Seed, Sow, Water, Grow: 4 Expert Tips to Secure Angel Investment for Your New Business Venture

Understanding how the sector operates and finding your niche will empower you to successfully close the right angel investor for your startup.

Without angel investors, most startups wouldn’t be able to survive. In the U.S. alone, angel investors pour $25 billion into 70,000 companies every single year. Yet despite being such key players in early-stage companies’ growth, many founders have limited knowledge of how to access angel investments.

Angel investors work predominantly with new ventures because they set their sights on passion projects, personal commitment, and innovation. At the same time, angel investors tend to be more approachable for entrepreneurs, with their more ‘human’ touch compared to big venture capitalists. Angels are also more hands-off and agile than traditional firms.

Nonetheless, when navigating the close-knit world of angel investors, founders who aren’t well-prepared risk quickly diluting their pool of potential benefactors. So, here are four expert tips to secure angel investment for your new business venture:

1. Bootstrap before starting your search.

When you decide to launch a startup, it’s best to start by using your own money to fund the business. Whether you have savings set aside, or you want to immediately bring in customer revenue and reinvest it, bootstrapping means that you continue to own 100 percent of your venture. The early days of any company are some of the most crucial, and you should use them to prove that your business can reach its first milestone independent of an angel investor.

For example, if you’re aiming to build a restaurant, you should have the concept, proposed menu, spatial design, and sample dishes, before you raise any money. At the very minimum in any industry, have a pitch deck ready prior to searching for investors. Completing these steps using your own money will place you in a better light when you come face-to-face with investors, who will have evidence that you’re organized, driven, and business savvy.

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