Do You Believe in Angels? Angel investors--and their money--are out there. Learn to catch one.
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Getting angel capital for your business was never all that easy.But today, post-dotcom-crash, is there any angel money to be had?In expert circles, opinions differ a bit.
"If you were to characterize early-stage [angel] investingas an intersection, there isn't a red stop light--there's ablinking yellow caution light," says Brian E. Hill, co-authorwith Dee Power of Attracting Capital From Angels (Wiley& Sons) and co-founder of Profit DynamicsInc., an investment consultancy in Fountain Hills, Arizona.Hill notes that the trend of late is for entrepreneurs to do a lotof old-fashioned bootstrapping-spending their own cash and showinga bit of revenue to attract angels. Picking the right angelinvestor for your particular company is vital, so do your researchbeforehand. And, says Hill, start building your network ofinvestors before you actually need the money, because it'lltake time.
To get some of the estimated $30 billion a year in angel moneyout there, you need to be armed with the hard truth: "It'smore difficult than it's ever been," says Don LeBeau, CEOand chairman of Angel Legacy LLC, a company that matches entrepreneursto angel investors.
Still, notes Angel Legacy founder Joe Milam, "There's agrowing level of interest on the part of investors." The babyboomers are the ones with all the cash to invest, and they'relooking for businesses that benefit society--something theinvestors care about particularly. If your business benefits theenvironment or betters the world in some way, boomer angels couldbe a match for you.
Key things to remember as you're hunting for angels: Puttogether a good management team while marketing yourself to theright angel (one who shares an affinity for your service or productoffering). Present your business idea in clear, simple language (notech jargon), and have a trusted advisor go over your business planbefore you send it out to angels to eliminate any potential issuesor problems. Though these tips won't guarantee that you'llfind money, they can definitely help. Bottom line: It's hard,but still very possible to get blessed by an angel.
