How To Turn Fool’s Gold Into The Real Thing

I recently read a book called Fool’s Gold? The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America by Scott Shaine. Scott is an angel investor himself and is a professor of entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University.

One of the highlights of the book is that sophisticated, accredited investors, the type of investor that the media talk about all the time, are very rare.

Here are some other interesting facts from the book:

• There is no shortage of angel capital in every community. If anything, the data shows surplus of angel money.
• More companies receive angel money each year than meet the universal criteria for angel investments.
• 79% of angel investments are made by individuals who don’t meet SEC requirements for accredited investors.
• Most angels are not affiliated with any angel groups and invest by themselves in their community.
• Angels don’t do as well financially with their investment as they expect. Less than 2% of angels investments end in an IPO or acquisition.

So, look around, no matter where you are, you have those angels who invest their discretionary funds in businesses every year with less-than-stellar results.

Would you tell them about 1M/1M? Would you forward them this post?

By working together, we can help those angels to improve the returns on their investments, which, according to Professor Shaine’s book, are on average 2%. I don’t think that is the number angels are looking for when they invest.

By educating angels we can help them make better choices. We can help to harness the private money that exists in every community. If you help, we can start doing it in your community today.

Note: The 1M/1M team has invested significant resources to engage with and understand the challenges of the incubator industry around the globe. You can sign up for our opt-in mailing list to get this information via email on an ongoing basis.