Build a process, then trust it

PSA to all Angel Investors: For the love of God, stop going deep into financials on the first meeting.

It’s a waste of everyone’s time and it really doesn’t make much sense. The exploratory process and Due Diligence period should be a gradual escalation of time and scrutiny.

It’s like a job interview — You’re not going to be prepping for a final-stage case study before the intro call.

Here’s the basic checklist I use in my own exploratory process:

1. Meet the founder over email and request the deck, any other supporting materials, and most importantly- ALL prior written investor updates they may have sent out!
2. Review the Pitch Deck, Executive Summary, and any other supporting materials available.

NOTE: At this point, I need to be at least 75% committed before moving forward. Otherwise, I pass. After all, if I see a major red flag in the deck, there’s no amount of additional research that will neutralize that flaw.

1. Schedule my first call with the Founder(s).
2. Collect as much information as I can gather on my own (studying the market, the technology, public data sets, and the competitive landscape).
3. Conduct 2-3 Reference Calls.
4. Conduct the full Due Diligence process utilizing the company Data Room (if any) and my own personal network.
5. Schedule a follow up call with the Founder(s).

The most important part of my screening process is not my feeling about the company, but the PROCESS itself.

How do you create a great screening process?

Start with the Pitch Deck, not the financials 😉