In spite of the fact that you might have joined an online angel investor funding commmunity, you’re not going to have angel investors beating down your door, just waiting to you give you money! As a matter of fact, most find that finding an angel investor in this way is next to impossible! This is because the average angel investor doesn’t want to do business with someone located far away from them. The typical angel investor only wants to do business with a startup geographically located close to them. However, if you do find that an angel investor contacts you and asks for you to fill out one of their applications, then by all means do so!
You might be wondering, how can you realistically go about finding an angel investor for your startup? Here are a few ways that you can find angel investors successfully:
Referrals
In business as in life, it’s all about who you know. This is why its easy to find an angel investor by way of referral. The investor will be more apt to listen to your idea, if you were referred to them by someone that they’ve done business with, or from someone that they otherwise trust.
Networks
Networking takes the referral method to another level. If you don’t know anyone who can give you an outright referral to an angel investor, then network with some of the right people, without giving out the bulk of your ideas. As you get to know people through networking, you’ll get a proper angel investor referral in time.
Targeted Prospecting
There’s currently around 9 million investors located in the U.S. These investors are mostly retired business owners and executives. Try to find these retired entrepreneurs and executives, by searching for them locally. These investors will have the time and money to help your startup get the boost that it needs. Current business owners are also great resources for finding angel investment. They have access to capital and they are often interested in diversifying their investments. All you need to do in order to find them, is to call around to local businesses, or pay for a targeted investors list.
Peter