Angel Insights | Your guide to angel investing

Francesca O'Brien is Head Associate at SyndicateRoom where she is responsible for management of dealflow and liaison with entrepreneurs. In today’s episode we take a deep dive into the DD process and reveal how exactly Fran sources companies, how those companies are viewed once in the investment pipeline and what an investment community want to see in an investment opportunity. You can also find further resources on the show and investing articles on the site at syndicateroom.com.

Today We Discuss:

What is Fran’s preference on founders? Single or co-founder?

How big does a market have to be for it to be an investable proposition?

Does this vary if you are an angel as opposed to a VC?

Is too much dumb money a bad thing for the ecosystem? How can founders optimise for this and avoid potential pitfalls?

What do investors in the platform most like to see in an investment proposition?

What would Fran most like to see change in the early stage funding environment in the UK?

Learn more about SyndicateRoom: www.syndicateroom.com

Now for today’s show we thought we would go for something slightly different, as it is August and the investor holiday season is upon us. We thought we would compile some of our favourite quick fire rounds containing the resources that the best investors utilise, giving you the ultimate resource collection so you can head off on your holidays prepared.

Discussed In The Show Today:

1.) What is Tim Mills (British Business Bank) morning daily read?

2.) Who does John Spindler (London Co-Investment Fund and Capital Enterprise) say are must follows on Twitter and why?

3.) What does Collette Ballou (Ballou PR) feel are the main benefits of reading fiction? What are here favourites?

4.) What is Tom Britton (Syndicate Room) must read?

Learn more about SyndicateRoom: www.syndicateroom.com

Now for today’s show we thought we would go for something slightly different, I have had many emails from people asking about how to get into the world of investing in startups and we thought today we would take some our favourite entrance stories and show you a collection of how they did it. The ultimate guide to how to make your way into the world of early stage startup investing.

Discussed In The Show Today:

1.) How Tim Mills came into the industry from the world of banking and came to be at The British Business Bank?

2.) What was John Spindler’s start in the angel investing industry and what is his route to where he is today with the London Co-Investment Fund and Capital Enterprise?

3.) How did Dominic Wilson make the transition from the world of property to the world of property tech investing, now being Managing Director @ Pi Labs.

4.) Every startup founder needs a mentor, so when did Jonathan Pfahl appreciate the importance of mentors and being the founding of Rockstar Mentoring?

5.) Like mentoring, all startups need fantastic PR. So how did Colette Ballou, make her way into the world of angel investing from founding one of Europe’s leading startup PR agencies in Ballou PR?

6.) David Rose is a serial entrepreneur, prolific angel investor, Ted Speaker and multiple author, but how did he first become an angel investor?

7.) An appropriate finish, what is the founding story of Syndicate Room from Tom Britton and what was it about the space that made Tom so excited?

Learn more about SyndicateRoom: www.syndicateroom.com

Collette Ballou is the Founder and President of Ballou PR, one of the leading European public relations that works with high-growth technology and technology-enabled companies, as well as technology investors. Colette has worked with the likes of Facebook, Whatsapp, TransferWise, Eventbrite, Evernote just to name a few. Alongside this incredible operational journey, Collette is also an active angel investor and has mentored with the likes of 500 Startups and Seedcamp.

In Today’s Episode with Colette we discuss:

1.) How did Collette make her way into the world of angel investing?

2.) In the proliferation of content for marketing, is a contrarian approach the right way to go for cutting through the noise?

3.) What does Colette make of the increasing personalisation of VCs and angels?

4.) How can investors balance their own personal brand with the brand of their fund?

5.) What does Colette make of the rise of Twitter? To what extent should it be used as a marketing tool? How does Colette react to tweet storms?

Learn more about SyndicateRoom: www.syndicateroom.com

and see Colette's twitter here: www.twitter.com/coletteballou

Dominic Wilson is Managing Partner @ Pi Labs founded on the thesis of becoming of the centre of innovation in the property ecosystem creating scalable businesses that will disrupt the property sector. As for Dominic himself, he has a wide background in Private Equity Real Estate having worked with both AEW Europe and Savills Investment Management and transacted over €3bn of deals across Europe. You can also find further resources on the show and investing articles on the site at syndicateroom.com.

Today We Discuss:

How Dominic made his way into the world of early stage investments?

What are the pros and cons of operating in a largely antiquated incumbent heavy industry?

How does Dominic view the early stage angel network in London? How does he look to work with them?

With the rise of tax reliefs, this has spurned many more angels, is this money ‘dumb money’? If so, is all dumb money bad for the ecosystem?

