An angel investor for coworking?
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Liu Yan
Jul 1, 2009, 7:07:09 PM7/1/09
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Oh man, what a hilarious first day yesterday!
An angel investor (who used to work for us as a happy volunteer during the preparation phase) proposed to us with her money. I am not sure if she really understands our business well, but she told us she had great trust on us and wants to get involved in our biz more than just a volunteer. We were quite shocked as you could imagine, not by her unknown wealthy family background, but by this extra starting capital emerged fallen from the sky. I know there are many many tech-related entrepreneurs out here, I am sure you guys have a loooot more experience on how to cope with an angel investor like this. Please do help!
best,
Yan
Xindanwei Coworking Playce
Mike Schinkel
Jul 1, 2009, 7:39:24 PM7/1/09
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Yan,
Wow! This is awesome for you!
But be sure to get a lawyer who understands these angel investment to protect your interests.
-Mike Schinkel
Ignition Alley
Atlanta, GA
Wow! This is awesome for you!
But be sure to get a lawyer who understands these angel investment to protect your interests.
-Mike Schinkel
Ignition Alley
Atlanta, GA
Tony Bacigalupo
Jul 1, 2009, 7:41:30 PM7/1/09
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
Liu,
That's great! When people see a coworking space for the first time they are often very inspired.
I'm sure this will work itself out with time, but I hope that you are able to tale the time to get to know one another well before committing to taking any money. The better relationship you have and the more you know about each other's interests and goals, the better.
It sounds like she is great, as she has already stepped up and volunteered, but the better you understand your mutual goals going forward, the better the whole thing will be.
Congrats and keep keeping is posted!
Best,
Tony
felicity at cubes
Jul 9, 2009, 5:15:19 PM7/9/09
to Coworking
Hi Liu,
Just wanted to second Tony's thoughts on getting to know an investor
before taking on any money. No matter how much they trust you, an
investor is going to want reports, tracking of numbers and to know how
you plan to increase revenue tomorrow? You need to decide how you
want to run your business. Then again she might be a great partner.
Proceed with caution and you will figure out the best choice.
Good luck!
All the best,
Felicity
Cubes&crayons in SF and SV
Outside the Cube in SF
On Jul 1, 4:41 pm, Tony Bacigalupo <tonybacigal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Liu,
>
> That's great! When people see a coworking space for the first time
> they are often very inspired.
>
> I'm sure this will work itself out with time, but I hope that you are
> able to tale the time to get to know one another well before
> committing to taking any money. The better relationship you have and
> the more you know about each other's interests and goals, the better.
>
> It sounds like she is great, as she has already stepped up and
> volunteered, but the better you understand your mutual goals going
> forward, the better the whole thing will be.
>
> Congrats and keep keeping is posted!
>
> Best,
> Tony
>
Just wanted to second Tony's thoughts on getting to know an investor
before taking on any money. No matter how much they trust you, an
investor is going to want reports, tracking of numbers and to know how
you plan to increase revenue tomorrow? You need to decide how you
want to run your business. Then again she might be a great partner.
Proceed with caution and you will figure out the best choice.
Good luck!
All the best,
Felicity
Cubes&crayons in SF and SV
Outside the Cube in SF
On Jul 1, 4:41 pm, Tony Bacigalupo <tonybacigal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Liu,
>
> That's great! When people see a coworking space for the first time
> they are often very inspired.
>
> I'm sure this will work itself out with time, but I hope that you are
> able to tale the time to get to know one another well before
> committing to taking any money. The better relationship you have and
> the more you know about each other's interests and goals, the better.
>
> It sounds like she is great, as she has already stepped up and
> volunteered, but the better you understand your mutual goals going
> forward, the better the whole thing will be.
>
> Congrats and keep keeping is posted!
>
> Best,
> Tony
>
> On Jul 1, 2009, at 7:07 PM, Liu Yan <liuyan.dat...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Oh man, what a hilarious first day yesterday!
