Parker Thompson@pt · Startup Fanboy
I work on Intros with some other awesome folks at AngelList. Happy to answer questions.
Danny Espinoza@abcdannye · Founder @looksyvideo
@pt Love this, I've often wondered why it wasn't easier to socialize an upcoming raise and this looks like it's fits the bill. Quick q: if you aren't matched can you re-apply (eg when you are further down the road, more traction, etc)?
Parker Thompson@pt · Startup Fanboy
@dannyjespinoza yes. we're saying every six months. What we don't do well due to volume is actually helping you understand that you're too early and what milestones you need to hit. Most startups I see fail to raise fail because they shouldn't be raising yet. Hopefully we can solve that problem in the future.
Jeff Pickhardt@jrpickhardt
@pt @dannyjespinoza There's an argument that, in some cases, investors should invest earlier, because there are a lot of problems that absolutely need funding before they can get meaningful traction. Stripe is an example of a startup that took a long time to reach a public launch, due to both the technical work and the biz dev needed in order to get it off t… See more
Loren Sands-Ramshaw@lorendsr · CTO @parlay
@pt Great product SLJ, thanks for joining AL and making it! 😄 > because they shouldn't be raising yet Do you see any room in the market with angels or pre-seed funds for earlier, pre-traction startups? The traction bar keeps raising on the seed round or even incubators (in the extreme case, YC going from all idea-stage companies to ones with 1M in fun… See more
William McGowan@wrytre · Co-Founder, PAGEOY
@jrpickhardt @pt @dannyjespinoz Thanks, Jeff, for standing up and speaking to the early-stage startup conundrum. It is a chicken and egg situation with a Catch-22 attached. As investors go, why think in millions when all some folks need is a few $100K to kick things forward. Micro loans work in third-world job creation and promote self-sufficiency. Perhaps … See more
Parker Thompson@pt · Startup Fanboy
@jrpickhardt @dannyjespinoza I think you may misunderstand this product and our process. We don't expect consistent growth. Most of the startups we're speaking with are focused on product-market fit, not growth. Growth is typically a focus of companies post-seed or post-A. We're looking for companies appropriate for early stage investors, which may be as ear… See more
Parker Thompson@pt · Startup Fanboy
@lorendsr the market here is efficient. I recognize that wealthy people are advantaged, as are people who have worked for years and have a stash of cash, or a working spouse, etc. As a community, we should be cognizant of that and work to provide opportunities for folks. However, look at this from the investor perspective. An investor meets with 5 startups … See more
Ravi Vadrevu@raviformative · Founder of Kriya AI
@pt Thanks a ton man. You have no idea how many times I thought someone built this on top of AngelList. Although I did traditional growth hacking on AngelList to get to peopleI want to, this is super duper helpful for those who are looking to raise.
Loren Sands-Ramshaw@lorendsr · CTO @parlay
@pt Thanks for the response. I didn’t mean to complain about wealthy people – F&F is just the most commonly mentioned solution for the stage I’m talking about. I agree with you that ideas mean little. There can be a lot of room between having an idea and getting traction, and sometimes you need funding to get to traction. You can judge a pre-traction t… See more
Jeff Pickhardt@jrpickhardt
@pt @dannyjespinoza Parker, I think you should change the copy at https://angel.co/intro/criteria then to explain what you're explaining here. It suggests it's very traction focused, and says you're looking for consistent and impressive growth, or a number of B2B commitments (probably customers). About risk: In the case of angel and VC investments, the rele… See more
Parker Thompson@pt · Startup Fanboy
@jrpickhardt @dannyjespinoza I didn't write that text and will update it. Thanks. Just briefly on Color/VC, and then feel free to have the last word. Startups are definitionally about trying something with an unknown outcome, so failure is built in. Examples of failure are the system working, not signs of problems. I'd recommend Fred Wilson's recent post on… See more
Jeff Pickhardt@jrpickhardt
@pt @dannyjespinoza I didn't say any particular startup was obviously going to succeed (not sure where you'd quote me as saying "obvious"), but that risk is subjective. If there's a company doing something that a lot of investors don't have much background knowledge of, they are going to perceive it as risky. Perhaps riskier than they otherwise should. It's … See more
Osama A. Hashmi@coffeeandosama · Founder, CDF Software ; Mocha7
@jrpickhardt @pt @dannyjespinoza Have to say, this is an excellent comment. Jeff, you bring up great and valid points. I think it would certainly help if the evaluation of the company for "riskiness" would have an assessment from domain-knowledge experts, to help give the right weight to balance that subjective "I don't know what this is so must be risky" ty… See more
Parker Thompson@pt · Startup Fanboy
@jrpickhardt @dannyjespinoza I would suggest that VCs passing on things they don't understand is a good thing. The easiest way for VCs to lose money is to bet on things they don't understand, because that's where they mis-assess risk. See Theranos. There may be opportunities for more VCs in domains where current VCs don't operate. Generally speaking though… See more
Paul Sheridan@paulmxci · CEO, REFLEX
@pt Hey - this looks awesome, how long does it take for your application to be submitted etc?
Sonia@soniallatas · HR/IT
@pt hii!!! Does it work as the intros to applicants and candidates?