Angelsoft Lets Startups Find Funding Through New Investor Filtering Tool
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
Angelsoft is trying to monetize the introduction business from exactly the wrong direction. If they add value to Angels, let them pay.
The good Angels (and VCs) will always talk to you for free.
We aggregated about every VC and Angel Group in the country, built profiles for them containing key metrics, and made a "Kayak" like search engine for them. I think it's the best single resource for entrepreneurs seeking funding on the web now. And as I mentioned at the top, it costs nothing to use.
There is also tons of crap listed from other cities and groups. I guess these guys pay Angelsoft to pitch, but that part of the site is a complete waste. There is so much noise in those deals that I never look at them.
Charging poor startups to pitch seems like a pretty backwards business model, and ultimately provides poor incentives for Angelsoft to operate on. They should just take a percentage of funding or equity from each completed deal, so they, you know, only get paid if they actually do something helpful.
There's been considerable discussion on this already. If you feel that it's worth the chance to pitch for the amount they charge, take it. If not, don't.
I think it's a bit opportunistic - there's very little value add for the entrepreneur's point of view. But they've made a value-prop, good or bad.
That said, a small percentage on overall funding might not be a bad idea from a feel-good stance. I wonder if it would be enough to compensate for revenue lost from its current model, and how they would deal with people going outside of the system to close deals.