scratch as an angel? ![]()
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