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What are angel investors?

Angel investors are wealthy individuals who invest in startups, usually at the early stages. Sometimes angel investors pool their money with other angel investors, forming an investor pool.

The typical angel investor is someone whose net worth is likely in excess of $1 million or who earns over $200,000 per year. Incidentally, those look a lot like the credentials of an accredited investor.

Realize, though, that the angel investor is playing with their own money — not invested capital — so even though they may be a high net worth individual, they are still looking at money coming out of their personal bank account.

Federal angel investment tax credits

When you’re talking about federal angel investment tax credits,...

People often automatically put small and large businesses into completely separate categories, even when they share the same space in the same market. Their logic is often that a small business can surely never compete with the resources and the horsepower of its corporate peers.

But (as you’ll know if you own a small business yourself) while small businesses seem to be at a disadvantage when it comes to resources, their ideas are just as good as the big guys. It’s just that these ideas often don’t have the same space and support to grow. Without big budgets, it’s harder to make investments in marketing, research, and hiring, so they can’t create the same kind of testing ground that large companies take for granted.

This lack of a lab in wh...

Startup Equity: What Should You Ask For?

If you’re already in the startup world, there’s a strong likelihood that you Founder equity (we’d be surprised if you didn’t!), but if you’re new to the industry, understanding how much to ask for in any given opportunity might be somewhat of a mystery to you. We are here with the help of fellow entrepreneurs in our community to share insights, guidelines, and other resources for anyone in the position to ask for (and receive) equity compensation from a company.

What is Equity Compensation?

Equity is the value of a company's stock, which you earn as a percentage of the company’s profits (or losses). Equity compensation can be thought of as an investment: when you own equity in a company, you're putting...

As is the case with most big projects, crafting a business plan is one of those things that takes an incredible amount of diligence and no shortage of courage. After all, your business idea is probably more than just some passionless money-making ploy — it’s your dream that you’re getting ready to lay bare for the world to scrutinize!

Never fear!

We have 4 sample business plans here to make it all less scary.

If you approach this with a firm understanding of what key information to include in each section of your business plan and know how each section works together to form a cohesive, compelling, and — above all — persuasive whole, it will make the writing process a whole lot less daunting.

We’re about to help you do exactly that by deconstru...

The investor pitch. It's feared. It's desired. It's terrifying.

But don't worry: We've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about that all-important investor pitch.

What should your investor pitch include?

Invisu.me Co-Founder and CEO Donna Griffit is a master pitcher who has helped countless founders distill their pitch down to exactly what they need — and nothing they don’t. She had the opportunity to sit in on a private pitching event where a delegation of startups had the opportunity give a five minute pitch and receive direct feedback from a group of top-tier Silicon Valley VC’s. (So top tier that she can’t even say who was there but, trust us, you will want to memorize this section before your next pitch.)

Here’s what ...

This is Part II of our interview with Rhone co-Founder and CEO Nate Checketts. To check out Part I, click here.

I think that happens in every industry and every business, that there are these assumptions that nobody bothers asking about. And for us, especially at the beginning, it was important that we ask a lot of those questions.

The thing about inspiration is that it can come from anywhere. For Rhone co-Founder and CEO Nate Checketts, it came in the form of a smelly t-shirt.

“I was working at the NFL, and I got a lot of free product just by working there,” Nate remembers. “But the product would always start to smell after only a handful of washings.”

Nate credits a frank comment from his sister at a family gathering for getting the whe...

Looking for small business grants that are geared towards immigrants and minorities? Well, you’re not the only one. Business grants are often described as “free money,” so they tend to be pretty popular.

But, here at Startups, we hate the term “free money.” It’s a word that people throw around a lot when they’re talking about grants. The reason we don’t call small business grants “free money” is because they take a lot of work to get. And there’s a lot of competition, so oftentimes that work doesn’t even result in a payday. Sure, you don’t have to pay back a small business grant the way you do a business loan — but it’s certainly not “free money.”

However, we also understand that minority business grants can really boost a startup, if they ...

What is a minority-owned business?

In order to be considered a "minority" in the world of small business, you must be at least 25%...

• African-American
• Hispanic-American
• Asian-American
• Pacific Islander
• Alaskan Native
• American Indian

Women-owned businesses, on the other hand, are another category.

In order for a business to qualify as minority-owned, it needs to be at least 51% owned by a person or persons from one of those groups.

Additionally, you’ll often need to be certified as a minority business enterprise (MBE) or a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) in order to qualify for certain loans or grants.

That’s not the case for all loans and grants, however, so make sure it’s a requirement before going through the process of gettin...

A crypto startup is a business that deals with cryptocurrencies. Startups focused on this industry have been popping up all over the world in recent years. With the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, many entrepreneurs are looking to create their own crypto or blockchain-based startup.

It sounds easy enough in theory, but for those new to the industry, it's much like learning another language. In this article, we aim to define, expand on, and share insights we have compiled to demystify the process of launching a crypto startup.

There are five main steps to starting a crypto startup (we'll expand more on this below):

1. Identify a problem that needs solving.

2. Create a white paper outlining the idea (i.e. a solution to the...

Never before has “fake” been such a household word. But not all “fake” is bad. For entrepreneurs starting out, the right version of “fake it until you make it” is exactly what they should be doing.

An entrepreneur who “fakes it” is someone who takes on challenges even if he has no idea how he’ll solve them, such as accepting an order from a large client without knowing how he’ll get the shipments from China.

That’s the purest form of “faking it,” because it’s aligning his mindset with what he desires while still operating within his means. It’s also biting off more than he can chew but always following through and delivering in the end.

Ultimately, entrepreneurs who don’t push themselves and “fake it” are the ones who aren’t going to make ...