I was once told by the creative guy that made Red Bull in America what it is, to keep your corporate handbook in a ring binder cuz things are always changing.
Reading this as a founder, the relevance-over-capital point really lands.
In a world where capital is a diminishing barrier, what we're actually looking for in angels is access - to knowledge, networks, or distribution. Staying focused on that is half the job!
After running an animation studio for 35 years the part that stood out to me most was...
The founders who succeed are not the ones who follow a perfect plan.
They are the ones who can navigate reality as it changes.
Learning that all projects must evolve and rarely finish the way they originally started and usually end much better.
That is exactly it, the best founders adjust fast and keep moving when the plan changes
I was once told by the creative guy that made Red Bull in America what it is, to keep your corporate handbook in a ring binder cuz things are always changing.
💯This is well-structured - especially the emphasis on relevance and filtering.
One angle you could layer in is angels don’t just manage risk - they manage attention.
Because in practice, the scarcest resource isn’t capital or even deals… it’s focus.
You can see 100 deals, spend time on 20, seriously evaluate 5 and invest in 1
So the real skill isn’t just picking winners - it’s not getting distracted by everything that looks like a winner.
That’s where your points on fast filtering and saying no early become even more important:
they’re not just about discipline, they’re about protecting cognitive bandwidth for the rare outliers that actually matter.
Feels like a useful framing to add;
great angels aren’t just selective with capital -they’re ruthless with attention.
Strong point, and I like the focus on attention because good investing is really about staying focused on the few that matter
Relevance is what actually gets you into better rooms.
Being relevant is what opens doors in the first place
Happy to co-invest with angels :)
Great to see more angels & VCs who think long term and stay open to backing founders early
#1 + #2 🤓
🚀🚀🚀
Reading this as a founder, the relevance-over-capital point really lands.
In a world where capital is a diminishing barrier, what we're actually looking for in angels is access - to knowledge, networks, or distribution. Staying focused on that is half the job!
Some great lessons into angel investing including KPIs and philosphies. Thanks for this, Petar!