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Video: Connectors Group Angel Investors Q&A Session
Tonight I attended the Entrepreneurs Roundtable which is a pitch and networking event in NYC. Tonight the angel investor group, The Connectors Group spoke about angel investing and what they look for in their investments. After they spoke about their organization, the attendees were offered a chance to ask questions of the team. I captured the Q&A session on video and you can watch it below.
From far left to right are: Joseph F. Daniels, Murat Aktihanoglu, Jeevan Padiyar and Gary Whitehill Jr. Murat is the event organizer and Joseph is the event host in addition to a member of the Connectors Group.
The video is worth watching as they discuss what entrepreneurs should look for in an angel investor, what type of return they look for, how they process submitted business plans, why they invest, what type of equity to give out and when you should consult with an attorney. You can just listen to it while working.
Note: you may need to adjust the audio – I haven’t been able to figure out the audio levels on this newly refurbished laptop yet.
looks interesting – watched 5 mins and will watch the rest on thursday
Not one person asked the basic KEY questions you need to ASK angels;
HOW MANY INVESTMENTS DO YOU MAKE PER YEAR? HOW MANY LAST YEAR?
IF THEY CANNOT ANSWER YOU WITH A POSITIVE NUMBER – DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO GET $$$ FROM THOSE “SO CALLED” Angels.
Agree -
We spent months trying to court some angels for our startup, they never said no, then we finally found out that the funded 2 firms in the last 18 months!
We would have moved on immediately had we known that.
great point – they mentioned that they have each done about 6 deals i believe
An-ymous:
Great point. Yes. We agree that it is important to do your due diligence on any investor you are in discussion with to fund your company.
Things to ask:
1) What types of deals do you invest in. Ie what industy?
2) How many deals have you done in that particular industry? How many overall deals across multiple industries?
3) How have those companies done? Have any had significant liquidity events?
4) How much do you typically invest?
5) Do you invest on your own or only as part of a group?
6) Do you like to lead rounds or follow?
7) Do you usually put additional capital into subsequent rounds?
That is what I can think of, off the top of my head. If you have anything to add to the list please feel free to comment.
@ Jeevan I can’t view the video
Can you answer Q 1-7? Your website says you’ve made 2 investments. How much capital did you put into these companies? How many investments are you planning to make with your fund? How big is your fund? You launched a blimp company and your partner interned at an inactive angel group and that qualifies you guys to advise companies?
A lot of people call themselves angel investors when in reality they are just enjoying the perks that come along with the job ie entrepreneurs comping you for everything. I’ve seen “angel investors” take paid vacations, dinners, etc. and never make one investment. That is wrong.
Entrepreneurs: If you’re looking for money, there are plenty of good sources. NYC Seed, Betaworks, NY Angels, Common Angels, CT Angels, Launchpad, Y-Combinator. Please do your research before you start sending your info around to every random Joe who throws a website up looking for business plans.
My advice to anyone looking for capital. Never put all you eggs in one basket. That is never spend all of your time courting sourcing only one investor at a time. Have a conversations with several investors simultaneously, because nothing is ever guaranteed. Angels investors are different from VCs in that they are investing their own money into startups and don’t have a dedicated fund that they manage.
In order to be an accredited investor in the eyes of the SEC an individual must meet certain pesonal capital requirements. You can find those requirements here http://www.sec.gov/answers/accred.htm.
No one in our group and no accredited angel investor we know would ask for a payment from an entrepreneur in exchange for investment. I would be cautious with anyone that says pay me a fee and I will invest in your company.
This is great info! Thanks for posting it.
can you answer Q 1-7?
doesn’t anyone living in new york meet those reqs? seem kinda lite. what year did the sec make that rule? 1920? doesn’t hold water today.
who the heck said “pay a fee to invest?” some of the groups say pay to present or pay to submit. you need to get your facts straight. none of the angel groups say pay a fee to invest.
answer Q 1-7