I've just joined an angel investment group, Boston Harbor Angels. Three main reasons:
- I think that it's appropriate to invest in new technologies to help those who start new ventures and to fuel innovation.
- I enjoy seeing new technologies as well as the business and social networking aspects of being in the group.
- I am still looking for an operational position in a young venture, and hope that the contacts I make in this context will eventually lead to that.
You may notice that I don't list "making a killing on my investments" as a main reason. While I would love to delude myself that I can pick winners better than the next investor, I don't actually believe it. I think that overall my chances are just a little better than the lottery, and I don't play that, and a little worse than the performance of my investments with Windward Investments, a conservative group of funds run my my friend and former colleague, Steve Cucchiaro. In addition, typical cash-outs for angels are in the 6 - 10 year time frame, somewhat past my attention span.
As for my early experience, I've seen a lot of deals already, ranging from "green" technologies (that are of great interest to me), to "brick and mortar" cosmetic surgery plays (likely to be reasonably lucrative, but not in my comfort zone). The percentage of deals in my own area - enterprise software and Internet technologies - is remarkably low. And they have a tough battle finding funding here, it seems. I'm hoping that my presence in the community will help push this upward, as I think that I am perhaps a little more open to oddball business models than some of my peer angels. Or maybe just a little more gullible.