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Showing posts with label Ron Conway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Conway. Show all posts

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Inside the Minds of the Greatest Angel Investors: What Sets Them Apart



Inside the Minds of the Greatest Angel Investors: What Sets Them Apart

Over the past seven decades, angel investing has shaped the trajectory of the tech industry, built empires from backroom garages, and introduced the world to companies that now define modern life. While venture capital firms often get the headlines, it’s the angel investors—the early believers—who often place the riskiest, most visionary bets. But what exactly sets the best angel investors apart? Is it sheer instinct, deep analysis, or something else entirely?


Shared Qualities of Top Angel Investors

Across the board, the best angel investors tend to exhibit a distinct mix of qualities:

  1. Pattern Recognition:
    They’ve seen hundreds—if not thousands—of pitches. They know what a game-changer feels like, even if it doesn’t look like one yet.

  2. High Conviction, Low Consensus:
    They invest where others hesitate. The best bets are often the ones that sound crazy at the time.

  3. Domain Fluency:
    Great angels often have deep experience in the startup ecosystem or specific industries. They speak the language of builders.

  4. Long-Term Vision:
    They’re not looking for a quick flip. They want to back the next 10-year legend.

  5. Founder Focused:
    The best angels bet on people, not just products. They look for grit, charisma, flexibility, and obsession in founders.


Legendary Names and Their Boldest Bets

  1. Ron Conway – Often called the "Godfather of Silicon Valley."
    Best Call: Early investments in Google, PayPal, and Airbnb.
    Method: Mass diversification. Conway invested in hundreds of startups, betting on a large net rather than a single target.

  2. Peter Thiel – Co-founder of PayPal, first outside investor in Facebook.
    Best Call: $500K into Facebook turned into over $1 billion.
    Method: Deep contrarian thinking. Thiel looks for what others miss—like network effects and monopolistic potential.

  3. Chris Sacca – Former Google exec turned prolific angel via Lowercase Capital.
    Best Call: Uber, Twitter, Instagram—all at the earliest stages.
    Method: Deep networks and founder relationships. Sacca is known for mentoring and shaping startups early.

  4. Naval Ravikant – Founder of AngelList and master of modern angel investing philosophy.
    Best Call: Twitter, Uber, Yammer, Postmates.
    Method: Invest in people. Focus on asymmetric upside. Play the long game.

  5. Esther Dyson – One of the earliest internet investors.
    Best Call: Flickr, Meetup, 23andMe.
    Method: Focused on health, science, and future-facing technologies before they were hot.


Instinct vs. Method: What Really Wins?

Is it all just “gut feeling”? Not quite. The best angels build their instincts on top of years of exposure, feedback loops, failures, and successes. Intuition is a trained skill, not magic. But methods also matter:

  • Deal Flow: Top angels see better deals because of their networks.

  • Syndication: They often invest alongside other sharp investors.

  • Diligence: Even if brief, their vetting of founders is intense and personal.

  • Mentorship: Many add more than money—they open doors and shape strategy.


The Modern Angel Playbook

For aspiring angel investors today, the lessons from the legends are clear:

  1. Don’t chase consensus.

  2. Bet on founders, not just ideas.

  3. Understand exponential potential.

  4. Diversify, but stay intentional.

  5. Use your network as leverage.

  6. Keep learning. The market evolves.


Conclusion: Art Meets Science

The greatest angel investors are artists who learned the science. They combine gut feeling with cold data, empathy with conviction, and boldness with patience. They’ve helped write the story of innovation for decades—and if history is any guide, their early belief will continue to be the spark that lights the future.

Want to become one? Start by listening more than talking. And back the future before it’s obvious.






Tuesday, June 03, 2025

3: Ron Conway

Ron Conway

The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

AI Agents and the Future of Ad‑Revenue Businesses
Trump’s Tariffs Are Slowing Down US And Global Economy, OECD Says
Major NATO nation reveals huge plan to prepare for war in Europe with Putin
Opinion: Trump’s tariff tantrum risks a global depression
Poll Signals Major Shift for Democrats

The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

View on Threads

The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Yuri Milner's Smart Y Combinator Move

Paul GrahamImage by davidcrow via Flickr
Wall Street Journal: Y Combinator’s Paul Graham On The $150K Per Start-Up Offer: “It’s probably one of the most surprising things that has happened so far,” Graham said. ..... Milner teamed up with SV Angel–the seed fund run by prominent angel investor Ron Conway–to offer $150,000 each in convertible debt in each company. .... Of the more than 250 companies that Y Combinator has produced since 2005, more than 20 have been acquired, but mostly for small amounts. The biggest success, by acquisition price, is Heroku Inc., which Salesforce Inc. bought in December for $212 million. ..... convertible debt–which converts to equity once the company raises venture capital at a set price–with no valuation cap and no discount, an extremely rare set of terms for entrepreneurs. ..... Y Combinator companies received $11,000 plus $3,000 per founder in exchange for 2% to 10% of equity ..... the average Y Combinator company raises $700,000 after the program. .... “The biggest change and huge change for better is now none of them are desperate,” Graham said. Fund-raising “takes a lot of time away from the company. Now they’re already there. They have that foundation.”
I don't think a Google or Facebook can come out of Y Combinator. The big iconic companies tend to have this streak of independence. But I think Y Combinator is great for middling companies. I'd be very surprised if any Y Combinator company goes IPO some day. But many have been and will be bought for a decent chunk of change. Many will stay mid size and profitable.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Binary Investments, The Middle Kingdom, And Super Exits

