After investing in 10+ angel investments, I’ve realized there are 2 very different types of early stage checks.

1) Pre-Fund - These are startups who have not received an institutional investment. In these cases, I try to help “Make the Deal” by actively advising & connecting the founder with other investors.

2) Post-Fund - These are startups where there is an institutional fund leading the round & the founders or leads reach out to me to invest after.

For me, Pre-Fund startups are the most fun & rewarding, but also riskier. In these cases, I try to provide access to the SF VC ecosystem. There are all sorts of things learned by spending time with VCs & understanding what they look for & how they think. It’s learned through time

If a known fund is leading the round, then the odds of my investment returning something are much higher, but I’m not able to provide as much immediate value add.

Overall, my investments are split around 50/50% in these 2 types. These is still an opportunity to better connect ambitious founders who aren’t in the SF network with funds, beyond sending 1v1 emails.