Buy new:
-54% $14.89$14.89
Delivery Tuesday, August 6
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Good
$11.68$11.68
Delivery Tuesday, August 6
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Zoom Books Company
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
OK
Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups--Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000 Hardcover – July 18, 2017
Purchase options and add-ons
One of Silicon Valley’s most successful angel investors shares his rules for investing in startups.
There are two ways to make money in startups: create something valuable—or invest in the people that are creating valuable things.
Over the past twenty-five years, Jason Calacanis has made a fortune investing in creators, spotting and helping build and fund a number of successful technology startups—investments that have earned him tens of millions of dollars. Now, in this enlightening guide that is sure to become the bible for twenty-first century investors, Calacanis takes potential angels step-by-step through his proven method of creating massive wealth: startups.
As Calacanis makes clear, you can get rich—even if you came from humble beginnings (his dad was a bartender, his mom a nurse), didn’t go to the right schools, and weren’t a top student. The trick is learning how angel investors think. Calacanis takes you inside the minds of these successful moneymen, helping you understand how they prioritize and make the decisions that have resulted in phenomenal profits. He guides you step by step through the process, revealing how leading investors evaluate new ventures, calculating the risks and rewards, and explains how the best startups leverage relationships with angel investors for the best results.
Whether you’re an aspiring investor or a budding entrepreneur, Angel will inspire and educate you on all the ins of outs. Buckle up for a wild ride into the world of angel investing!
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper Business
- Publication dateJuly 18, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 0.97 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100062560700
- ISBN-13978-0062560704
Frequently bought together

Customers who bought this item also bought
Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in StartupsHardcover$10.38 shippingOnly 1 left in stock - order soon.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“there is something refreshing and clarifying about Mr. Calacanis’s frankness regarding his tech-fueled riches.” — Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
“It’s easy to snigger at the swagger, but Calacanis has reason to preen. He hasn’t merely survived the bust; he’s thrived in it. The qualities that made him annoying to his New York colleagues during the boom—his abrasive demeanor, his hucksterism, his incessant networking—serve him well in the postbubble economy.” — Wired
“And that’s the thing about Calacanis. Only a sucker would bet against him.” — Fast Company
“The sort of person who is frequently described as a character out of a movie.” — The New Yorker
“Sequoia Capital has funneled millions of dollars to scores of well-connected entrepreneurs, academics, and other people known as scouts. . . .Mr. Calacanis was one of the earliest scouts and ran an online news startup called Inside.com, in which Sequoia had invested.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Jason would never stab you in the back. He might stab you in the face, though.” — Douglas Rushkoff
“Arguably the world’s greatest angel investor.” — The Twenty Minute VC
From the Back Cover
Please read this if you want to be rich.
You just picked up this book and you’re wondering if spending a few bucks on these 288 pages could change your life and make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. I’m the author, Jason, and I was born in Brooklyn to a bartender and a nurse, and I now live in a big house with a bunch of Teslas in the driveway and an ATM balance receipt that makes me smile from ear to ear every time I see it.
In this book, I explain how I did it, without having an MBA or a rich dad, but simply by hustling my way into early-stage tech startups in Silicon Valley. No one thought I would ever make it in this business, and many folks actively tried to stop me, but I’ve now gotten lucky eight times and taken home tens of millions of dollars, and I’m only forty-six years old. I’ve done so well that my plan is to quit the game in the next couple of years, so this playbook is my gift to you. Yep, you: the mom in the bookstore with screaming kids, the sales executive in the airport exhausted from layovers, or the kid graduating from college wondering, “What now?”
I hope you will have the audacity to buy this book, read it every year for the next five, make fifty outrageous bets in tech startups, and hit one that goes one hundred or five hundred or even five thousand times your initial investment.
Some of you will put this book down and go back to your predictable lives in the matrix. But I’m guessing more than a few of you will read this book jacket and say, “F— it, I’m going to take my shot!”
I’m ready. Are you? Let’s get to work.
About the Author
Jason Calacanis is a technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and the host of the popular weekly podcast This Week in Startups. The founder of a series of conferences that bring entrepreneurs together with potential investors, he was a “scout” for top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and frequently appears in the media. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Business; Standard Edition (July 18, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062560700
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062560704
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.97 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #70,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #43 in Venture Capital (Books)
- #313 in Introduction to Investing
- #492 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

JASON CALACANIS is a technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and the host of the popular weekly podcast This Week in Startups. He's the founder of a series of conferences that bring entrepreneurs together with potential investors.
As a “scout” for top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and later as an angel investor, Jason has invested in 150 early-stage startups including 4 that have achieved billion-dollar valuations (so far).
Jason's book "Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups: Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000" was released by Harper Collins on July 18th, 2017. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Related products with free delivery on eligible orders
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book has great lessons and anecdotes for investors and entrepreneurs alike. They also describe the overall quality as great, effective, and digestible. Customers say the book is concise, full of wit, and wisdom. They find the reading pace fast and skim-friendly. Customers also mention the book provides actionable strategies and watch-outs for angel investing.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book has great lessons and anecdotes for investors and entrepreneurs alike. They also appreciate the clear strategy and solid information on angel investing. Readers mention that the author is self-aware, self-reflective, and brutally honest.
