Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Kindra Tatarsky, Director of Operations, Golden Seeds (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Do you try to estimate a particular return over a particular period?

Kindra: Of course. That’s part of the entire process. We look at an anticipated return to see if the return makes sense for an investment and the valuation x return makes sense, so absolutely.

Irina: What’s your target return?

Kindra: Well, we target a 10x return over a three- to five-year period.

Irina: At what stage of a business’s development do you prefer to invest?

Kindra: Validated business. We do not invest in business plans. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Kindra Tatarsky, Director of Operations, Golden Seeds (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Do you have  membership dues for your angel members?

Kindra: Yes. It ranges from $2,000 to $3,000.

Irina: How many members do you have?

Kindra: We have about 146 members.

Irina: Who are your members, usually?

Kindra: They range from CEOs of companies of various sizes – anywhere from Fortune 1,000 companies to Fortune 100 companies – they are cashed-out entrepreneurs, they are serial entrepreneurs, they are heads of divisions within large companies and Wall Street people as well. So, they range from Wall Street financial experts to marketing experts to consumer products experts to lawyers and scientists within the life science sector. We have a real breadth of expertise within our network. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chenoa Farnsworth, Executive Director, Hawaii Angels (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What else could angels do to improve their chances of success?

Chenoa: My opinion is that every angel has something to bring to the party, and if they focus some energy and some of their own resources – not just money – with the companies, then they will get better outcomes. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Kindra Tatarsky, Director of Operations, Golden Seeds (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Could you elaborate on your deal flow?

Kindra: Deal flow comes from a combination of reputation, member networks, and partnerships with local ecosystems, meaning other groups that are focused on entrepreneurship, especially women-oriented groups.

Our companies themselves are a terrific source of deal flow. We focus on as many areas as we can at building out our brand and our name. So, we encourage as many companies as possible to apply to us. I think we have among the highest deal flows in the country through Angelsoft. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Kindra Tatarsky, Director of Operations, Golden Seeds (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the thirty-fourth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Kindra Tatarsky, director of operations at Golden Seeds, a network of angel investors dedicated to investing in early stage companies founded and/or led by women. Golden Seeds has more than 150 accredited investors, with locations in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chenoa Farnsworth, Executive Director, Hawaii Angels (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: How do you conduct your due diligence?

Chenoa: We are always pretty clear that due diligence is the responsibility of the individual members. We do not take it upon ourselves as a club to do due diligence for [them]. But we do facilitate the process.

So, in the weeks following the presentations, we have a standing meeting where we meet with the companies. The individuals who have expressed interest in a company will come to that meeting and ask more questions. We usually do a few group meetings for the deals for which there’s a lot of interest, and then individuals are encouraged to do a lot more homework on their own. Then the individual makes the decision about whether to invest. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Dave Whorton, Founder, Tugboat Ventures (Part 6)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What do you think entrepreneurs could do to be more successful?

Dave: That’s very specific to the entrepreneur, depending on his or her experience and background. But one of the things I would encourage entrepreneurs to do is find trusted advisors; in particular, find trusted board members.

Find people who they really want to partner with, people who they feel that they can be honest with. There appears to be a trust gap – I hear about this every day – between entrepreneurs and their boards. They just feel they can’t be fully honest or fully transparent, or they assume the board can’t handle it, or whatever it may be. That’s an unfortunate situation where that is true. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Dave Whorton, Founder, Tugboat Ventures (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What is your biggest investment success to date?

Dave: In my career? It probably would be SuccessFactors. When I invested in that company, it was a small team. A SaaS business, just a little over $2 million in revenue. I think the valuation was in the very low teens, and today it’s a company worth $1.9 billion and a market leader in its space. >>>