It’s easier to startup – and easier for business angels too

A theme that has been running on iBusinessAngel is that it is possible to form intelligent strategies and due diligence processes around angel investments.

So, what are smart business angels doing to de-risk their investments?

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Crowd Funding for Startups – should it be legal?

Legislation is moving in the USA and the UK to make business angels of us all – and that is, to allow crowd funding.

We want to help the USA and UK governments decide about crowd funding – so please take our short survey below.

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UK Business Angel Syndicates Offered Extra Funds

The UK government’s new Angel CoFund is willing to provide equity or quasi-equity investment of between £100K and £1M into eligible SMEs alongside business angel syndicates.

This action could double the amount of money available for Business Angel investment in the UK in 2012….

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The software Business Angel opportunity of 2012

A new year is a good time to take stock and look around to see where the best investment opportunities will come from in the year ahead.

We are picking out cloud based software solutions as the best of the bunch.

Why…?

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Business Accelerator Darling Thrashes VC Investment Values

This graph from Silicon Alley Insider is a pretty startling picture – a slightly dubious measure, but a very strong message.

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Business Angel Newsround – invest in people – value lies in content – and freelancing founders

Welcome to this months round up of business angel news and ideas. We’ve got three pieces each of which has significant consequences…

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Three things business angels look for – minimum viable product, market and team

Launching the first phase of a startup business – or for a business angel, preparing to invest in one – requires an assessment of three things – product, market and team.

So, what counts as a minimum viable product, market or team?

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Business Angels make their move to business accelerators

Business angels and business angel networks are changing … and it is for the benefit of both the angel investors and the entrepreneurs!

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Business Angel news round up: Boards don’t work – crowdfunding, choosing partners and anti-dilution

A monthly round up of the biggest and best business angel and early stage investment stories and blogs on the internet.

From why company boards don’t work, signing of NDA to a new crowdfunding platform plus reasons why freelancers make great startup team partners and lastly, everything you wanted to know about anti-dilution but were afraid to ask.

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Business accelerators news – 5 accelerators for business angels and entrepreneurs

As predicted here on i Business Angel, the number of new business accelerators is exploding, whilst also offering different flavours.

Here are 5 new accelerators or programmes for business angels and entrepreneurs…

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Business Angels: Can you beat 210 companies and 35 fold increase in 5 years?

We now have – in the form of NESTA’s Startup Factories report – independent analysis of the money making power of a highly successful business accelerator.

Y Combinators has delivered a 35 fold increase over 5 years and made 210 investments.

We don’t reckon any single business angel – or super angel, for that matter – can beat this performance? Do you?

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Startup Team Harmony – Why It’s SO Important

Starting up any business will bring extreme pressures, and research shows that most businesses will fail within the first five years.

With this in mind, if you’re a business angel it is worth keeping a very close eye on team harmony, a significant indicator of the future success of a startup. You don’t want a Carlos Tevez type situation on your hands….

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Why I don’t sign NDAs (usually)

Very few people have a ‘secret sauce’ to justify an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)…

…and advice to ask for NDAs before sharing the essence of the business gets in the way of raising funds.

Find out why I won’t sign (usually) an NDA and what you can do about it…

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15 minutes is all it takes to win funding

Entrepreneurs often start out with a willing business angel audience but end up with an audience wishing they’d just stop talking….

Why is that?

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Super Business Angels, Investment Proposal Joke and Startup Business Plan – round up

Some great stories and ideas from this month on the topic of angel investing

• Secrets of super-angel investing
• Joke on investment proposals
• What should be in a startup business plan

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Startup Accelerators, UK, Europe, France, Germany, Spain

Business Accelerators offer business angels the best way to bring their knowledge and expertise to fledgling companies whilst also providing an insight into what really makes a great investment.

Using the business accelerators as a source of deals, business angels can take their time to see how well and how quickly the teams and businesses develop (or not) before they make investment decisions.

So read on to find out where are those business accelerators…

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Business Angels depart business angel networks for business accelerators

The tech sector – typically, driven by innovations in the USA, is changing the way that business angels connect with entrepreneurs and startup projects.

Business angels who like to get involved with their investments are turning away from the angel networks to the business accelerators. Find out why…

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Talent beats Money for Startups

Our recent poll on LinkedIn (you can still vote up and until the 14th of July) shows that 70% of respondees believe talent is more important that money.

Why do they think this?

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Business Angels; its not about the product!

A shocking result of the recent Startup Genome report was the finding that startup success is not all about the product!

Shock! Horror! Then why are the business angel and entrepreneur pitch events all about the product?

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