Andrew Scott, founder of location-aware recommendation startup Rummble and several others before that, has written a good beginner's guide to approaching angel investors.
A key extract:
Ask an Angel up front some basic questions. Don't be shy. You need to know:
- Do they have the money?
- What is the typical size of the investment they do
- What was the size of the last 3 investments and in to which companies
It's key to know these sort of things to avoid wasting time pitching someone who can't or won't invest. Another founder I know, who's building a startup that's currently pre-revenue and pre-traction, always starts by asking:
We're pre-revenue and pre-traction. Does it still make sense for us to pitch?
This makes it harder for the investor to then turn around (as european investors are wont to do) and say, after a long pitch process, "We'd like to invest, but come back when you have traction."
Have a read if you need a refresher on raising investment, or want to find out more about it.
