Angel Investing EXPLAINED ft. Brian Nichols: Active Angel Investor & Founder of Hustle Fund's Angel Squad

This week we’re talking all things angel investing with the enthusiastic & knowledgable, Brian Nichols. In this explained episode, Erica and Brian chat through what exactly angel investing is, who can be an angel investor, how to get deal flow, how to evaluate startups once you get that deal flow, and so much more. Most importantly, Brian shares his story as an angel investor and why/how he joined the Hustle Fund team to build Angel Squad.

Over the last decade, Brian has helped build Lyft, Zoox, On Deck, and BlackBird past a combined market cap of over $5B, and helped raise $500M. In 2019, he decided to try something new. He decided to shift his focus from building businesses to investing in them. He teamed up with Ann Miura-Ko to start Uplyft (Lyft alumni syndicate) and it started with 300+ of Lyft’s earliest employees who have invested over $30M+ together. He soon found myself becoming the go-to "alumni syndicate guy” and helped Airbnb, Stripe, Pinterest, DoorDash, and many others get their alumni syndicates off the ground.

After opening up the Lyft alumni syndicate to the public (any accredited investor can join, regardless of affiliation with Lyft), he started to notice a trend. There were folks from all over the world, all professional backgrounds, who were investing alongside them. These folks didn't have access to a network, the knowledge, and the guidance that he was lucky to have.

So, in October 2020, less than a year into the pandemic, he quit his job and joined Hustle Fund – his favorite early-stage VC – to build Angel Squad. The results were pretty phenomenal. In 2.5 years, 1,400+ people joined Angel Squad, and as a group, they have invested $21M+ in 50+ startups. They have reporters, scientists, founders, and students from all over the world in their community.

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Brian Nichols: @b_nicks11

Read Hustle Fund's Angel Investing Starter Kit HERE

Erica Wenger: @erica_wenger

Dear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething