Yesterday, we launched AngelList, a curated list of angel investors, representing $80M going into early-stage startups this year.
Today, we’re launching a cool new way to get intros to these angels: StartupList. It’s a weekly email we send to AngelList, with 3 high-quality startups who want intros. Here’s how it works: you send us your pitch, we review it and, every Monday, we email the best 3 startups of the week to AngelList.
StartupList is already getting meetings for startups
I’m psyched because StartupList is already working. We released it on Twitter a few weeks ago and 9 investors like Mike Hirshland (Polaris), Matt Mullenweg (Founder of WordPress), and David Cohen (Techstars) have already asked for intros to 7 early-stage startups and counting. See the full list of investors who have gotten intros here. (We’re publishing these names with the permission of the investors.)
Startups: How to use AngelList
If you’re a startup, apply to AngelList here. We welcome startups from all over the world. We look for the same things that early-stage investors look for: traction, social proof, and team. You don’t need all 3, but you need to kick ass in at least one of them.
Build a minimum viable product, put it in front of customers, and learn something about product/market fit. If you can’t get this far on your own, find some idea investors instead.
Then write a 150-word elevator pitch and apply to StartupList. Our elevator pitch template is a good place to start. Spend time writing and re-writing the pitch until it’s awesome. Get feedback from good writers and entrepreneurs who have raised money. You have 100% control over the quality of your pitch and there’s no reason not to kick its ass.
Runners-Up
If you’re not one of the 3 startups we highlight on StartupList each week, we may include you in the runners-up of the week. Investors have asked for intros to the runners-up, so it’s also a good place to be. One of the runners-up writes, “Where can we send you a small token of thanks? This added some social proof in itself with a couple of the folks we’re chatting with. I greatly appreciate it.”
Privacy
No one will review your pitch except the Venture Hacks team: Nivi and Naval. If we send your pitch to AngelList, it’s obviously out of our hands, but that’s no different than sending the pitch yourself. At your request, we can also send your pitch to specific angels instead of the whole list.
Angels: How to get StartupList
While AngelList is public, StartupList is only emailed to the investors on AngelList. If you’re an angel, apply to AngelList here. At a minimum, you should have made two $25K angel investments in 2009 and plan to make two more $25K investments in 2010.
Why we’re building StartupList and AngelList
Entrepreneurs are always asking us if we can introduce them to angel investors. It’s one of the most common questions in the startup world. And startups spend a lot of time trying to get these intros. Even the startups who end up raising money from Ron Conway, Fred Wilson, or Sequoia.
We think this is an unnecessary friction and we want to make it easy for qualified entrepreneurs to get intros to qualified investors.
Apply for StartupList and please help us spread the word! I’m looking forward to discussing your feedback in the comments.
Are pre-release startups (i.e. those where there is no social proof or traction yet) accepted?
You would need a truly kick-ass team that probably has made money for investors in the past.
Wow, this a great idea. Giving startups a chance to reach out without having to burn cycles they otherwise do not have. This also could be turned into multiple lists that cater to specific industries as well. Great job Venture Hacks! What spurred this new method of intros?
I’m definitely going to send this out to all my friends with startups!
Is there a monetization angle here for you also, Venture Hacks, or are you doing this just because you are nice guys?
We are nice guys and perhaps we can figure out how to build a sustainable business around this so we can keep helping entrepreneurs.
Are you looking beyond software startups?
Yes, but I don’t think most of the investors will know what to do with an aircraft company.
VH, is there a way to find out if our submission went through successfully?
When you click submit, you will see a confirmation page. You will also receive a copy of your pitch via e-mail.
What if we did not receive an email conformation or an email with a copy of our pitch.
Nivi & Naval,
I really love the idea for StartupList. We’re an early-stage startup in Toronto that connects entrepreneurs, and we find that one of the questions we get most often is where to find funding. If you’re not located in the Valley it isn’t always easy to find VCs or Angels, so this is a really great way for startups to get those much-needed intros. Kudos, and I’ll be watching to see how the list progresses!
