How to Dominate AngelList: The Checklist

Rasmus Goksorwww.bison.co

Trying to get your start-up noticed?

With “crowdfunding” now a thing, and stiff competition to get noticed by VCs, make sure to use the most of available resources.

AngelList is open to anyone. Here are 10 key points to think about when creating an AngelList profile for your startup.

Mobile

Investors use mobile to check email and AngelList lives in email. That means that your profile is mostly read on mobile, so keep all text short and sweet.

High Concept Pitch

This is the most important part of the profile. You want to have a catchy pitch; either "we are X for Y" or a "vision of disruption" in five 5 words.

Markets & Locations

The selection of markets are important. Make sure you show up on relevant categories. This will trigger alerts for investors that follow startups in certain markets.

Product

Show the solution you are bringing to market. Start with beautiful screenshots or a video of your product. Then include a short paragraph on the customer problem your product addresses.

Technology

This is an opportunity to let people know you are a modern development shop. Here you explain the state of your tech architecture and how you will get to state of the art you are bringing to market. Outline challenges you foresee and how you address them.

Founders & Team

Explain why you are the right founders/team for your market. Don't recite your resume; avoid schools and titles. Better to explain functional roles and relevant past successes.

Don’t forget to ask your employees and other supporters to create profiles and confirm their support for your startup.

Traction

Explain how you provide value to users and how users are experiencing the value to date. Show how your key metrics have performed over time. Include information on your product roll out. Who are your early adopters? Why? Who's next? How do you get to them on?

The takeaway from this section should be that you are clearly worth taking a meeting with.

Graphs

Graphs are awesome. Investors love to see momentum, whether activation, retention, or cohort graphs. Also, a diagram to visualize where you sit in the marketplace is always helpful.

Funding

List the rounds you have raised so far.

If you decide to fundraise on AngelList, you should include the terms of your current round. You need to project urgency to invest. Show who’s committed so far and how close you are to finalizing your raise.

Current Investors

Show all the influential people who have invested. The more the merrier (until you have too many).

Deck & Demo

Here is your chance to put your own flare to your story. Remember, the demo needs to show on a mobile.

Rasmus Goksor

● Co-Founder & COO of Bison, a venture-backed startup that is transforming the private equity market and is based in the heart of Boston's fintech scene.

● Chairman of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of New England.