How does Dominic view the wider macro economic effects of Brexit?

What does he predict for both the macro-economy and the wider economy?

As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com

and see Dominic's twitter page here: www.twitter.com/Dom7Wilson

Paul Arnold is the founder of Switch Ventures, a seed stage venture capital firm focussed on identifying the most talented startup entrepreneurs by taking a very data-driven approach to founders. Paul was a senior executive at AppDirect, helping build it from a small startup into the unicorn ($1bn+ valuation) it is today. He oversaw company-wide operations, built and led multiple teams, and learned what it takes for a startup to scale rapidly. Prior to AppDirect, Paul was with McKinsey & Company in Silicon Valley. He worked with C-suite, Board, and frontline employees to drive changes.

In Today's Episode with Paul We Discuss:

1.) How Paul made his way into the world of tech and early stage investing?

2.) When examining the data on founders, what elements of pattern recognition has Paul found with regards to founders?

3.) What is Paul's take on follow on funding? Is it always obligatory for seed investors to follow on with their investments?

4.) How has Paul's investment decision making process changed with time and with larger cheque sizes? As a result, how important is valuation to Paul when deciding whether to make an investment?

5.) How does one's mindset shift when moving from angel to VC? What are the challenges and what does one need to remember?

As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com

and Paul's twitter page is here: www.twitter.com/paul_arnold

Tim Mills is an Investment Director at the newly formed British Business Bank and also leads the investment activity and operations of the Angel CoFund. Tim started his career with Merrill Lynch where he became an Associate Vice President in the technology group at Merrill before moving to Barclays Capital to work on the integration of the firm's expanding global operations. In the past Tim has worked with a leading credit analytics consultancy and one of the UKs largest hedge funds.Prior to the creation of the British Business Bank, Tim spent 5 years with Capital for Enterprise, leading investments into venture capital funds as well as launching various funds, including the Angel CoFund.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Tim made his way into he world of tech and investing?

2.) How Tim has applied his learnings from investing in funds to investing in startups?

3.) What does Tim look for in co-investors? What are the optimal traits that Tim assesses?

4.) How has Tim seen the early stage investing ecosystem evolve and develop over the last 10 years?

5.) What is the English tech environment doing well at and what does it need to improve on?

As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com

Jonathan Pfahl is the Managing Director @ Rockstar Mentoring. The Rockstar Mentoring Group is the UK's Number 1 mentoring organisation for entrepreneurs looking to grow or raise finance. To date, they have helped over 8,000 business owners to gain the insights they need to succeed through tailored and personalised mentoring. Their mentors have sold their own companies for an average of £18 million.

In Today's Show We Discuss:

1.) How Jonathan came to found Rockstar?

2.) Why we should care about mentoring? Is it not just another buzzword? What are the tangible benefits?

3.) Why is it imperative to pay your mentor? Why does this create the incentive in the mentored to pursue the activity with passion and rigour?

4.) What are the important things to remember when starting the process of being mentored? Why is it so important to be goal and data driven from the offset?

5.) How should individuals view the mentor personality fit? What should they look for and what should they be wary of?

As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com

John Spindler is the CEO of Capital Enterprise and a key player in establishing a culture of innovation and investment in the blossoming London tech scene. John has had over 15 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and business advisor/consultant and as well as being responsible for the day to day management of Capital Enterprise is also a director and co-owner of audio designer and manufacturer Ferguson Hill.

Today We Discuss:

1.) How John made his way into he world of early stage tech investing?

2.) What does it take to establish a culture of entrepreneurialism and innovation? What comes first, startups or funding?

3.) What further challenges does London face to become the central hub for tech? What can be done to further the progress made in the last few years?

4.) How will Brexit affect the London tech and investing scene? Why is John concerned about the potential of Brexit?

5.) What is the roadmap for John with the London co-investment fund? What is John looking for in potential investments? How has his approach to pattern recognition altered over the last few years?

As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com

and John's twitter page here: www.twitter.com/capenterprise

Katie is the investment Manager for the 3 innocent drinks founders Rich, Adam and Jon at their Venture Capital/Angel Investment firm JamJar Investments. Katie’s role involves sourcing, managing deal process and working with the portfolio post deal to add strategic insight. JamJar focuses on consumer facing high growth businesses looking for seed/round A funding in both digital and non tech. Katie has previously held roles at Innocent Drinks, the BBC and Hamilton Bradshaw Venture Partners. In the show today we discuss the importance of consumer brand, how to differentiate in a proliferated consumer product market, the benefits of investor specialisation and more.

As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com