Investible, a leading start-up generator that pairs entrepreneurial education with high quality investment capital, wants to empower more Australians to improve their investing skills and support top start-up talent.
That’s why it has launched First Angel, an educational program aimed at broadening the pool and knowledge of local angel investors in early-stage investing.
The First Angel program will be led by Elisa-Marie Dumas, the former CEO of Springboard Enterprises, who has recently been named as Head of Partner Development & Corporate Innovation at Investible.
What does this program have to offer?
The 12-month program includes in-depth monthly sessions aimed at teaching investors Investible’s proven ‘Investibility’ methodology, which has helped co-founders Trevor Folsom and Creel Price become some of Australia’s most successful angel investors.
Members of First Angel agree to invest $25,000 while Investible provides the due diligence, education and scale, with access to a broad portfolio of startup opportunities from both within Australia and the US.
First Angel will compliment the current Club Investible program, in which members invest $100,000 into early-stage, high growth startups.
“Many people are interested in angel investing but are not sure where to start – they’re time poor but are eager to learn more in order feel confident they are making well-informed investment decisions,” said Folsom.
“By creating more opportunities for new investors to hone their skills, we can improve the quality of the entire start-up ecosystem.”
Investible hopes the First Angel program will also democratise angel investing and create a more diverse investing community in Australia.
“The strength of Australia’s start-up ecosystem depends on how effectively we enable diverse perspectives to not only sit at the table but learn, develop and lead,” said Dumas.
We want to make investing into early-stage start-ups more accessible, lucrative and hassle free and create new opportunities for experienced entrepreneurs to give back to the ecosystem.”
What exactly will this program teach?
First Angel is an immersion program that is very experiential. Investors will be guided through the entire investment lifecycle, utilising a methodology consisting of 15 key components.
“These components have been developed from the collective years of experience from our 25+ investors,” Dumas explained.
“This program will help investors assess a range of both qualitative and quantitative attributes dependant upon the stage of the business. For example, for pre-revenue stage businesses, investors tend to place more emphasis on qualitative elements such as founders and business models,” she added.
“Then as the businesses gain traction, investors begin to look at quantitative elements, such as customer behaviour and validation. Ultimately, this program provides a framework to help investors minimise the risk in the investment process.”
On what it takes one to be a successful angel investor, Mr Folsom told Anthill that it takes more than money saying, “An angel investor should have a reputation for being supportive, contributive and consistently adding value.”
“Ideally, they will have a broad trusted network, preferably including other investors that have an alignment in their thinking. They will also have a weighted balance between quantitative and qualitative skills.
“They will need to build a portfolio beyond 10 companies in order to find their big winner that then underpins their investment performance. They should also be open to taking on mentorship early.”
