First time entrepreneurs who are just getting going frequently ask me about how to find angel investors.  I usually tell them about my theory of “concentric circles” of angel investors. 

• The innermost circle are people who know you and love you and will give you money no matter what (even if you were opening an ice cream store on the South Pole).  These are the friends and family angel investors.

• The next circle out are people who care deeply about the thing itself that you are doing.  So if you are starting an online fashion company this might be a successful fashion designer. 

• The circle beyond that are professional angels/super angels. 

• And finally the circle beyond that is everyone else.

The gist of my theory is that each time you go further out from one circle to the next it gets 10x harder to convince someone to give you money.  I am beginning to think though that there are now so many professional or at least semi-professional angels that maybe the second and third circle out should be in different order.

First time entrepreneurs who are just getting going frequently ask me about how to find angel investors.  I usually tell them about my theory of “concentric circles” of angel investors. 

• The innermost circle are people who know you and love you and will give you money no matter what (even if you were opening an ice cream store on the South Pole).  These are the friends and family angel investors.

• The next circle out are people who care deeply about the thing itself that you are doing.  So if you are starting an online fashion company this might be a successful fashion designer. 

• The circle beyond that are professional angels/super angels. 

• And finally the circle beyond that is everyone else.

The gist of my theory is that each time you go further out from one circle to the next it gets 10x harder to convince someone to give you money.  I am beginning to think though that there are now so many professional or at least semi-professional angels that maybe the second and third circle out should be in different order.