Angel investors make decisions to invest under conditions of extreme uncertainty. Angel investors face cases in which uncertainty is so extreme that it qualifies as unknowable: they decide on investments in ideas for markets that often do not yet exist, and they propose new products and services without knowing whether they will work. For experienced…
Reading the available academic research and discussions with experienced Angel investors suggest that “technical” subjects (valuation, financial modelling, technical due diligence) play a relatively limited role in the overall decision-making process, significantly due to the lack of “hard facts” in so many aspects of an Angel type investment. It is not a formalistic driven process.…
A fantastic experience talking at the Perue VC Conference – Amazing people and a fantastic location for the event
Valuation is probably the most emotive issue to be addressed in any investment negotiation. Both entrepreneurs and investors seek reassurance that they are not agreeing to an inappropriate (unfair) valuation that will result in them receiving an inadequate share of the anticipated future exit proceeds. Both seek to find definitive valuation techniques that will give…
While numerous enabling programs exist, offering services in business planning, technical development, market analysis, financial forecasting, etc., few enabler managers or entrepreneurs have been through the fundraising process. As such, most “Investor Ready” programs fail to prepare entrepreneurs for the actual capital raising process. Entrepreneurs are left facing various challenges, including: Inability to identify an…
Very few Angel investments receive follow on funding from venture capital firms. According to the University of New Hampshire, Centre for Venture Research there were around 75,000 Angel investments in the USA last year. Yet the PWC Moneytree report recorded just 5,004 VC deals (of which 33% were in the San Francisco area). So even…
Far too many times I see company barely past the idea stage claim “First Mover Advantage” as a justification (or at least a major one) for their proposed pre investment valuation. More likely, this should go on the other side of the evaluation equation – it’s a disadvantage. “Google? Not the first search engine. Facebook?…
The Best way to be an Angel Investor? Become a member of an established Angel Group of Network and join in lots of deals with other members, investing just a little initially in each one. Let’s say a company was looking to secure £250,000. That should be provided not by one of two really rich…
“I am extremely moved to have receive such an important and prestigious award” The prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion has been awarded to Nelson Gray, a renowned angel investor and board member of LINC Scotland, the national association for business angels in Scotland. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, recognises individuals who have played an outstanding role…
I recently read an account by William Draper 3rd, one of the foremost VC’s out of Silicon Valley, of a meeting he had in London back in 2005 with two young men, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, about the future of their company. The two entrepreneurs were looking for advice as to what to do next:…
Nelson has been a Business Angel investor for over 20 years and is recognized internationally as a thought leader and public speaker.
Nelson’s extensive experience allows him to blend a practical application of investment and company growth with an understanding of public policy at an international level.