Dr. Earl R. Smith II

You want to buy a new company, expand operations, acquire a business, or raise capital. You’ve decided to go for venture capital funding versus a bank loan for a multitude of reasons from the risks involved to the amount you need to carry out your plan

Entrepreneurs’ quest for capital is never ending. Capturing this capital is part of the challenge of building a sustainably profitable company. So even after you pitched your business plan and outlined all the reasons why angel investors should invest in your company, obtaining angel financing isn’t easy. So then, what is the best way to secure angel investment?

A group of Central Florida investors announced the formation of Catapult Capital, a new angel investment group based in Orlando, Fl. Catapult’s mission will be three-fold: to provide for a substantial return on an investor’s time and capital, to support high growth companies in Florida, and to provide real world experience for UCF and Rollins students in evaluating business opportunities.

Earlier this week, there was a meetup nearby in Aliso Viejo; Jason Calacanis was the host and he encouraged entrepreneurs to gather in 169 cities around the world, simultaneously. That’s right, he does a lot of things in a big way! Coincidentally, the Tech Coast Angels have been doing these meet-and-mingle events in Aliso Viejo, too; their next one: June 15th. (If you know Aliso Viejo then you know that this is their single claim to fame.)

I believe that Silicon Valley may soon be going the way of the floppy disk.

I was talking with an experienced Angel Investor recently who tends to mostly invest in tech startups. He had invested in a Silicon Valley startup (B), 2 years ago and was beaming at the fact that it was clear to him that the startup was finally on the verge of generating some ‘serious revenues’.

Angel Investors are usually experienced entrepreneurs that have built and sold several companies. They love to help start companies, solve the tough problems, build a great team, and be actively involved in finding customers, partners, and key employees. They tend to invest in companies that are within a one hour drive so that they can be actively involved and leverage their network of friends and business associates.

Today I’m heading back to Techstars to talk to the new class of startups, and it seems like a good time to reflect on what I learned going through the program. Since the three months were focused on raising angel financing and Mailana never did get any investment, it’s worth looking at what I did wrong. Here’s how to kill your chances of raising angel money.

I am very interested in collecting stories about founder interactions with investors and lining up additional interviews for future articles. Please take a read and post your comments. Thanks in advance for your help.

Every investor is different – they have different backgrounds and approaches to the process. This is one of the greatest lessons that founders need to learn. Each investor has a common characteristic – they have money to invest.