Startup Investor School Preview with Geoff Ralston

The curriculum covers the history of angel investing, the mechanics like convertible notes, the 'handshake protocol,' understanding dilution and cap tables, evaluating founders, and identifying red flags. It also touches on investing in the 21st century, including new trends like ICOs and AngelList.

The most crucial quality is a deep belief in what they are doing, bordering on obsession. This passion, resilience, toughness, and determination are essential to overcome the inevitable challenges of a startup. If founders lack this, other factors like opportunity size or intelligence become secondary.

While some suggest meeting around 100 companies, the key is to calibrate your judgment. It's advisable to meet a significant number (perhaps 10-30) before your first investment to get a feel for the market and founders. However, if you encounter a potentially monumental company early on, the pressure to invest can be high, but you must be prepared for the possibility of losing the investment.

Good angel investors are rigorous, organized, and dedicated, focusing on big wins rather than small details or trying to extract every last cent from failing companies. They are also good people to have on a cap table, fostering positive relationships. Bad behavior includes being overly emotional, not learning to say no, being dismissive, or trying to be the last money in.

While it's good if you can add value, the primary reason to invest is belief in the company and founders. Angel investors have limited impact most of the time, with 99.9% of success credit going to the founders and their team. However, being a supportive and helpful investor can significantly impact future deal flow and your reputation.

Geoff Ralston almost never invests internationally because he finds it too complicated to understand ecosystems he's not familiar with. He prefers to invest in places where he has an understanding or belief system. While he has invested in international YC companies, his general approach is to focus domestically unless he deeply understands the context.