By: Kelley Skoloda, Next Act Fund

America’s small businesses have become the engines for job creation. That is great news for not only for entrepreneurs but also for me. 

By: Dror Futter, Legal and Business Adviser to Startups, Venture Capital Firms and Technology Companies

My firm, Rimon Law, is a "virtual" law firm with attorneys in 31 locations in 9 countries. The company has been virtual since its foundation about 10 years ago. Pretty much everybody works remotely, but we function as an integrated firm. To the credit of the firm's founders, they have adapted various practices that help avoid some of the pitfalls of remote work. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The Angel Capital Association and the broader angel investor community were represented during the recent committee meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss vital issues that impact capital funding.  The SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee met virtually on Tuesday, August 4 to discuss how to open the doors to US capital markets so that more Americans could participate as investors and entrepreneurs.  The angel perspective was represented by ACA member and former Chair, Catherine Mott, BlueTree Allied Angels, who sits on the advisory committee. 

By: Lance Cottrell, North Bay Angels

Editors Note - The following article shares points from one investor to founders.  ACA wants to know – does your group have similar expectations?  Or, do you have additional advice for founders who pitch to your group? 

I answer more questions and provide more coaching about investor pitches than anything else. Once you decide that you need investment to grow your company, your task as a founder is to convince investors to give it to you. The first step in that process is a pitch, and getting it right is essential to the future of your business. In this blog, I will share with you my five-step process for building a killer pitch. 

By: Samer Yousif, VentureWell

There’s been a reckoning in the early-stage investment ecosystem. 

By: Dan Rosen, Alliance of Angels

The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused every startup to assess how to survive and plan to thrive in the “new normal.” No one knows what the new normal will look like, but based on other jolts to our economic system, we do know that life after this pandemic will be different than life before – at least for a while.  Just as there is no natural immunity to the Covid-19 virus, there will be no immunity to the economic disruption that results. 

By: Dror Futter, Legal and Business Adviser to Startups, Venture Capital Firms and Technology Companies

If your venture is confronting a down round, you should not wear it as a badge of shame. Even in normal times, few ventures make an uninterrupted march up and to the right on the valuation curve. More importantly, if you are doing a down round, it still means you were able to raise capital. Although a down round will dilute your economics, no venture has ever died from excess dilution, the same cannot be said for lack of funds. 

By: Brent Gleeson, Founder & CEO at TakingPoint™ Leadership, Navy SEAL

Whether you are an entrepreneur, working in corporate America, or building a startup, it is imperative to continually seek new ways to stay inspired and driven. Being a self-starter is a fantastic quality, but we are all human and get distracted by the minutiae of our day-to-day responsibilities. 

By: Dror Futter, Legal and Business Adviser to Startups, Venture Capital Firms and Technology Companies

Focusing on Anything but Your Runway 

• Obsessively focus on extending available cash. All those financial projections in your pitch decks were amusing optimism two months ago. If you are still running your business with the same set of assumptions, you will not survive. 

By: Pat LaPointe, Frontier Angels

After my last post, quite a few people asked if I was suggesting that ALL early stage companies should be pulling back in this uncertain time.