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Angel Investing: From First Check to Portfolio

A linear, one-concept-per-lesson path through angel investing: sourcing deals, running diligence, negotiating SAFEs and term sheets, and constructing a portfolio of individual checks, without a fund behind you. 35 lessons · 3 tiers.

Prerequisites: No coding background required. Comfortable with basic arithmetic, percentages, and reading a simple table of numbers is enough.

This course has no code and no API key: every lesson works through mental models, worked numbers, and short scenarios you can follow with a spreadsheet or a pen and paper. It is written for an individual writing checks from their own capital, not a fund: no LP relations, no fund-level reserves math, no carry mechanics, just the diligence and portfolio-construction judgment calls a solo angel actually has to make.

Angel Investing: From First Check to Portfolio

Beginner

The vocabulary and mechanics: SAFEs, cap tables, term sheets, and screening a deal.

  1. 01What Is Angel Investing?
  2. 02Risk, Return, and Illiquidity
  3. 03Startup Stages and the Financing Lifecycle
  4. 04Equity Basics: Ownership, Dilution, and Cap Tables
  5. 05SAFEs vs. Convertible Notes vs. Priced Rounds
  6. 06Valuation Caps and Discounts Explained
  7. 07Reading a Cap Table
  8. 08The Term Sheet: Key Terms for Angels
  9. 09Pro Rata Rights and Why They Matter
  10. 10Sourcing Deal Flow as an Individual
  11. 11First-Look Due Diligence: Founder and Market
  12. 12Checkpoint: Building Your Investment Thesis

Intermediate

Running the process: diligence, negotiation, and building a portfolio of checks.

  1. 13Deep Due Diligence: Product, Traction, and Team
  2. 14Sizing the Market: TAM, SAM, and SOM at Early Stage
  3. 15Founder Assessment: Signals and Red Flags
  4. 16Competitive Landscape Analysis for Angels
  5. 17Financial Model Basics for Pre-Revenue Startups
  6. 18Negotiating Terms as a Small-Check Investor
  7. 19Syndicates, Angel Groups, and Co-Investing
  8. 20Portfolio Construction: Check Size and Number of Bets
  9. 21Follow-On Decisions and Reserves
  10. 22Post-Investment: Value-Add and Board Observer Roles
  11. 23Legal Structures: SPVs, Direct Investing, and QSBS Tax Basics
  12. 24Checkpoint: Constructing a Model Angel Portfolio

Advanced

The real economics: power law returns, protecting your position, and exits.

  1. 25Power Law Returns and Why Most Angels Lose Money
  2. 26Signaling Risk and Follow-On Dynamics
  3. 27Down Rounds, Bridges, and Recaps: Protecting Your Position
  4. 28Secondary Markets and Early Liquidity
  5. 29Exits: M&A vs. IPO from an Angel's Seat
  6. 30Advanced SAFE Mechanics: MFN, Pro Rata Side Letters, and Stacking
  7. 31Common Angel Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
  8. 32Building a Track Record and Reputation
  9. 33From Angel to Fund: When and Why to Formalize
  10. 34Case Studies: Anatomy of a Winning and a Failing Deal
  11. 35Capstone: Evaluate and Decide on a Real Deal
Start at Lesson 1

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