Seed Capital
3
Answers
Co-Founder at Launch Party Vancouver
AngelList is your best bet. Since you're asking the question, chances are you don't have a way to get introduced to these investors. The simple truth (like it or not) is the chances very low that you'll get a deal done without an introduction from someone they trust. AngelList can help with that, so can going to networking events. And finally, If you're the introverted developer type, you can also get their attention by just building something really cool on your own, followed by some serious traction. Arguably the best strategy of them all.
Answered over 11 years ago
Clarity's top expert on all things startup
Raising angel funding anywhere requires one of (preferably a combination of) the following things:
1) Team Track Record: You and/or your co-founders have had previous notable success (an exit, a product with traction, a large company and a meaningful role).
2) Built Product: Given how inexpensive it is to build products these days, most investors won't fund development expense unless the team has prior success.
3) Evidence of product/market fit: "Traction" is becoming a misnomer. You don't need tens of thousands of people using your product, but you need to have at least *some* evidence that the people you're building for, want what you're building. The less your product is finished, and the more you're lacking the prior success, the more evidence investors will require.
Until you have the best mix you think you can get of the above three, your best sources of funds are friends & family, not angels.
But once you have really any of the three, you should absolutely look outside of BC. Yes, there are good investors in BC, but only a handful. I have raised angel funding from great Silicon Valley-based investors while based in Canada and that wasn't a limitation but I had what I believed to be a good mix of some of the three criteria I mentioned above when I began raising.
I'd be happy to do a call with you to help you assess whether you're angel-ready and what you might do to get there.
Answered about 11 years ago