Thread by @dunkhippo33

Today, I'm excited to announce we’re opening up applications for Angel Squad 6. We’ve deployed ~$12m of capital into ~30 companies, and we are just getting started.

A quick thread on a few thoughts about the Angel Squad community and angel investing.

Read on >>

1) First, what is Angel Squad? Learn more and join us at: hustlefund.vc/angelsquad

2) In Angel Squad, we’ve been lucky to connect:

400+ members across
19 countries with
30 portfolio companies across
15+ sectors through
80+ events

(Thanks @b_nicks11 for the data)

3) Squad members joined to learn, network, and invest in & support founders. They have helped so many of our founders w sales, design, hiring & product. 🙏

One person helped a startup negotiate their sales contract w/ a large co. Others gave great design advice to another co.

4) They’re generous w their expertise in the community, too! We’ve heard talks on:

- Startup regulations @srivats
- Secondary markets @drdresay
- Venture studios @barryoreilly
- The future of HW startups @itsvijen
- Poker + angel investing @derek_wolters

I've learned so much!

5) Our Angel Squad community is 37% women. When you think about how funding happens, it starts w/ the connection between an investor & a founder.

People tend to connect w/ people like them or connect with problems a founder is solving.

6) By increasing the number of angel investors as well as broadening the diversity of that investor base, we can fund more great entrepreneurs.

I've talked about this before here:

https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33/status/1483001092447162369?s=20&t=XiOl3xwniHWHRvJD1c35bg

7) A decade ago, I started writing $1k checks. I was lucky to have friends further along in their journey than me, and I see a similar dynamic daily in our community.

I've written about this here:

https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33/status/1397953351514349570?s=20&t=z2zIUq9yowR_AdTTi38-Iw

8) But starting to invest can be intimidating. Everyone else seems so experienced!

@b_nicks11 & @haleymbryant have created a safe space to ask qs in Angel Squad.

Thanks to portco @trycovalent, we’ve done 100s of matches to connect like-minded angels to support each other.

9) I think angel investing is incredibly interesting. It's an amazing way to give back to new companies that can have a big impact on the world and on people's lives financially.

+ the returns you can get are unparalleled. You can get 100x+ returns w/o having to invest a lot.

10) My only regret is that I wish I’d started sooner. But it's never too late.

If you're interested, learn, connect, invest, and support founders with us:

hustlefund.vc/angelsquad