Angel investing is somewhat of a mystery to many. Where does their money come from? How do they spot a good startup? How does the market and politics impact their investments? However, small business owners and entrepreneurs know that an angel investor’s insights might hold the key to their big break.

On this week’s episode of Living Not So Fabulously, hosts David & John Auten-Schneider speak with ASTRSK PR Founder & CEO and angel investor Elliot Tomaeno. Tomaeno’s funding and PR efforts focus on startups in the tech industry, working with brands like Groupon, STASH, Prime Video, Primary Venture Partners, Titan, THINX, Misfits Market, Lemonade, and Squarespace—just to name a few.

Though there’s no easy road to success, as an entrepreneur and funder himself, Tomaeno pulls back the curtain on the ins and outs of the investing community. His best insight for startup founders in this fickle investor world? Take some risks in being vocal about topics that are true to the core of one’s business. “That kind of authenticity at the early stage and the ability to maybe not be afraid to make some enemies, I think, is something that really stands out as something that makes people successful or makes companies successful."

Tomaeno explains that he wants to work with people and clients that he loves, “working with companies that not only are good to us and our staff, but also don't make the world a worse place, at the very least.” Furthermore, Tomaeno tries to lift up underrepresented startups, including “BIPOC startups, female founders, LGBTQ+ founded startups, and AAPI founded startups.”

Hosts and husbands of Living Not So Fabulously, David & John Auten-Schneider, dive into real money stories with activists, allies, artists, tech-gurus, and trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ community to give you tangible takeaways to tackle your wallet woes.

Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Living Not So Fabulously at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/living-fabulously/.

Have a money story of your own? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected].

00:00-Elliot Tomaeno joins Living Not So Fabulously

03:10-Biggest takeaway from angel investing

06:20-Be ready for (many) losses as an angel

11:28-Headwinds for the startup community in 2025

13:00-How can LGBTQ+ startups succeed today?

18:27-Learning from an investing and small-biz pros mistakes

Yahoo Finance's Living Not So Fabulously is hosted by David & John Auten-Schneider, and created and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Elliot Tomaeno is the Founder & CEO of ASTRSK PR. Prior to founding ASTRSK in 2012, Elliot was the Head of Consumer Technology at the Morris + King agency in NYC. Throughout his 18 years in PR, Elliot has held leadership roles at Enloop, Ballou PR and Wyndstrom and has worked in cities on both sides of the pond including San Francisco, Paris, London and NYC. He has been featured on Business Insider’s Top 50 PR professionals' list for 7 years running as well as Adweek’s 30 Under 30 in 2015. In addition, ASTRSK was named on The PRNet 100 the last 2 years in a row. Through ASTRSK, Elliot has helped launch and support more than 1000+ startups and innovation brands like Groupon, STASH, Prime Video, Primary Venture Partners, Titan, THINX, Misfits Market, Lemonade, and Squarespace.

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