1. “Free Range” Angel Investing By Tom Tierney
14 July 2012
With “green investing” becoming ever more popular over the years, the investment community and
entrepreneurs might want to consider: angel investing has always been “eco-friendly”.
So move over Al Gore! Angel investing is:
1. “Free Range”: There are no investment boundaries for angels: they invest in hardware,
software, internet, biotech, nanotech etc. Angels invest at the seed stage and also pre
and post revenue. There are also no boundaries to entrepreneur experience or age.
2. “Locally Grown”: Angels will typically invest in their local region which allows them to
“kick the tires” of a company during due diligence. Investing locally also provides angels
the ability to help a company when required and provide an “eco-system” for support.
3. “All Organic”: Angels invest with fresh ingredients: new companies and teams creating
new solutions for large problems. These companies avoid the “politics and pollution” of
large companies to focus on unique solutions to customer pain. Angels add fertilizer
(capital) and experience to help support these new enterprises.
4. “Line-Caught”: Most angels “fish” selectively: their “fishing line” looking for unique
companies offering unique solutions to big problems. Many companies apply, but few
are selected: angels will “catch and release” those companies that don’t fit their criteria,
but invest in and support those that do.
5. “Sustainable”: If angels invest wisely in companies that eventually exit to M&A or IPO,
profits can be used to sustain their future investments. Angels must build an
investment portfolio of companies to increase their odds for success and have patience
in the process as companies grow.
6. “Carbon Neutral”: Angel investors use their own capital to invest in new enterprises.
These start-up companies create many jobs and help overall economic growth for the
country. Worst case, if a company fails, angel investors (and entrepreneurs) gain
valuable experience to be used in future endeavors: we “recycle”.
Angel investing has always been free range, locally grown and all organic ideally using line-
caught and sustainable techniques to invest in companies in a carbon neutral manor.
Tom Tierney lives in Encinitas, CA and is a member of Tech Coast Angels (www.techcoastangels.com).
Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_coast_angels for more background information on the TCA.
