David Cummings on Startups

9 Ways to Assess Angel Investor Tech Savviness

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David Cummings

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Recently I saw a tweet about an entrepreneur that was pitching a new mobile app startup idea to an angel investor, and at the end of the conversation the investor pulled out a Blackberry to check email. If an investor carries around a Blackberry and no other device, is he or she tech savvy enough for you?

Here are 9 things to assess angel investor tech savviness:

  1. Owns and uses an iPhone (an Android phone gets partial credit)
  2. Has a LinkedIn profile with 500+ connections
  3. Has an AngelList profile with at least one investment
  4. Has a Twitter account more than three years old — whendidyoujointwitter.com (bonus points if their Twitter username is their first name)
  5. Sends at least one tweet per day, preferably about topics relevant to you
  6. Has at least 1,000 followers on Twitter
  7. Has a blog and publishes blog posts on a regular basis
  8. Uses Gmail or Google Apps for Your Domain for email (the more cloud-based apps, the better)
  9. Has a MacBook (preferably a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro)

Of course, angel investor tech savviness isn’t nearly as important as the quality of their advice and introductions but tech savviness is often correlated with how current they are on the latest trends.

What else? What are some other ways to assess angel investor tech savviness?

Comments

5 responses to “9 Ways to Assess Angel Investor Tech Savviness”

  1. mikeschinkel Avatar
    mikeschinkel

    Hi David,

    This list is awesome! It points to the important fact to get the right investor just as it is to get the right spouse. Startup entrepreneurs should NOT marry just for money. 🙂

    -Mike
    P.S. I do take issue with the MacBook Air over the MacBook though. An investor who need 8GB RAM vs. 4 gets more tech savvy points from me. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Chase Pursley (@gcpursley) Avatar
    Chase Pursley (@gcpursley)

    Every time I see a ‘business person’ pull out a blackberry, I can’t help but think that they also use internet explorer.

    Reply
  3. celiadyer Avatar
    celiadyer

    Great post. This has potential to become a meme with some variations for lots of tech-related talents… 🙂

    Reply
  4. pfreet (@pfreet) Avatar
    pfreet (@pfreet)

    Good list. I like most of this. I will disagree with the blog. I don’t think this is relevant so much anymore. A small number investors have successful blogs, but I think that is more the exception.

    On the other hand, if they still publish a newsletter …

    Reply
  5. Sanford Avatar
    Sanford

    Great post. blog, twitter, linkedin are all good. but if these entrepreneurs are doing all that on a daily basis, then when do they have time to work???

    Reply

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