Think like an Angel

How to think like an angel - for anyone looking for a one stop spot for startup investing or fundraising

Meet Bonnie Halper, investor, advisor and one stop shop for startup founders. She is a former SHOWTIME celebrity reporter, turned founding Editor-in-Chief at AlleyWatch, and now runs StartupOneStop, a top destination for entrepreneurs and investors around the globe. Bonnie is a super connector and legend in the startup space - counting Reid Hoffman, Jeff Bezos, and more as friends.

A long-time tech industry insider and connector, she once took Peter Thiel’s famous gripe that we were promised flying cars and instead we got 140 characters, and wrote “140 Characters Who Helped Shape the Tech World” – and she happens to have met or knows many of them personally. She is currently working on the SOSapp, the first app for the startup technology community.?

We dive into evaluating startup opportunities as an angel investor, how to best tell your story as an entrepreneur, and why finding womxn investors and advisors for your cap table is a great idea.

Eve #WealthWednesday Highlight #14: Bonnie Halper, Founder and Editor in Chief - StartupOneStop

How and why did you get into your space??

In the early days of web 1.0 I co-founded a conference and awards ceremony that celebrated the origins of the web and the people who were pioneers in creating it and evolving it. The rest is history. During the conference, a reporter named Michael asked if I really thought the web was going to take over. I told him that the future is going to be all about the web and that CD-ROMs were going to go away. When Michael published his article, I started getting calls from people who just wanted to talk about the web. One college student made an impression and we stayed in touch emailing back and forth. When we were putting together an advisory board, there was one spot left and I insisted on sponsoring this student who didn’t even have a company yet. That student was Jerry Yang, who went on to be the founder of Yahoo -- which was something he’d been laying out for his Master’s thesis at the time we were getting to know each other!?

What role do you play in the wealth space and why is it important?

I am tangentially attached to some funds which I never talk about. I primarily source investments for large institutions. I saw Amazon and Yahoo coming and believed in what the founders were aiming to build. I started going to Bitcoin conferences in 2012. I wrote about it in my Startup One Stop newsletter and got feedback from people who were certain Bitcoin wasn’t going to be important. They didn’t change their minds for another two or three years! In the wealth space, I help funds find and connect with those at the forefront of nourishing and evolving these new ideas and I help founders craft and tell their stories in a way that will attract investors who will open doors for funding that will support their companies make an impact.?

What do you believe is the most exciting thing you’ve learned and want others to know?

I love women and entrepreneurs but it is harder for women. In the early days of starting my first company I shared the difficulty I was having with a friend right before I was about to do a presentation. I asked him to come. So he came, I did the presentation and then when it was time to ask questions,? every single question was directed to him - even though he never said a word. When the meeting was finished they all thanked him for his presentation. We have a lot more data now and things are progressing, but to be honest the percent of female founders receiving venture capital funding has actually gone down this year! What people don't realize is that women-founded companies generally do better and with a lower failure rate.

One of the things I learnt is the power of following up. This is one area where female entrepreneurs aren't always as confident as their counterparts but can thrive when they do. Follow-up is very important. Be persistent - that is how you will get investors. Let them know that you want to make a change so give them information. You might hit that one point and that makes all the difference.? As a former gossip columnist and celebrity reporter, I love people and people fascinate me. I also suggest staying in touch even for no reason at all. Be human and don't just reach out to them because you need something. You should reach out to say hello to get to know them. But choose carefully.

Who is a person or company that inspires you in the space and why?

I’m always inspired by the founders I work with. One thing that stands out most is the teams that solve real problems for themselves - which helps other people with the same problems. One company in particular that is inspiring me is Snore Ball - a toy robotics company that helps kids get to sleep and teaches them healthy habits. They have a killer team and they did an Indiegogo campaign where they had a successful proof of concept. The founder came up with it because he had a four-year-old who has difficulty getting sleep.

What advice would you give to someone getting started?

Do your due diligence and talk to other investors. Ask yourself what's the traction and look at their financials. Financials = the language of investors. It is important to see what founders are planning on doing and what the long term projections are. This supports the vision. Investors want to know the way they think, how they see their market, how they're going to get there and what's the go-to-market strategy. Even if you are early and pre-revenue - they want to know what your vision is and how you're thinking, planning and strategizing.

Most founders believe that it's all about the product so they basically put together a marketing or product deck but investors aren't interested in marketing. We host Investor Breakfast and one founder said that they look at three things: theme, traction and TAM (Total Addressable Market). Remember that the devil is in the details so if you want to work with somebody who's looking at the details, they're going to find the weak spots.?

Anything else we should know?

You can follow our weekly newsletter - StartupOneStop.com. It's sent out every Tuesday morning. We also host an Investor Breakfast monthly - called The Bootstrapper Breakfast - with one investor and a small self-selecting group of entrepreneurs. Even if you're not looking for money now, it's good to get to know the investors on what they invest in, how they think and establish your relationship before you need them. It is a great space for founders and angel investors to connect.

#wealthwednesday #fintech #womenswealth #futureoffinance #investing #investment

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Have thoughts on this week’s topic or questions for me or Bonnie Halper? Post your thoughts in the comment section. Until next week. ??

You can connect with Bonnie on [LINKEDIN]?

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