Ask PG: Angel Investor Ettiquete | Hacker News Reader

Ask PG: Angel Investor Ettiquete

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Founders are always advised to multithread VC deals to create a market for their shares. Is this any different with angels?

Aren't the benefits of an angel financing -- speed and quick turnaround -- enough to warrant most founders focusing on closing the right deal versus shopping it around?

Thanks for taking the time to share thoughts and experiences.

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I would think there are pyschological differences b/w angels and VCs: a VC is a business and you are expected to shop around whereas an angel could be anyone from a family member, friend, referral from a friend, or a member of an angel group. I don't know - I just think that there is a percentage of angels who will get a bit miffed if you try to play them against someone else. I don't know that it makes it wrong to do so; I just point it out.

If you're taking the other piece of advice that YC generally gives, you aren't stopping to deal with funding--you're focusing one person on funding, the other(s) on continuing to build the product. You can afford to talk to three or four sources of funding. The fire of competition will allow you to close faster, most likely, because the investor cannot sit on their hands thinking about it--they're either in or the next investor will be.

I guess additional info might help: I've been talking with an angel and he's been giving off strong signs that he intends to invest (due dilligence, financial discussions). As a courtesy to him, I've been postponing intros to other angels and vc firms. However, I haven't gotten anything firm from him a week after our meeting (with sparse communication) and I'm wondering if I should still be delaying talks with other investors.

Multithreading is true irrespective of how much money or who you would raise that money from. The more data points you have, the better a decision you can arrive at, as well as use it as leverage.

Just because it's Angel funding doesn't mean that it's necessarily going to be faster, angels are not waiting in tow to give away their money ;-)

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