Irina: How do you swap deals with other angel groups? By e-mail?
Corey: That was how it was done years ago, and it’s still done that way, sometimes but there’s a Web platform called AngelSoft, and that makes it really easy. There are features right inside AngelSoft, so we can just send deals right through the AngelSoft system to any group that uses it. That makes it easy.
Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold have posted a series of interview segments with Corey Silva of River Valley Investors. Corey answers a wide range of questions from how he got his start to the ins-and-outs of how RVI operates and invests.
While we appreciate Corey’s kind words about Angelsoft in the fourth segment, the 13-part series gives an excellent overview of the angel investment process.
Entrepreneurs will find it to be a helpful orientation to what goes on behind the curtain. Investors will find an interesting story of Corey’s path from Rock n’ Roll musician to manager of the River Valley Investors angel group along with a great reference point for managing an angel investor group.
After watching the video of my “How to Pitch a VC” presentation at the TED conference, Garr Reynolds, who writes PresentationZen (the name of both the most influential presentation blog on the web, and also the best book ever written on presentation design) asked if I would mind if he created a summary slide show of my top tips that he could use with his students. Mind? I was delighted! So here’s the really, really short crib note version of my pitch training sessions. The first list are the personal qualities in YOU that an investor looks for; the next set are the inside tips that will make your presentation come across as uber-professional. Good luck with your pitch!
BusinessPOV.com, a forum for business journalism using online video, posted a video interview with Michael Gruber, the manager of the Cornerstone Angels.
He talks about the launch of his new group, and goes into detail about their structure. Interesting resource for managers of angel networks, angels, or anyone interested in getting the inside perspective on how an angel group is run.
Brad Feld brings us useful information again. This time he provides us with some sample board meeting minutes. A great resources for those of you stepping into an investment where you might have to help out with early board meetings.
In general, the philosophy among most VC-backed companies - promulgated by the law firms for these companies - is to keep the board minutes “light.” They should cover the substance of the meeting and have any specific votes, option grants, or board level issues documented, but they should not contain extensive details about the presentations giving in the board meeting.
Union Square Ventures good tips about “not following very well” or taking the lead themselves. Lead investing was a top priority for them with Union Square Ventures, and here they cover why.
Though it from the perspective of a VC, many Angels may feel these same pains when trying to scrap together a term sheet.
I’m wrapping up a term sheet with a US VC for a deal with are both looking at. I’ve been surprised at a few things that see a bit, well, not so cool side. At the risk of every US VC never working with me again, I’ll offer up some observations on some of this stuff.
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Some quick notes for Demo presenters (and others). I’ll add to this post as thing continue to piss me off:
* Never call your product/service “award-winning”, unless you plan to talk meaningfully about the awards. It makes you sound like Ron Popeil, which is only a good idea if you’re selling hair spray.
* Remind people at the end what your product/service does. It’s amazing how many people end presentations with a tagline, rather than reminding us what the hell the damn thing does.
* Don’t describe your product by saying, “It’s kind of a Google of …”. That’s so-oooo 2003.
Venture capitalist Clint Chao gives himself a litmus test each time an entrepreneur pitches him. Clint asks himself if he wants to be the entrepreneur’s VP of Sales. His most recent local investment, he says, made him almost jump for the position. We’ll have more on this investment later.
