The Angel Investor Portfolio
Boston Harbor Angels
I recently had the privilege to attend an Angel Portfolio Workshop, hosted by the Boston Harbor Angels, one of the top angel groups in the country. Attendees were members of the Boston Harbor Angels who had diverse portfolios and a variety of experiences as angel investors. It was a lively discussion where participants shared best practices based on their successes and failures with their portfolio.
One of the major takeaways during the workshop was due diligence on the entrepreneur. Many agreed that oftentimes angel investors put too much emphasis on the startup’s pitch/deal, and is not focusing on the team behind the venture. As Ziad Moukheiber, CEO of Boston Harbor Angels, shared: an angel investor’s portfolio “is a portfolio of people not companies.”
Ziad shared some of his takeaways on due diligence on the entrepreneurs based on his own portfolio and from talking to other investors:
- Kindness
- Background
- Education
- Determination
- Persistence
- IQ and EQ
- Resourcefulness
- Attention to detail
- Passion
As an entrepreneur looking for funding, it is important to present the venture in a clear, articulate way in order to capture the attention of an investor. But at the end of the day, investors are looking to invest in you, the entrepreneur. Highlight you and your team’s experiences and why you are the right people to take your venture to the next level.