Angel Investor Mandate: What Catherine Looks For in Early-Stage Deals
Super Angel Investor Club / Association Investor Mandate Interview
Founders preparing to approach angel investors and investors who want to see how an experienced angel screens early-stage deals.
What you will hear
Catherine is mainly an angel investor who looks at deals from seed stage through B or C stage companies. She is co-president of an angel association and runs its deal side, from sourcing to evaluation, selection, diligence and syndication. Her mandate covers any company that uses technology, including information technology and medical devices. She also co-invests in diagnostics, avoids biotech, and backs real estate funds only with managers who have a 30 year track record.
She names three things she wants to see. The first is a founder with real sector experience and a lasting competitive edge. The second is a value proposition tested with people who will pay. The third, and the most important, is leadership. After twenty years of investing, she says the CEO is the person to bet on. Richard C. Wilson shares a fintech example that fits her view, and both discuss funding risk.
Five points worth keeping
- Start with the team. Catherine says a good team can make any product sing and a lousy team can tank the best technology. With a small early-stage team, she focuses on the CEO.
- Test the value proposition first. She sees many companies founded on a product idea that was never tested. She wants proof that people are interested and willing to pay for it.
- Early traction matters. Her group likes clear market focus and early traction. Some revenue is helpful, even from trials, but early customer engagement is more typical.
- Sector experience gives an edge. The best companies often come from someone who worked inside a sector in an operating or marketing role and spotted an opportunity there. That experience can become a sustainable competitive advantage.
- Investors must anticipate risk too. Catherine says investors should look two or three steps ahead. That includes fundraising risk and funding partner risk. When co-investing, she wants to know who the lead and anchor investors are.
Worth quoting
"A good team can make any product sing, and a lousy team can tank the best technology. So I think at the end of the day, it's the people that make it work."
"The ones that we do get very interested in are ones that have a very clear value proposition, a very clear market focus, and that have early traction in the market."
"Nobody is risk free, or else, you know, we wouldn't be playing that game."
Facts from this talk
- Catherine looks at deals from seed stage through B or C stage companies, with her main activity at the earlier end.
- She has invested for twenty years and says her model is to bet on the leader of a small early-stage team.
- Richard C. Wilson described a fintech CEO who grew a similar business inside a large bank to a hundred million valuation with sixteen thousand clients and five hundred million lent.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Super Angel Investor Club / Association Investor Mandate Interview. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Related questions
- How do I close a funding round?I close a funding round by focusing on investors who fit the opportunity and moving each interested prospect through clear, consistent follow-up.
- What documents do investors request during due diligence?Prepare a clear, organized package covering your operations, investments, compensation, team, and track record.
- How do I raise capital for my business?I raise capital by building a repeatable system for attracting the right investors, establishing credibility, and developing relationships before asking for money.
Questions about this video
What kinds of companies does Catherine invest in?
She looks at any company that uses technology in some way, including information technology and medical devices. She co-invests in diagnostics with knowledgeable investors, does not touch biotech, and backs real estate funds only with very experienced managers.
What traction does her angel group want to see?
They like a clear value proposition, a clear market focus and early traction. Some revenue is ideal, even from trials, but more typically there is early customer engagement.
What is her top piece of advice?
Leadership matters most. She looks for a CEO who builds culture, anticipates growth pains and thinks and acts like a CEO, which she says is not obvious to someone who has not been one.
Put this into practice with the pitch deck grader. See all investor mandates resources.
