Angel investors Dallas
(Photo : Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay )

Business angels are wealthy individuals with a lot of experience who, for various reasons, invest their spare money and experience in the business ideas of newcomers, especially in innovations. The typical amount of investment in a startup is $50,000-300,000. You have to reckon with a high level of risk because there is a lack of risk statistics in new markets. Besides, due to limited funds, an investor cannot provide high diversification. Contracts with company founders are informal in many aspects, making it difficult to control the business.

Angel investors Dallas usually pursue many projects at the same time, as most will fail and only one of many will make a profit that can recoup the remaining losses. For example, one of Google's first investors, Andy Bechtolsheim, is now a billionaire.

The main motivations of Angel investors Dallas:

●       to make a lot of money, and better yet, to make even more;

●       to hang out with cool kids;

●       to actively participate in the life of startups, to share experiences and help;

●       just curious to understand how it all works.

Features of angel investors Dallas

Angel investors Dallas invest part of their own funds in innovative companies at the earliest stages of development - seed, and start-up, supporting their technical and commercial development. This feature of business angels - the willingness to take risks - makes these investors worthy of public attention and worthy of support from the state, as they contribute to the efficiency of the state economy. Business angels do not lend money like a bank (debt financing) but provide money, connections, and expertise in exchange for an equity stake in a new company (equity financing).

Angel investors Dallas tend to invest their own money, unlike venture capitalists, who manage third-party money pooled in venture capital funds. A small but growing number of business angels form networks, or groups, to participate together in the search for investment targets and to pool capital.

Types of angel investors Dallas?

There is a huge variety of Angel investors Dallas, and all of them, of course, vary in their personal characteristics and motivations. Meanwhile, conventionally, they can all be divided into three categories:

  1. Angel investors Dallas - professionals with extensive business experience and their own successful projects. The impressive assets of such entrepreneurs are the result of their tremendous work over a long period of time. They are dedicated and continue to be consistently involved in high investment risk projects despite losses. They are valuable advisors to the companies in which they invest their money.
  2. High-tech angels are investors who have slightly less experience than 100% of business angels, but that does not stop them from investing heavily in the development of the latest modern technology. Their investments depend primarily on the value of other high-tech holdings they own. Many high-tech angels make rather risky deals, but they are attracted by the opportunity to bring new technologies to market.
  3. ROI angels. These investors are primarily focused on their financial gain with a high degree of investment risk. These angels tend not to invest in new projects when market performance is low, but are rare to go again when the market is stable and improving. These investors are rarely involved in the companies in which they invest their money.

Depending on the goals, methods, and techniques of investing, there are the top 5 types of modern business angels. This classification will help the project team to find an investor, focusing on his or her interests and field of activity. So, about what kind of startup business angels are.

  1. Angel entrepreneurs. They are successful business people ready to invest large sums of money (from $200 to $500,000) in promising ideas to form their own investment portfolio. Since their main occupation is their own projects, they do not pretend to manage startups.
  2. Professionals. Invest only in sectors they are familiar with and understand. Operate with different amounts, including considerable ones (from $25,000 to $200,000). They often practice co-investing with other angels in business or with private individuals.
  3. Enthusiastic Angels. Low level of experience and professionalism in investments. May lead several startups simultaneously in different directions, investing small amounts of money (usually not more than $10,000). They do not go into the essence of projects in detail and do not interfere in the management process.
  4. Micro-managers. Like enthusiasts, they supervise several projects at once but invest different amounts. Besides money injections, they study a startup's business plan in detail, apply for managerial positions and a share in the Board of Directors, due to this they better control capital expenditure and profit distribution.
  5. Corporate. Usually, these are former top managers of respected international firms, who received large monetary compensation (an average of $1 mln) after their dismissal. It is this money that they use for investments. They do not develop more than one project, seeking to participate in its management.

Regardless of the type, all Angel investors Dallas are entrepreneurs, aiming to profit from their investments. Their keen business acumen and precise calculations help them extract from 70% to 200% profit from one successful startup. This is one of the most profitable types of entrepreneurship.

Are there any successful individual angels?

There are, but very rarely. In 100% of cases, they are cool entrepreneurs with the strongest personal brand (e.g. Mark Cuban in the U.S. or Peter Westerbaka in Finland). They are in super angel status because they invest in dozens of startups every year with checks well above market value.

Most Angel investors Dallas are organized into clubs, associations, and syndicates. This is the best choice in terms of minimizing risk, increasing knowledge, and access to good projects. It's also a community of people who share common values and interests. Venture financing is not an easy walk in the fall woods, but a separate story with its own risks and peculiarities. Here are the main ones:

  1. Losing money. Investing in startups in the early stages means a very high probability of losing the investment. You can significantly reduce the risks by spreading your investments across several different startups. The more startups, the lower the risks. You need to learn and understand trends in different industries and take part in the life of the community.
  2. Mentor approach. Angels are not employers. They are not senior partners and teachers. They give you a shoulder to lean on, give advice, and help. They listen and give advice. This approach to work with colleagues requires a change of consciousness and internal development.
  3. The long-range game. Investing in startups in the early stages is not about quickly earning a million or billion. It's about a 3-5 year horizon. For most people with money from our region, this is an insurmountable obstacle. They are used to planning one year ahead at most.

How do I ask for help from a business angel?

It doesn't take much to ask for support from Angel investors Dallas. Just invite him to a meeting and prepare a presentation. Depending on the time the investor is ready to give you (usually 3-5 minutes), you need to prepare a presentation and be able to describe your product in a short time in a beneficial way. In this case, you can use no more than 10 slides in your presentation - business angels appreciate brevity.

At the same time, try to demonstrate during your presentation what is also very highly valued by these kinds of investors: a top-notch team; a unique selling proposition; a well-designed business model; an exit strategy; market growth potential; ways to address the intellectual property issue and, of course, competitive analysis.