>
> > An angel investor (who used to work for us as a happy volunteer
> > during the preparation phase) proposed to us with her money. I am
> > not sure if she really understands our business well, but she told
> > us she had great trust on us and wants to get involved in our biz
> > more than just a volunteer. We were quite shocked as you could
> > imagine, not by her unknown wealthy family background, but by this
> > extra starting capital emerged fallen from the sky. I know there
> > are many many tech-related entrepreneurs out here, I am sure you
> > guys have a loooot more experience on how to cope with an angel
> > investor like this. Please do help!
>
> > best,
>
> > Yan
>
> > Liu Yan刘妍
> > (+86)135 2429 5509
>
> > Oh man, what a hilarious first day yesterday!
>
> > An angel investor (who used to work for us as a happy volunteer
> > during the preparation phase) proposed to us with her money. I am
> > not sure if she really understands our business well, but she told
> > us she had great trust on us and wants to get involved in our biz
> > more than just a volunteer. We were quite shocked as you could
> > imagine, not by her unknown wealthy family background, but by this
> > extra starting capital emerged fallen from the sky. I know there
> > are many many tech-related entrepreneurs out here, I am sure you
> > guys have a loooot more experience on how to cope with an angel
> > investor like this. Please do help!
>
> > best,
>
> > Yan
>
> > Liu Yan刘妍
Gareth Knight
Jul 9, 2009, 5:28:57 PM7/9/09
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Agreed - all the good will in the world doesn't help when interests aren't aligned...
Get onto the same page and make sure everyone has clear expectations.
Also, if you can, try do it without the money - too much money brings with it all sorts of other things (and I'm not trying to sound like a hippy, promise).
Regards
Gareth
gareth...@gmail.com
http://www.oneafrikan.com/
UK mobile: +44 (0) 77 66 00 66 56
SA mobile: +27 (0) 72 62 79 21 2
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Due to email overload, I subscribe to this policy:
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Get onto the same page and make sure everyone has clear expectations.
Also, if you can, try do it without the money - too much money brings with it all sorts of other things (and I'm not trying to sound like a hippy, promise).
Regards
Gareth
gareth...@gmail.com
http://www.oneafrikan.com/
UK mobile: +44 (0) 77 66 00 66 56
SA mobile: +27 (0) 72 62 79 21 2
twitter: http://twitter.com/oneafrikan
skype: iamoneafrikan
chat: oneaf...@hotmail.com | gareth...@gmail.com
about: http://www.oneafrikan.com/colophon/
photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garethknight/sets/
------------------------------------------------------------
Due to email overload, I subscribe to this policy:
http://five.sentenc.es/
------------------------------------------------------------
2009/7/9 felicity at cubes <felicity...@gmail.com>
Liza Loop
Jul 9, 2009, 6:59:20 PM7/9/09
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
Hi Yan,
For starters, make sure YOU understand your business well. And then
find out what your angel wants to get out of her investment. She may
just believe that having a coworking space is a valuable investment in
her community and not ever expect to see the money again. On the other
hand, she may view your organization as an opportunity for net income
in excess of expenses (profit).
When working in Russia I met many people from a communist background
who didn't understand the difference between gross revenue and profit.
Of course, China has a lot of capitalist experience by now. Still, I
suggest you have a serious talk with your potential benefactor before
you accept her money.
Good luck with your venture/adventure.
Liza
2009/7/1 Liu Yan <liuyan...@gmail.com>:
For starters, make sure YOU understand your business well. And then
find out what your angel wants to get out of her investment. She may
just believe that having a coworking space is a valuable investment in
her community and not ever expect to see the money again. On the other
hand, she may view your organization as an opportunity for net income
in excess of expenses (profit).
When working in Russia I met many people from a communist background
who didn't understand the difference between gross revenue and profit.
Of course, China has a lot of capitalist experience by now. Still, I
suggest you have a serious talk with your potential benefactor before
you accept her money.
Good luck with your venture/adventure.
Liza
2009/7/1 Liu Yan <liuyan...@gmail.com>:
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