Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Nicola Corzine, Band of Angels Acorn Fund (Part 5)

By guest author Irina Patterson

Irina: What is the single most important thing that angel-backed founders can do to increase their chances of success?

Nicola: The important question they have to ask is, Do I really live this product, do I really want to build this company? Is it everything to me? That passion can’t be taught, that passion has to be there from the day one. If that founder, that entrepreneur, really believes in their heart of hearts that the only thing for them is to build this company, then those are the kind of the people that we want to engage with. Because business models will change, strategies will change over time, and hurdles will come and hurdles will go. But if in your heart of hearts you don’t have the dedication, the commitment, and the passion to believe in what you are doing, then there is no way we can help you over that issue.

You have to be your greatest champion at the end of the day. And there are going to be so many issues that will come up, many of them exciting, many of them rewarding, but some of them incredibly heart-wrenching. And we can’t replace the founder with passion; it just not possible to take it on internally or give it to somebody else. It has to be the firm foundation of the company, and without it they will not be able to attract the top talent that is needed, and they will not be able to get those early customers to believe in what they are building and in their ultimate vision.

Irina: What do you think angels should do in this environment?

Nicola: I think what angels need to do is to have a clear strategy about where they want to invest and how active they want to be with their companies. There are some who are perfectly happy to be passive investors, and that a great strategy to have. If that is the case, you should probably go with investments in which you have the most expertise and knowledge. There are others who use it is a way to stay fresh on upcoming new technologies that are exciting to them for personal reasons or past experience. And in those cases, it might be a better strategy to take a few investments where they feel they are most likely to be able to help and make a difference.

I think I have been fortunate. Ian and I sat down last year and started white-boarding why we wanted to build the fund and what the fund would look like if we would be creating the perfect fund. And because we are so close to this idea, it is really a passion and a new strategy for this work, not only for ourselves – obviously everyone wants to walk away with a nice healthy return – but, more important, for the fact that we really believe we can build some successful companies with this new style of investing. And we hope that if we are successful, many other new small funds will emerge with a similar thesis, and as a result we are going to build an even stronger America from an economic perspective.

Irina: Thank you, Nicola. It was my pleasure to learn more about the Acorn Fund. I hope that we at 1M/1M can become one of your reliable sources for quality deals for years to come.

Nicola: Thank you. I would be delighted. I look forward to helping and looking through companies that apply through 1M/1M and being potentially a good funding source and partner for you in this project.

This segment is part 5 in the series : Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Nicola Corzine, Band of Angels Acorn Fund
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