There
are a growing number of resources for entrepreneurs on the web, but
certainly one of the very best is Venture Hacks. And their AngelList service is particularly useful for
entrepreneurs trying to get angel rounds done. I found myself
recommending it to at least a half dozen entrepreneurs this past week.
I
particularly like this case study of the BlockChalk angel round on
the Venture Hacks blog. For those who aren't going to click thru and
read the whole thing, here's a quick summary.
Joshua
Schachter had already committed to invest in the BlockChalk angel round
and he suggested they use AngelList to fill out the round. That resulted
in commitments from Mitch Kapor, Thomas McInerney, and Josh Stylman.
But then Josh Stylman introduced BlockChalk to Chris Dixon and Eric
Paley who joined the round. And then with the strength of that syndicate
in place, AngelList added Satya Patel, Michael Dearing, and David Liu
to finish off the round.
What this shows is that the old model
of angel deals is alive and well. Angels love to share deals with each
other. It is how angel rounds come together. But AngelList adds at least
two things to the mix. First, it adds a place where the deals can come
together online. And second it adds people to the mix that would not be
part of the offline deal sharing networks that already exist.
I
am on AngelList. I see all the deals come together. I don't personally
invest in angel deals in the web/tech space because of potential
conflict with USV down the road. But even so, I find it immensely useful
to see what companies are getting traction in the angel market. It's
part of my radar/early warning system. And it is entirely possible that
we will decide that USV needs to participate in an angel round that is
coming together on AngelList, although that has not yet happened.
The AngelList
So
if you are putting together an angel round, particularly if you already
have it partially raised but need to finish it off, I strongly suggest
looking into AngelList. It's a great service.
