best way to start on angel list is:
1) get at least one notable angel to introduce it / submit it
2) ideally have them introduce you to a few others (privately)
3) once you have some visibility / traction with a few folks, then set your listing public and open it up to the rest (if you want)
this should probably be a separate thread here or on Quora to discuss best techniques for marketing a deal on Angel List. i'll try and write a blog post on this or a Quora question in the future. it's worth diving into more.
That does make sense, and if that is the way it works, that's the way it works. The name AngelList, at least from an entrepreneur's stand point, might be misleading then. It seems to me that AngelList is more of a list of potential start-ups for angels than it is a list of potential angels for start-ups. While it can be used either way, to me it seems that the benefit is more for the angel than the start-up looking for funding. Maybe it should be called StartupList?
It worked this way long before angellist. You need some combination of amazing team, traction, or social proof. AngelList features a huge bunch of angels which is a HUGE benefit to the startup. Finding angels is hard. But just because they are all in one "room" doesn't mean that you don't have to impress them in the same way that startups have always needed to impress.
The good news is that once you DO get get something eye-popping (an amazing prototype, a great advisor, a brilliant growth curve), AngelList can be like gasoline on a match-- you close faster and with better terms (at least that's what I've heard from multiple sources).
this should probably be a separate thread here or on Quora to discuss best techniques for marketing a deal on Angel List. i'll try and write a blog post on this or a Quora question in the future. it's worth diving into more.