muru-D Singapore Investing for Angels Event

On 15th December muru-D Singapore hosted an educational seminar for aspiring and early Angel Investors. We had about 20 attendees join us for an open and engaging 3.5-hour session (We had only scheduled for 1.5 hours!) covering topics including:

• How to create a quality deal pipeline for investment?
• How to evaluate startups?
• Terms, valuation, instruments
• How to be a “good” investor
• How to maximize the chances for our and your startup’s success?

The event was hosted by our Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR), Craig Dixon, our Head of Investor Relations and experienced Angel Investor, Monthida McCoole, and joined by our EiR from Sydney, Ben Sand, who brought his deep knowledge of Silicon Valley best practices to the advantage of all present. The goal of the event was to give confidence to aspiring angels to proceed and add to the startup ecosystem in Singapore as well as to convey best practices that will help the local and regional ecosystem become more efficient for all parties. Some examples of best practices conveyed at the event:

• After you meet with a startup tell them quickly whether or not you will invest. Do not “string them along” for weeks or months.
• Don’t get too caught up on terms or valuations. Use simply instruments like SAFE documents to invest. This saves time and headache on both sides prevents issues down the road with follow-on investors.
• Set expectations regarding your relationship with the startup prior to investing. Do you plan to be actively involved or not at all?

Our audience was mainly comprised of successful professionals in fields like banking and consulting, most of whom were still working. About half the audience had made a few investments and half had not made any yet. We received a lot of great positive feedback from the group as well as some ideas for how to improve. As a result, we plan to have more Angel-focused sessions in the future. If you’d like to be included on the invite list please let Craig know: craig@muru-d.com.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, the picture is of the cast of HBOs “Silicon Valley” TV show which in many ways accurately reflects the lifestyle of startups, investors and the ecosystem in the Valley.