How do Angel Investors Assess Early Stage Start-Ups?
I have been at the forefront of listening to interesting pitches from Founders during Demo Days or Investor Pitch Days. They are a new breed of Entrepreneurs that have the courage to identify problems and initiate solutions. It’s never easy to start something new, work extremely hard and sell the model to Investors, early stage VCs (Venture Capitalists) and other key stakeholders. So, I can say “Awesome! Great job guys!” However, beneath the excitement and hype lies the question of commercial feasibility and long term business sustainability. In other words, practicality triumphs idealization. The average duration of a successful start-up, to be stable and scale up is 7-10 years – and out of 10, 9 will fail. This means a typical Angel Investor will lose everything at some point. To mitigate the risks, most investors will place a stronger emphasis on Founders. They are the brain and wheels to make things work. And I thought it’s good to share a f