As an Angel Investor in startup companies there are many tools used to vet startups. In a previous post, we discussed five useful vetting tools: Crunchbase, LinkedIn, AngelList, Mattermark, and online background checks. But there are numerous other helpful resources and techniques out there that can make the investment process easier and jump start your search for new opportunities – here are just five more:
Gust: Gust helps angel investor groups and venture capital funds collaborate with promising startups. Over the last 12 months, 1800+ startups have been funded through Gust’s SaaS funding platform. Gust is used by hundreds of angel investor groups around the world to manage their investment process, and discuss, track, review and share deals.
Betalist: This site allows investors to discover upcoming technology startups, and company founders to share their startup with the world and get early user feedback. Technology startup companies must meet preset criteria to be listed, and cannot be publicly available.
VentureDeal: Slightly more advanced than Crunchbase, VentureDeal is a paid platform that is updated daily, and includes companies from over 40 industries spanning general technology as well as the life sciences. VentureDeal allows investors to get in-depth information on startups, browse companies seeking additional funding, and manage email communication for core company people while making the connection easy. Their service is a 25$ per month and you can cancel at any time.
Quora: Quora, the question and answer site, has a large community of investors and startup founders as frequent viewers and contributors. Quora is a great place to get advice on investing, be it recommendations on what expect from a first meeting, or how to perform due diligence on a prospective investment. Quora is free, and requires that all its members register under their real names.
Network referrals: No matter the industry, personal relationships are still one of the most important factors in connecting potential investors with startup companies. To take advantage of and build your network, start with an analysis of your current circle—everyone including friends, family, acquaintances, co workers, your former college or high school classmates, etc.—and look at the potential network value these connections might have. Build up your social media profiles through consistent, quality content and profiles. Get out in the world and meet new people, be it at conferences, speaking events, and community mixers. Be personable, friendly, and easy to talk to, and when the opportunity to help someone or return a favor presents itself, do it – because you never know from where that next big opportunity will come.
Regardless of whether you are looking to invest or trying to fund your startup, don’t hesitate to broaden your scope by exploring every resource you can to make your plans a reality.
TEN Capital Network Investor Program provides angel investors, vc funds, family offices, and more, with an easy way to invest in Texas-based startups and early-stage companies. Through our online funding portals, one-on-one funding events, and data analytics services we help take the guess-work out of finding investment opportunities to diversify and expand your investment portfolio.
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