"Angel is perfect for investors willing to risk some hard earned money and do a lot of work trying to make life-changing money and perfect for..." Read more
"This book is brutally honest and a must read for wanna-be angel investors and founders...." Read more
"It is a reasonable look at the reality of angel investing. It is 100% delivered with the swagger and hype that only Calacanis can deliver...." Read more
"...There are tons of great lessons and anecdotes for investors and entrepreneurs alike, from setting aside 3 hours per meeting to taking notes with a..." Read more
Customers find the book great, entertaining, and pure gold. They also say the author has proven himself as an expert in the start-up world.
"...Angel is a fantastic book...." Read more
"...the world of high-stakes angel investing, this is, without a doubt, worth a read...." Read more
"...It was pretty awesome and got me totally psyched to read the book...." Read more
"...Overall, the book was a fun read with many great quotes!..." Read more
Customers find the book concise, honest, humorous, and educational. They say it provides a good framework for thinking about the numbers game and provides specific steps and processes to get started in angel investing via syndicates. Readers also appreciate the bit-size information, wit, and wisdom.
"...times readers need to "do the work", but his writing is so step-by-step and exciting it's easy to forget - investing takes work, risk, and..." Read more
"...It provides a good framework for thinking about the numbers game that is angel investing...." Read more
"...It was good to hear his voice.CONS:1...." Read more
"...Really, what more do you want? Well, the book also gives you easy ways to start saying no, which is probably the most important word for anyone who..." Read more
Customers find the book funny, entertaining, and relatable. They also say the straight talk and occasional LOL make Jason feel relatable and make the book a quick read.
"...It is easy to read and it's entertaining. I found out about this book from James Altucher's podcast interview with Jason Calacanis...." Read more
"...There is also a ton of good comedy in here and overall the content is delivered with gusto...." Read more
"...The book is funny (Jason calls his haters "Jaters," I look forward to calling my haters "Laters"), very straightforward about the..." Read more
"Calcanis has a great sense of humor, which does not detract from the brutal clarity with which he presents his experience and the theses that have..." Read more
Customers find the book fast, to the point, and actionable. They also say the podcast moves fast and covers a lot of questions and answers.
"...The pace is solid and engaging throughout; I plowed through this book in 4 hours on a recent plane flight...." Read more
"...book is akin to Brad Feld's "Venture Deals" - in that it's a fast, cheap way to get up to speed on the particular subject at hand...." Read more
"...It was a quick read that kept me highly engaged from start to finish. There is a lot of tools in this book that can be added to your tool belt." Read more
"...straight talk and occasional LOL made Jason feel relatable and made this a quick read...." Read more
Customers find the book practical and actionable. They also say it provides watch-outs and strategies for angel investing.
"...Topic - how to make lots of money in less than a decadeActionable - step by step advice...." Read more
"...And I got it! Solid info, strategies, tactics, how-to interrogate a founder and more...." Read more
"...The investing strategies are enjoyable to read and actionable if the reader has some experience in deal making and founder psychology...." Read more
"...A straight-forward approach to angel investing with actionable strategies and watch-outs, I feel like I've been professionalized through the reading..." Read more
Customers find the book well structured and easy to read. They also say it has great material.
"...The structure of the book is amazing...." Read more
"...he as an investor likes to see as an investor are so methodical, well thought out and based on experience that I believe every startup should at..." Read more
"...What it is is a well organized book to get folks with disposable cash quickly up to speed with a good plan to dip their toes into the angel..." Read more
"...Well-articulated, easy to read and absorb, no nonsense, and direct to the point, it feels like Jason is telling the book's content directly you..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the content depth of the book. Some find it easy to read and absorb, with no nonsense and direct to the point. They also mention that it has step-by-step moves, mistakes to avoid, and longer-term strategies. However, others feel the book lacks depth and is overly simplistic.
"...candid and to the point, this book tells it like it is; no academic jargon or fluff, just raw value..." Read more
"...Mostly, "Angel" is insanely self-serving, especially as the entire book seems designed to eventually funnel folks into Calacanis's own syndicate...." Read more
"...Well-articulated, easy to read and absorb, no nonsense, and direct to the point, it feels like Jason is telling the book's content directly you..." Read more
"...His thesis of 'invest in job killers' is cynical, oversimplistic, and completely invalidated by the advent of UBI which is now a serious political..." Read more
Reviews with images
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
I like Angel for four reasons:
Topic - how to make lots of money in less than a decade
Actionable - step by step advice.
Experience - written by someone who excelled at Angel investing. Jason candidly shares his hard-won experience to advise readers helping them avoid costly mistakes and achieve success faster.
Terse - Jason’s writing is short and to the point. He spends a sentence or paragraph on ideas where other authors might spend a page or a few pages.
Jason delivers actionable steps starting from the beginning. He starts by covering investing terminology follows by how to get in the startup game without any money, how to learn angel investing with minimal capital which keeps risk low, and finally details how to improve your investment skill. Jason speaks from experience having invested in 6 companies when they were valued in the millions that are now valued at more than a billion as well as multiple opportunities for similar returns that he passed on. Jason uses these experiences to substantiate the advice he writes about.
