angel-investing

Angel Investing

Investor-side evaluation OS for early-stage deals. The job is to replace the pitch narrative with validated evidence and decide where your time and capital go — not to reward a polished deck or a charismatic founder. Decision support, not investment advice.

Opposite chair from the startup-consulting skill. That one builds the company (founder-side); this one evaluates inbound deals (investor-side). Same disciplines — TAM, unit economics, SAFEs — read from the buyer's seat. Founder-side request → use startup-consulting.

Core principles

1. Screen for rejection first — a 5-minute pass answers "does this deserve more time?", never "should I invest?".
2. Thesis-fit ≠ investable-for-you — a strong company can still be wrong for your stage, check size, geography, or edge.
3. Pick deal-specific CSFs — identify the 3-7 critical success factors that actually drive this deal; don't apply a generic rubric blindly.
4. Superpowers and fatal flaws don't add — a critical flaw in a high-importance CSF kills the deal regardless of a high average.
5. Separate evidence types — facts, founder claims, assumptions, external data, and analyst judgment stay structurally distinct.
6. Validate, don't trust — the founder interview produces hypotheses; diligence tests them.
7. Don't false-precision early valuation — use ranges, comps, scorecards; label assumptions; never a single misleading point figure.
8. Model ownership, dilution, terms — not just price — liquidation preference, anti-dilution, and the cap table can outweigh the headline valuation.
9. Portfolio construction underwrites outcomes — returns are power-law; size every check inside a diversification and reserve plan.
10. Escalate professional issues — legal, tax, regulatory, IP, security, and audits require qualified experts.

The three-tier funnel (reject ~90% per tier)