Comments on: What Is The Definition of An Angel Investor?

By: eb5 investor visa

eb5 investor visa — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:40:33 +0000

I wonder how this definition can be applied to immigrant investors as part of the EB5 investor visa program. Yes, they are investing in another business but they are ultimately doing it less for returns or for social good than for a green card and entry into a path for citizenship.

By: adult izle

adult izle — Wed, 12 May 2010 06:43:41 +0000

good job on StartupVisa efforts

By: bolum izle

bolum izle — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 07:21:53 +0000

Also, in the low dollar amounts common to angels, you get folks who may be angel investors for non-financial reasons, I suppose for the same reasons some guys own a restaurant or a sports team. I mean, $50k is less than the annual dues at a high-end country club, and many folks would rather hang out with entrepreneurs than putt golf balls

By: laptop tamirii

laptop tamirii — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 07:21:03 +0000

Great list but I have to say if you're picking one of Iain Banks' Culture novels The Use Of Weapons has to get a shout. The best IMHO

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:33:39 +0000

Is this angel investor the same as the eb5 investor visa, or is it completely different? It seems the same but I have never hard it referred to as this before...

By: bfeld

bfeld — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:03:04 +0000

I think the number of potential angels in this population in the US are well above 10,000 so I don’t think it’s a key concern, but definitely worth pointing out.

By: AAA

AAA — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:00:42 +0000

Whatever the definition, I think you need to back into how many angels out there would actually match it. Not sure what the right number is, but if only a handful (<50), then a lot of control may end up in the hands of a very few which may lead to questions about the visa itself. You don't want the visa to become a deal term

By: Technology news - Techvibes Blog

Technology news - Techvibes Blog — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:21:01 +0000

[...] Last week TechStars Brad Feld posed this question on his blog – What is the definition of an Angel Investor? [...]

By: Brad Feld

Brad Feld — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:23:08 +0000

According to the proposed definition you wouldn’t be an angel or super angel today. However, after year 1, you’ll be an Angel investor. You’ll also likely have exceeded the Super Angel threshold in dollars, although not in time diversity. The only reason for the three year tempo in the context of the StartupVisa stuff is to prevent gaming the system – specifically the Super Angel has to demonstrate a history of angel investments to be able to sponsor a StartupVisa.

One commenter suggested that you have to invest in someone else’s company (rather than just your own) to be considered an Angel investor – I think this is a reasonable parameter.

Re: some of the best angels come out of entrepreneurial ventures – I completely agree as that’s how I got started. I sold my first company in November 1993. I started making angel investments early in 1994 – my first was NetGenesis (IPO in 1999), my second was Thinkfish (acquired by CA), and another early one was Harmonix (acquired by MTV). I didn’t start investing as a VC until 1996.

By: John Furrier

John Furrier — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:22:38 +0000

Great work on the StartupVisa efforts Brad.

I've been investing my own money in my own startups for over 12 years. What this year at 44yrs old I stop doing startups and start investing my money (and maybe others) in startups other than my own in $50k chunks and say I would do 5-10 investments a year. I would not qualify to be an angel or super angel by your timetable metric. Did I read that right?

side comment: I do think that you have been and are part of this emerging new school of investors that are way ahead of the pack. Glad to see you leading the efforts. One thing to consider in all of this stuff is that there are many of us schooled and harded with experience in entrepreneurship not just venture guys. In fact some of the best angels come out of the entrepreneurial ventures doing great work in year one as an angel investment.

Cheers