Wow, this is indeed a great idea. I’m considering going off on my own and the prospect appears a little less daunting now because of VH. So, kudos and thanks.
Super cool service, especially for those of us outside the valley (I’m in Minneapolis, my partner’s in San Francisco). Given the ever shifting digital landscape, is there any way you can share the types of companies/ideas investors are looking for currently? Meaning messaging back to entrepreneurs what you are hearing from Startup List VCs or Angels about the types of companies/applications/sectors they are currently looking to fund?
Fred Wilson’s post here is informative, for example: http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/03/commerce-20.html
Are the angels on your list interested in cleantech? Specifically, a NASA technology for converting organic waste to fermentable sugars?
Sounds sweet.
Navi, Please forgive the obvious ignorance as I am new to searching for Angel funding. How do I go about protecting my business ideas. People are telling me not to present the ideas to anyone without an NDA but I have also been told not to embarrass myself by asking Angles or VCs for an NDA.
The plan is done, the model is proven and has BIG traction (by other companys in different segments), its on the top of the social list and in minimal time will have copy-cats. First to market on this may win.
Please give best advice as time is of the essence.
Kind Regards,
Roger
Roger, I have as yet not found funding myself, but the potential of our business sound very similar. Although, I have not found funding, I think I may be able to provide a little insight from my research. First, investor’s already have made money doing what they love doing. They don’t want to do your business, they want to do the business they are doing. Second, it does not behoove any of them to “steal” your idea. It is bad karma and they don’t need their reputations destroyed. I let my idea languish for far too long due to my fear someone might steal it. But I received the same info I gave you from someone who knows. These people look at a lot of business plans and ideas and if they had to take the time to sign a NDA for everything they looked at, nothing would get accomplished. When I formalized my business structure, my attorney provided me with mumbo jumbo to put on the first page of my plan explaining that the content is proprietary, protected, yadda, yadda, yadda. Perhaps you should ask yours for the same, it did alleviate some of my fears. Lastly, these are all “accredited investors” so I wouldn’t be concerned. It isn’t as if your information is going to be broadcasted on the internet. So relax, dig in and find that person that thinks your idea is as wonderful as you do. Good luck.
Dear Nivi & Naval,
On your submission form there is a place for High Concept Pitch. Is this to be a one liner as indicated on your form – like a title line for your pitch?
Finally some alternative to angelsoft!
Nivi/Naval
I submitted my pitch , and have not got any response what so ever , just wondering how would I know if you are going to intro the startup to angels or not , what is the usual lead time for you to review the pitch.
Thanks
Raj
I’d like to echo Raj’s sentiment here.
I realize you guys are swamped with submissions but perhaps you could add a category for: “not reviewed”, “not screened” or “under the radar” and perhaps let the community rate these submissions, so that the lowest-scored drop to the bottom of the list (but not entirely off the list).
After all majority of the folks submitting their pitches most likely have other things to do then keep coming back to check on their approval status.
Sergey
Thanks – At last someone replied to my post….. I started to wonder if anyone is visiting the site at all or all of the angels are keeping up to date with twitter and email ..
Raj,
I know how you feel. Hang in there. We were promised to be contacted whether the pitch is accepted or not, right? I think it’s taking longer then I initially understood, but I try to focus my time elsewhere in a meantime. Hey, please do let me know if you do get to hear from anyone at any point.
Dear Nivi,
I submitted a pitch. But later I have an better idea to write the pitch. Can I re-submit my application? I am worried that my last pitch might have been trashed by AngelList team.
I am confused. If I already have traction, why would I raise angel money? Isn’t angel money supposed to be for early stage start-ups to get user acquistion proof points? how do you define traction? 500 users? 1000 users? 20,000 users? If you need traction, how are you different from VCs, or are not? why should early stage start-ups apply to angellist if your requirements are more like VCs?
Any experience with AngelList as startup? Join the dialogue at: http://answers.onstartups.com/questions/16571/any-experience-with-angellist-as-startup