How to Be an Angel Investor

March 2009 (This essay is derived from a talk at AngelConf .) When we sold our startup in 1998 I thought one day I'd do some angel investing.

2009 年 3 月（本文摘自 AngelConf 的一次演讲。）当我们在 1998 年出售我们的初创公司时，我想有一天我会做一些天使投资。

Seven years later I still hadn't started.

七年过去了，我仍然没有开始。

I put it off because it seemed mysterious and complicated.

我推迟了，因为它看起来神秘而复杂。

It turns out to be easier than I expected, and also more interesting.

事实证明这比我想象的要容易，也更有趣。

The part I thought was hard, the mechanics of investing, really isn't.

我认为很难的部分，即投资机制，其实并不难。

You give a startup money and they give you stock.

你给初创公司资金，他们给你股票。

You'll

你会

probably get either preferred stock, which means stock with extra rights like getting your money back first in a sale, or convertible debt, which means (on paper) you're lending the company money, and the debt converts to stock at the next sufficiently big funding round.

可能会获得优先股，这意味着股票具有额外的权利，例如在销售中首先收回你的钱，或者可转换债务，这意味着（在纸面上）你向公司借钱，并且债务在下一轮足够大的融资中转换为股票。

[ 1 ] There are sometimes minor tactical advantages to using one or the other.

[1]有时使用其中之一会带来一些较小的战术优势。

The paperwork for convertible debt is simpler.

可转换债务的文书工作更简单。

But really

但真的

it doesn't matter much which you use.

你用哪个并不重要。

Don't spend much time worrying about the details of deal terms, especially when you first start angel investing.

不要花太多时间担心交易条款的细节，尤其是当您第一次开始天使投资时。

That's not how you win at this game.

这不是你在这场比赛中获胜的方式。

When you hear people talking about a successful angel investor, they're not saying "He got a 4x liquidation preference." They're saying "He invested in Google." That's how you win: by investing in the right startups.

当你听到人们谈论一位成功的天使投资者时，他们并不是说“他有 4 倍的清算优先权”。他们说“他投资了谷歌”。这就是你获胜的方式：投资正确的初创公司。

That is

那就是

so much more important than anything else that I worry I'm misleading you by even talking about other things.

比其他任何事情都重要得多，以至于我担心我谈论其他事情会误导您。

Mechanics Angel investors often syndicate deals, which means they join together to invest on the same terms.

Mechanics 天使投资者经常进行银团交易，这意味着他们联合起来以相同的条件进行投资。

In a syndicate there is usually a "lead" investor who negotiates the terms with the startup.

在财团中，通常有一位“牵头”投资者与初创公司协商条款。

But not always: sometimes the startup cobbles together a syndicate of investors who approach them independently, and the startup's lawyer

但情况并非总是如此：有时，初创公司会组建一个由独立接触他们的投资者组成的财团，以及初创公司的律师

supplies the paperwork.

提供文书工作。

The easiest way to get started in angel investing is to find a friend who already does it, and try to get included in his syndicates.

开始天使投资最简单的方法是找到一个已经做过天使投资的朋友，并尝试加入他的投资集团。

Then all you have to do is write checks.

然后你所要做的就是写支票。

Don't feel like you have to join a syndicate, though.

不过，不要觉得你必须加入一个集团。

It's not that hard to do it yourself.

自己做并不难。

You can just use the standard series AA documents Wilson Sonsini and Y Combinator published online.

您可以直接使用在线发布的标准系列 AA 文件 Wilson Sonsini 和 Y Combinator。

You should of course have your lawyer review everything.

您当然应该让您的律师审查一切。

Both you

你们两个

and the startup should have lawyers.

初创公司应该有律师。

But the lawyers don't have to create the agreement from scratch.

但律师不必从头开始制定协议。

[ 2

[ 2