6 +/- 3 months

When working with an investment club like Pointe Angels , the Innovator-Angel process can take 6 months, give or take 3 months:

• Scouting and Screening - The path from Lead to Presentation usually takes 2 months, give or take a month, with a 25% yield
• Investor Diligence -?Followup Meetings and Due Diligence usually takes 2 months, give or take a month, with a 50% yield
• Closing and Wire - Closing (finance, legal) and funds transfer usually take 2 months, give or take a month, with a 75% yield

This is because:

• Angels are busy - Startup investing is often a side-hustle
• Angels are social - They take note of what other investors are doing
• Angels have options - There's always another opportunity beckoning

Carta 's Peter Walker reminds us that a $500K raise usually comprises 6-8 checks, and a $1M raise can be spread over 10-12 checks - that tracks with what Pointe Angels saw in 2023.

Takeaways:

• Raise for growth, not for cashflow - Pick a suitable market-facing milestone, 12-24 months out, and raise to achieve that growth
• Factor-in contingency funding - Even in the most capital-efficient startup, stuff takes longer and costs more than you think
• If you're not already in an investor's dealflow pipeline and your round is closing soon, maybe check your expectations before firing off a hail mary

The Innovator-Angel journey can take years to grow and harvest. Years of listening, years of collaboration. Impatience is very entrepreneurial. Investors can be very pragmatic.

To see how other Angel groups manage their dealflow timeline, check out Mike Flanagan 's slides on Startup Fundraising, here. ??

dcb