Nivi · January 21st, 2011
AngelList has changed a lot since we launched it, so I want to describe how the site works today.
1. Share your startup with investors
First, you create a startup profile and pick which investors can see your startup. If your profile isn’t ready to share with investors, just pick zero investors. You can update your profile and investors anytime.
As soon as you share your startup with an investor, they will see it in their feed:
2. The admins email the best startups to investors
Every investor on AngelList sees 10-20 new startups in their feed every day. Plus they have their own non-AngelList dealflow. So you may get a few intros this way (and we’re working on some things to increase the rate of these spontaneous intros).
Since the investors can’t review every startup profile, the AngelList admins (Nivi, Naval, Brendan), with help from a few crazy investors and scouts, review every single startup that that pops up in their feed. If any of them like a startup, they can e-mail it to their followers.
And that’s where the magic happens—investors pay attention to the startups that land in their inboxes and take intros.
3. How long does it take to get feedback?
Before an admin emails your startup to investors, they’ll get in touch and suggest some improvements to your startup profile. This usually happens a few days after you create your profile.
If you don’t hear from an admin by then, keep updating your profile as you make progress. We’re working on tools that let you notify investors when you’ve made significant progress. And we’re working on tools to give you specific feedback on what you need to improve before you can get intros on AngelList.
4. Start early, update often
It’s never too early to start your profile. Pick zero investors and leave a note for the admins that says you’re still working on your profile.
If you have any questions, please email us at team@angel.co.
AngelList is changing every day, so don’t expect this post to be accurate 3 months from now. That’s just the nature of building software on the Internet today—perpetual design and redesign.
Topics AngelList
Can you implement a feature on AngelList to sort startups by location?
At a recent panel discussion, one of the panelists made the blunt statement that one should *never* use AngelList or any similar site to try to connect with investors. It stinks of desperation and lack of savvy. He then added that if an investor suggests you use AngelList, it means your idea pretty much sucks.
What is your rebuttal?
While perhaps Nivi and Naval care to rebut this at length, let me say this: everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’ve invested in a few companies via AngelList, and depending on the company and syndication status, I have at times suggested that companies I have gotten into already via my own deal flow list on AngelList.
Why? At the worst, it gives you exposure. At best, it allows you as a founder to selectively broaden out your syndicate. One company I back is a media company that is out of Boston. Boston is great for many things, but this company should also try to get roots in NY and LA, at a minimum. Having an AngelList page is no sign of desperation (look at the number of companies that have gotten funded), and it’s an easy way–at least as easy as AngelSoft–for an investor to quickly check out a company and begin diligence.
Investors, including angels, are often like lemmings. And if credibility comes from who backs you, the social proof aspect of showing who has invested also gives a potential backer a quick view on who can be called for an external reference.
So, what’s not to love? I’d suggest the panelist with the negative comments has something that works for them, but that does not mean it’s the only viable path for others.
Thanks Ty.
Anonymous,
Firms like Sequoia, Kleiner, and A16Z take intros from AngelList. Firms like Charles River, Mitch Kapor, and Floodgate have funded companies they’ve found on AngelList. Here’s more data:
http://angel.co/angels?order_by=investments
http://angel.co/angels?order_by=meetings
So the facts don’t line up with the panelist’s argument.
I am thinking about listing my new venture and haven’t taken the plunge – yet. The main reason is because I’m not sure I’m going to be raising outside capital.
I have raised outside capital from plenty of Angels in past ventures out of necessity and my experience has been excellent. It just seems to me that there are business models available today that don’t require much capital, and that boot-strapping it for a while makes more sense.
So I’m thinking that I’m going to self-fund for now, develop the prototype, secure early customers, etc., and then see where I am. By the time I’m ready to raise capital, I may be past the Angel stage. So why list my start-up?
Please comment on why I should bother if I’m not immediately planning to raise capital.
—
By the way, I love the site, especially the design. I blogged about it here.
If you’re going straight to VC, you can use AngelList for that too http://angel.co/vc
We haven’t figured out exactly why you should “start early”. We’re working on it. In the meantime, it gives the admins a chance to see the company progress over time. And it gives everyone on your team a place to collaborate on your pitch.
Thanks for the kind words about our design!
Really love this funding concept, I’m now reaching out to local angel networks around Toronto but going through Angellist seems like a good idea too.
Love that I can create my profile with no investors so I don’t have to share my investment deal right away.
Thanks for the post. What are the chances of an entrepreneur in Asia obtaining funding from Angelist?. or the rest of the world perhaps…
Thanks
Looks to me that your intro function is the key feature for investors as well as for startups like me. So, will I be notified if and when an intro is made? If no intro, will I receive some profile feedback?
When it came to the part to Select Investors, I choose the All Investors option, only because I’m not sure how to select investors who might be interested. I’m a true start up but get confused because some incubators want enough proof of concept to eliminate the risk while some super angels seem to like the ground floor approach. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Last, you provide a valuable match making service yet I haven’t had to pay. Do you have different levels of service? Most of the other listing places charge and do less. I must be missing something.
Thanks and … great site!
How much do you ask in % at the end?
0.0000000%.
Any reasons why the site’s performance is so bad? Sometimes I have to wait for minutes to have it even displayed… Every click take long time. Everything else works fine, no issues. Any ideas?
IE8, 64bit Win7, HP LapTop