As an experienced angel investor, you have a lot to offer students. They have a lot to learn from you about the world of business, and about how to build a successful business themself. As an advisor or mentor for students, you can help them as they develop their careers and begin their own ventures in business. What you can give is your knowledge, support, and advice – but should you speak publicly about your approach and history as an angel investor? Read on to find out more…
Why talking about your experiences as an Angel investor is important
People often think that angel investing is a word that will appear only in the Wall Street Journal or in Forbes. In reality, though, angel investors are largely everyday people who have some extra cash that they choose to invest in promising entrepreneurial businesses. The best business angels are people who possess knowledge about a variety of industries and markets, who are seasoned dealmakers, who are knowledgeable about finance and who care deeply about supporting entrepreneurs to build successful companies. If you are one of these people, why wouldn’t you want to talk about your experiences? By sharing your knowledge and experiences with students, you are helping to cultivate the next generation of successful business leaders.
The value of speaking publicly about your experiences
There are many benefits to speaking publicly about your experiences as an angel investor. By sharing your knowledge and experiences, you can help others avoid your mistakes, and you can help others benefit from your insights and experiences. If you are an experienced angel investor, you may have invested in several companies over the course of your career, you have probably made some mistakes and learned valuable lessons along the way. By sharing these experiences with students, you can help them understand what to look for when evaluating a company for investment, what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and how to manage risk. If you are an experienced angel investor, you have likely met with many entrepreneurs and have seen a variety of businesses. By sharing your experiences and insights, you can help students learn about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and what entrepreneurs need to do to build a successful business. It must be stated, it is also a way to help build your own personal “brand”, which appears to be a pre-requisite these days for major success if you are looking to go on to have a career in public speaking or as an author.
Reasons not to speak publicly about your experiences
While there are many benefits to speaking publicly about your experiences as an angel investor, there are a few reasons you may want to hold off or at least be selective with how you share your experiences. One reason to be selective with how you speak is that you may not want to be seen as bragging or touting your successes. You may have made plenty of mistakes, have plenty that you have yet to learn, and may not want to come across as someone who is full of themselves or someone who is trying to make themselves look better than you truly are. Another reason to be selective about when and how you speak about your experiences is that by talking about your successes, you may be giving away potentially valuable business opportunities. By talking specifically about the companies you have invested in, and the successes they have seen this may be true. So if your concern is retaining a competitive advantage I would advise you not to take on public speaking offers. In truth rarely have I seen Angels who compete to this level though. Most members of Angel Groups collaborate openly, and form mini syndicates to help the businesses that they jointly go on to invest in.
Should you speak despite the downsides?
If you have been asked to speak publicly about your experiences and are wondering if you should, it is best to consider the personal advantages and disadvantages of doing so, and to decide based on these. If you are an experienced angel investor, you have a lot to offer students who want to learn about business and about building a successful company. By sharing your experiences, insights, and knowledge, you can help students massively. But as I stated earlier there are also downsides to speaking publicly. Only you can decide if you accept the invitation to speak. All I would say in closing is that there is such a thing as “giving back” and that is something we would all do well to consider.