“As an angel investor, revenue trumps no revenue,” says Jonathan Mellinger, successful entrepreneur and member at Robin Hood Ventures

Jonathan Melllinger has experience on both sides of the investment ecosystem, first as a successful entrepreneur and now as a member at Robin Hood Ventures.

Mellinger told an audience of entrepreneurs and angel investors at the Science Center’s Angel Education event that he uses instinct and experience to choose companies to invest in, but he also laid out his model for making early stage investments Tuesday.

The programming is part of an ongoing effort from the University City life sciences research park to broaden its mission and the awareness of regional investors to smaller, more consumer-facing ventures.

First, when Mellinger is looking at a company, he looks at the management team.

“I like to see some experience from the management team in the space they’re going after,” said Mellinger, as he explained why he decided to invest in Onetwosee, which provides TV companion content for mobile devices.

Competition is another important factor. Mellinger looks to see that a company has a “a valid and proven revenue model” that approaches the competition in a new way.

“What I did like about OneTwoSee is when I looked at the competition in general they were attacking their market with the revenue model right up front,” said Mellinger. “Tim Geithner, at some point said, plan trumps no plan. And as an angel investor, revenue trumps no revenue”

Lastly, Mellinger said that having a product that works and is easy to use is an important factor as well.

“What I need to know from a company is what their customers consider a successful product,” said Mellinger.

Companies that can’t answer that question effectively get a pass, he says.

Infographic: 35 Startup Buzzwords Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Angel, freemium, MVP, value proposition — there are a lot of buzzwords that get thrown around in the startup world. As an entrepreneur, it’s your job to know, understand and sparingly use them.

Entitled “The Founder’s Dictionary,” and jammed packed with a ton of buzzwords I have heard in boardrooms and coffee shops, the infographic was created to uncover “the true meanings” of these terms.

Take this one with a grain — no, a tub — of salt, folks. This infographic isn’t what it seems to be at first sight. While it would be awesome to have a dictionary for these terms, this resource actually pokes fun at the mysterious origins and definitions of these oft-used buzzwords.

Yes, it is important to know what these buzzwords mean — and to know whennot to use them — but don’t source your definitions from this comedic infographic. You may, instead, want to check out Quora, where a thorough thread of annoying startup buzzwords can be found.

This production is, though, a comical glimpse into the world of entrepreneurial word play.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericaswallow/2012/03/14/startup-buzzwords-infographic/

Which startup buzzwords have you heard flying around the office? Share them in the comments below.

 

Infographic: Highlights of angel investment activity and trends in North America

The Angel Resource Institute (ARI), Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and CB Insights today announced findings from the first Halo Report, a collaborative effort to raise awareness of early stage investment activities by angel investment groups.  The research series highlights angel investment activity and trends in North America and provides much sought after data that has not been previously available to entrepreneurs or early stage investors.

Halo Report Highlights:

  • Angel groups are active throughout the U.S. in 2011
    • California leads in deals and dollars among individual states
    • 79% of angel group investments were in companies outside of California
    • 70% of total funding was invested outside of California
    • Median angel group rounds size grew to $700,000, an increase of 40% over 2010
    • 58% of angel group investments were in healthcare and internet companies
      • 60% of healthcare investments were in medical device and equipment companies
      • The most active angel groups were Tech Coast Angels, Band of Angels, Golden Seeds, Central Texas Angel Network and Launchpad Venture Group

Angel investors, those who invest their own funds and expertise directly into startup companies, appear to be taking on an increasingly important role in driving entrepreneurship throughout the United States.  Their investments are in startups and young companies, which have been cited by the Kauffman Foundation as the key source of net new jobs in the country.  Nationwide, these angel group investments have opened up new opportunities for centers of innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Halo Report found that many deals are syndicated among investors.  As a result, companies needing larger investments have access to the additional capital they need to grow their businesses.

“The Halo Report is the first of its kind to systematically track investment and company formation at the earliest stage, providing a window into the future of innovation,” according to Allan May, Chairman of ARI. “Startup companies fuel economic growth and job creation and are the drivers of future U.S. competitiveness. This research is an important step in the promotion of startup investing, providing accurate data to help entrepreneurs, policy makers, and the public at large understand who angel investors are, how they operate, what their results are, and how angel investment impacts the economy.”

According to Greg Becker, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, “Entrepreneurs and the investors who take a chance on them are fundamental to the innovation economy. By shedding more light on angel investment activity we’re helping young companies identify sources of capital and mentorship, ultimately leading to the development of innovative products and the next generation of exciting new companies.”

CB Insights CEO and Co-founder, Anand Sanwal, said, “In partnership with ARI and SVB,  we are happy to be part of an effort that highlights and brings a data-driven perspective to what is a very important, but historically opaque, part of our innovation economy.  We’re looking forward to seeing how investors and corporations use this data to understand emerging early-stage trends and to identify investment and M&A opportunities.”   CB Insights specializes in providing data on high growth private companies and their investors and acquirers.

The Halo Report includes aggregate analysis of investment activity by angels and angel groups and highlights trends in round sizes, location and industry preferences. The data is collected via survey and aggregation of public data using CB Insights innovative data analyses. The 2011 Halo Report data is based on 573 deals totaling $873.3 million dollars invested.   The transaction details are available in the CB Insights subscription database for users to review and analyze themselves.  Academics may also access some of the data through ARI.

Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/angel-investment/angel-investment-data-2011-halo-report