Thread by @sdimantha

Over the last year or so I've gone into the deep end of angel + alt asset investing, making lots of friends in the process and learning a ton. Sharing some of my learnings and thoughts on opportunities 👇

1/ I started angel investing a couple years ago, but at a very low frequency/volume via @AngelList syndicates. I've been investing in cryptoassets since 2013 and didn't initially feel the urge to invest personal capital in illiquid high risk assets like startups.

2/ A couple events happened that changed this trajectory this year: a) I attended a @SignalFire summit on angel investing in January, b) I joined @HustleFundVC Angel Squad

3/ I was connected to @SignalFire before via the @XooglerCo network, but took a deeper dive this year by joining their professional network of fellow senior health tech leaders. Much thanks to @Enderdoon and team for including me.

4/ Joining @HustleFundVC Angel Squad was the next escalation step in my angel investing journey, and @b_nicks11 is an A++ community builder. He and @ericbahn @dunkhippo33 @shiyankoh have helped me find fellow angel wanderers and learn the Hustle Fund ways!

5/ I immediately invested in @drinkhaus and @AbstractOpsCo . The Haus product is 💯 and they've nailed branding and AbstractOps is what every founder should use to automate their operations. I also invested in @eightsleep , my first late stage deal in the future of sleep!

6/ I met some amazing friends via Angel Squad including @biaozeebub @tracehk @GeorgeZeng13 @jenniferpiro @haleymbryant @elawless @chriskong118 @jcly @RShawar among others who are not on Twitter!

7/ Social investing is key to the angel investing experience. I've learned so much from folks who have very different experiences than I do. @discord servers have been a great format discuss deals and trends!

8/ I got introduced to some of the latest trends in startup investing including zero fee roll-up vehicles thanks to a heads-up from @jenniferpiro to discover @RUV_Alliance led by @HarveyMultani .

9/ @HarveyMultani is an amazing community builder in private market investing and he is changing the game with RUV Alliance. Join the community here: ruvalliance.com and learn more about RUVs here: angellist.com/ruv

10/ My first RUV investment was in @commaful after speaking with @Sydney_Liu_sl thanks to an introduction from @BobbyAlexis . Check out the awesome products they are creating for the next generation of storytellers!

11/ Most of my deal flow is still via @AngelList syndicates. There are some amazing syndicate leads (like @ZachGins) that have widened my funnel further than I could have imagined

12/ It is easy to get overwhelmed (I signed up for ~40) with all the emails and FOMO. Many syndicate leads are applying all the influence principles from @RobertCialdini on steroids, e.g. scarcity: low allocations that get oversubscribed, deadlines
+ adding 🔥🚀 to subject lines

13/ My tips are to not live in your inbox and formulate your investing strategy from first principles (thesis/sectors, etc.), otherwise it easy to get sucked up into FOMO and general market froth - it has happened to me!

14/ Getting exposure to hundreds of deals and investing in a few of those startups has actually helped me gain more discipline and understand what I want to focus on moving forward: Biotech and Crypto

15/ Biotech and Crypto are relatively underrepresented in the AL deal flow world, though @biovergehq and @RedBeardVC have a few gems. I have a goal to increase access to high quality biotech and crypto deals

16/ The challenge with biotech is that your average angel investor does not have the expertise to assess biotech deals and most don't come via AngelList. Some signals I look for in early stage biotech are a team with both scientific expertise and business acumen.

17/ Biotech trends I'm excited by include all things gene/cell therapy (CRISPR, mRNA, etc.), computational + synthetic bio like @Ginkgo, business model innovation like @BridgeBioPharma @CambrianBio , and all things manufacturing like @IncResilience

18/ The opportunity beyond cryptoassets that I see with early stage crypto is to focus on core infra problems in the ecosystem that can help gain more mainstream adoption (e.g. high gas fees w/ @solana) and doubling down on unconventional organizations like DAOs (e.g. @nounsdao)

19/ I plan to share more about my plans to increase investing opportunities in high quality biotech and crypto companies and projects, but in the meantime feel free to reach out if:
1) I can help you on-ramp to angel investing
2) You are building in biotech or crypto!