Winning Angels: The 7 Fundamentals of Early Stage Investing (Paperback)

~ David Amis (Author), Howard Stevenson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Winning Angels is a superbly organised and invaluable handbook to start-up investing. You will examine the shape of a typical deal, from chance contact at a networking group to flotation on the stock market. And all the time, you will be told to ask questions. What does my intuition tell me? Do I have experience in this area? Is there a clear product and revenue possibility? And you will learn about leaving people wanting to deal with you in the future. Very wise--that next one could be the real thing." Amazon.co.uk "An insightful and fact-filled primer on how to ferret out great opportunities." -- Richard Kramlich, angel in Apple Computer, and partner at Venture Capitalist firm, New Enterprise Associates "Entrepreneurs would do well to read and reflect on the contents of the book before they seek funding." -- Peter Crisp, founding partner of VenRock Venture Capital "Winning Angels is required reading by angel investors and entrepreneurs. It is the best book on the subject of angel investing." -- David Gladstone, Venture Capitalist, angel investor, and author of Venture Capital Handbook and Venture Capital Investor "This book will be a framework helping angels to become winning angels and helping start-up entrepreneurs understand the criteria for support from winning angels." -- Bert Twaalfhoven, angel in 24 deals in over 10 countries, Venture Capitalist, and founder of Europe's 500 "In its ever-bigger deals with more predictable pay-offs, the traditional venture capital industry has itself become ripe for disruption. Winning Angels provides a wonderful tutorial for how angel investors can make this happen." -- Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Innovator's Dilemma "This is a book about effective execution in a chaotic environment. A must-read for both angels and entrepreneurs." -- Wade Myers, Harvard Baker Scholar, US Army Ranger, and founder and CEO of Interelate "Winning Angels shows how many styles and frameworks there are that work, and reinforces how this early stage investing is still hard work." -- Michael Rockefeller, member of the Venrock Board, and CEO of Active Media "This is the first world class book on early stage investing, I wish I'd had it years ago." -- Prince Heinrich von Liechtenstein, international angel investor, and co-founder of FirstFive

Product Description

(Pearson Education) A text opening doors to those with limited experience in early stage investing, offering seven critical steps toward mastering angel investing. Includes discussion of the options available to angels, a summary of typical approaches, tools and tactics for success, and more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: FT Press (March 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0273649167
• ISBN-13: 978-0273649168
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #619,073 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winning Angels: The 7 Fundamentals of Early Stage Investing, August 4, 2001

By	Suzanne Short (Irving, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This book is clear, informative and well presented. I have just completed an advanced financial course on starting a business. Virtually no time was spent on the topic of angel investors.

It seems to me that this critical topic must be understood by the entrepreneur as he or she consider the funding requirements of a start up company.

Who are Angels? How to do you approach them? What type of investment return do they expect? What types of exit strategies appeal to them and in what time frame? All of these questions are clearly addressed by a cross section of experienced Angels.

This book exceeded my expectations and deserves my time to say thank you.

Suzanne Short

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read before swimming with sharks, July 4, 2003

By	PAUL FARRINGTON (ENGLAND, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

The relationship between Angel, VC and Entrepreneur has been a source of popular confusion. This book clears up some key misunderstandings, such as the different roles Angels and VC's play in the financing process of startup companies. 'Winning Angels' contains a reasonable quantitative element outlining different valuation methods and deal structures, which should be accessible to any reader with a basic understanding of Corporate Finance or Discounted Cash Flow analysis. It's also made particularly credible by the inclusion of interviews with successful Angels. I was struck by the high bar set by the interviewees, and their generally shared opinion that the calibre of entrepreneur was a factor subordinate to all others. Because it's written from an Angel's perspective, the book is skewed towards investor interests. These fall out of alignment with the entrepreneur in at least one key respect: investors are motivated to maximise the return on their portfolio of investments, rather than any individual company's. It follows that Angels will have a tendency to pursue a number of high risk, high payoff vectors rather than companies with a high probability of success but less financial upside. This isn't a criticism of the book, just an observation of differing interests. In short: high quality advice for people on both sides of the table.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winning Angels, The 7 Fundamentals of Early Stage Investing, May 16, 2001

By A Customer

As an angel investor in two start-ups and currently involved in fundraising for another one, I found this book to be an outstanding partner. With a chapter devoted to each aspect of the angel investing process, it is easy to get not only the 10,000 foot view, but also specific ideas on how to do it. I could not recommend this book more highly for serious angels or for entrepreneurs trying to understand them (and perhaps get some of their money).

The only drawback is that some people might think angel investing is for everyone, be sure to read the advice to new angels if you are one.