Fred Wilson: The Fallacy Of Bimodal Returns: startup returns are not bimodal. They exhibit more of a power law curve. There will certainly be one or two venture deals every year that generate 100x or more. And there will certainly be quite a few total busts. But there are a lot of outcomes in the middle of those two.
Binary is the term used by Ron Conway, the guy in Silicon Valley who invests like he had perennial diarrhea. I read him using the term in a TechCrunch blog post a few weeks back. Binary works for him. It works because he has a track record over almost two decades, or at least a decade and a half, of not having missed out on any good deal in the Valley. He has been in all the top companies. He has also managed to get into FourSquare. And he keeps spreading the love far and wide. This past year I think he put 60% of his money into New York companies.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Scoble Chimes In On Angelgate

Scoble, Longhorn EvangelistImage via Wikipedia
Robert Scoble: The secret hell of tech industry angel investors: when the story broke, I thought it was just Mike being bombastic and trying to make something out of a dinner that he wasn’t invited to..... Mike stumbled into a story that has a ton of undercurrents. ..... The angel investor world is getting HYPER competitive .... Entrepreneurs are seeing access to lots of capital. ..... 10 people just are not going to have enough market power to do anything really naughty although it’s good to nip this problem in the bud, which is why I now support Arrington’s stance.
The early stage investment world is seeing major churn, but I would like a much larger geographical spread, not just on the continent, but globally. It will happen.
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Angelgate Rolls On

Ron ConwayImage via Wikipedia
TechCrunch: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels [Email]:The world of startups would be a better place if you spent less time complaining about deal structures, terms, vc’s, and valuations etc and the cars you drive, and just helped entrepenuers build their companies..... These startups are binary …they succeed or fail so why waste time on deal structures, terms, vc’s, and valuations etc and just help entrepenuers build their companies..... I am tired of seeing you and engaging in idle chit chat and not sharing my true feelings. ..... .where no one was there to speak up for the interests of the entrepenuers.

Mike Arrington's mischievous post on super angels apparently has been gathering momentum. The first few VCs to speak up said Arrington was merely selling newspapers. Ron Conway, on the other hand, is blowing wind Arrington's way. Stop colluding, he says. This might just be a warm-fuzz thrown Arrington's way since the dude has been profuse in his past praises of Conway, deserved for the most part. Or perhaps the conversation is not over. More people will chime in over the next few days.

My take home word from Conway's email: binary.

Super Angels, The Churning VC Game, And Catch Up Tech

In The News

Bloomberg: ARM Rises as Oracle’s Ellison Says Company May Buy a Chipmaker:Ellison, 66, said at Oracle’s annual meeting in San Francisco yesterday that “you’re going to see us buying chip companies” to add to its resources in computer hardware.

TechCrunch: “WiFi On Steroids” Is A Go. Now Google (Or Someone) Just Has To Build It. Please Do. Fast.:the FCC’s 700Mhz spectrum auction .... “white space” ..... White space is the name given to the vacant airwaves between television channels, airwaves which are increasingly open as people move to cable and other methods of getting television. These airwaves have the potential to carry wireless data at speeds and distances that would make today’s WiFi seem antiquated. That’s why the white space has earned the nickname “WiFi 2.0″ or “WiFi on steroids”. ...... gives technology companies a way to innovate outside of the realm of wireless carriers or broadband providers ..... white space WiFi blankets cities and people can use WiFi phones instead of the the ones tied to carriers.

Google Public Policy Blog: FCC vote on white spaces lays promising foundation for “Wi-Fi on steroids”: y sets the stage for the next generation of wireless technologies to emerge .... will put better and faster wireless broadband connections in the hands of the public. ...... the beginning, and not the end, of crafting forward-looking spectrum policy
Nature: Relativity comes down to Earth: time speeds up if you climb just one rung up a ladder, and slows down if you travel at just 36 kilometres per hour

Time: Feeling Alone Together: How Loneliness Spreads: For some people, feelings of isolation are sharpest during times that are in fact defined by togetherness — celebrations or the holidays .... or perhaps especially in a crowd — it's possible to feel unbearably alone...... happiness, obesity and quitting smoking — can propagate like a wave throughout a network of people..... The effect was strongest among those in close relationships ..... one lonely person could influence whether his friend's friend's friend felt lonely. ..... it really is a fundamental human motivational state very much like hunger, thirst or pain." ..... loneliness is more like an indicator of the social health of our species on the whole — a temperature reading, if you will, of how well- or not so well-integrated we are as a population....... we are, by nature, a social species; we feed off our interactions with one another and thrive when we are inspired, challenged and supported by one another ....... passed on through feelings of mistrust and negativity..... lonely individuals think negatively about other people People may be spreading their negative feelings simply by frowning or making other unpleasant facial expressions, making hurtful remarks or even adopting uninviting body postures. . ... Over time, lonely people find themselves banished to the periphery of their social networks ...... It's not necessarily the number of connections people have that matters but the quality of them. Communities that encourage regular interaction among its members

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