Angel is a fantastic book. If I had to find one criticism I’d say the book made me feel angel investing seem fun and easy - even though I know it is not. His step-by-step instructions made me feel it was a guaranteed easy recipe for creating massive wealth. I have to keep reminding myself it is not guaranteed and it is not easy. Instead a lot of work, risk, and sacrifice along with a sprinkling of good luck. More capital is needed than the title suggests, other suggestions (such as moving) may be a hard for some readers to execute.
Jason does mention multiple times readers need to "do the work", but his writing is so step-by-step and exciting it's easy to forget - investing takes work, risk, and luck.
Here are ten of my favourite insights from the book:
1. What angel investing and the lottery have in common.
"I buy lottery tickets for a living, but unlike the normal schmucks on the street, I get to buy tickets that are in the top 1 percent of the winning pool.'
2. The people that dare to take more risks intelligently are typically luckier in life.
"If you learn anything from this book, it’s that you must take risks as an angel investor and in life if you want at least the chance of an outsized outcome."
"You can make your own luck in this life by putting yourself next to the people who are already winning."
3. The business of angels
"If these businesses didn’t look completely crazy, then everyone would want to invest in them and there would be no need for angels. In fact, the term “angel” is used because we are the investors who come to a founder’s rescue in their hour of need— when nobody else believes in them."
"The best angels in the world have four qualities, giving them the ability to (1) write a check (money), (2) jam out with the founders over important issues (time), (3) provide meaningful customer and investor introductions (network), and (4) give actionable advice that saves the founders time and money— or keeps them from making mistakes (expertise)."
"Your job as an angel investor is to block out the haters, doubters, and small thinkers, because if you think small you’ll be small. I’d rather see my founders fail at a big goal than succeed at a small one."
"Remember there are a hundred reasons why these things fail, so you’re not going to have a hard time saying no, and there are typically only one or two reasons to say yes."
"Founders always share investor meeting details with each other and your reputation is everything in our industry. If you are helpful, present, and considerate, then you’re going to get a great reputation. If you are unprofessional, cavalier, or conceited, or use your position of power in any way that isn’t in service of the founder, then you’re toast."
4. The best deals are not available to just anyone.
"The best deals are typically not on platforms like AngelList or at incubators like Y Combinator or 500 Startups. The best deals never see the light of day. They’re quickly filled by insiders who are sharing deal flow, and by elite founders with killer startups tapping their existing network."
5. On the best investment, you can make.
"I passed on investing in Twitter because I was, at the time, a founder of companies. I stupidly thought that the best investment I could make was in my own company."
"It was at that point I realized that I didn’t need to know if the idea would be successful. I only needed to know if the person would be. It was clear as day to me that whatever Ev worked on would be successful, but my own ego and my need to be right and understand everything got in the way of me hitting my first big home run."
6. There’s no difference between the founder and their company
"As you go through your angel investing life, take some time to evaluate the person and their motivations. Ask yourself a simple question: “Would I buy stock in this person if I could?” If you wouldn’t buy stock in a founder, you shouldn’t buy stock in their company— because there is no difference between the founder and their company; they are one and the same."
7. Why are you doing this?
"If folks are building a startup for money, they will eventually quit when they realize there are many better ways to make money faster and with more certainty. If you want to make a lot of money, you’re better off being a world-class programmer on a very esoteric and in-demand vertical and getting Google or Facebook to give you $ 1 million-plus a year in stock and cash for ten years in a row. You have no downside, you can work a couple of hours a day, and you get unlimited free food."
8. Why startups fail
"The number one reason a startup shuts down is not actually running out of money, which is what most people believe. The number one reason a startup fails is that the founder gives up."
9. On communication between founders and angels
“If a startup isn’t sending you monthly investor updates, it’s going out of business.”
"The more concise and professional the updates, the greater the chances that angels will be able to help you, including investing more money and introducing you to their friends as a responsible founder who’s a delight to work with. Angels want to feel needed, and founders who don’t make their angels feel needed have lost their most likely source of follow-on funding— their current investors."
10. The market is constantly changing
"What worked when I started investing, when there were one-tenth as many startups being formed every year, doesn’t work today. It was wise to invest in great teams, pre-product back then, where today you almost universally want to wait for the founders to finish their product and get to market before investing."
However, Calacanis does, I think, focus too much on the inevitability of wealth (if you plan the work and work the plan, then the inevitable is bound to happen), and also on the primacy of Silicon Valley. While SV is the absolute hotbed of activity, I think that the world is a bigger place - and that amazing companies are popping up all of the world. The next angel investing bazillionaire will undoubtably have a global view, not just a SV view.
If you want to learn about the world of high-stakes angel investing, this is, without a doubt, worth a read. But the game is not as easy as Calacanis makes it seem, but it is also not as rarified and out of reach as he makes it seem, as well. Investing is a hugely difficult game, and it is not for the faint of heart. Angel is a real description of what it is like, but the Calacanis way is not the only way.
Worth a ready, however.























