At what stage should I pursue angel investors, and what level of preparedness do I need for initial conversations?
Happy to help, though this is a pretty involved topic. Here are some thoughts:
Everyone wants to see some form of customer traction/market validation. In order of preference (1-2 are GREAT, 3-6 are OK, 7 doesn’t move the needle much, #8 don’t bother):
Bought product and use it Paid pre-orders Got product for free and use it Got product for free Registered for product Requested information/Clicked through to learn more based on marketing activity Responded positively to survey (n > 50 in real target segment vs. my Wharton classmates like it) “Everyone I’ve talked to loves the idea” Angels these days are behaving more and more like VC’s (while some still just write checks, that is for VERY warm introductions and/or serial entrepreneurs).
Image: http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu
