Angel Investing: A Short Origin Story

Swimming with the sharks

Photo by Emilio Garcia on Unsplash

In 2019, Uber went public on the NYSE. The IPO raked in $8.1 billion dollars — putting the company’s valuation at around $75 billion. It was the biggest NYSE IPO of the year and one of the most lucrative venture capital deals in history.

Even with the price slump on opening day, the early investors still managed to make an incredible payday.

Notable investors who got into Uber’s seed round.

Returns of this size aren’t typical, but it does show what is possible when you take a risk on an idea. Some investors strike gold. Others pass on opportunities that later become household names. Hindsight is 20/20.

2019 was also the year I invested in my first startup. Ample is a meal replacement company aiming to fill the nutrition gap one sip at a time. This wasn’t my first rodeo with startups. Two years earlier, I became an advisor to Berminal, a cryptocurrency newsletter startup. I appreciate having the ability to help guide the company to potential prosperity.

I’ve since invested in a range of startups from cosmetics to finance. My goal with investing is to be hands-on while providing breathing room for the founders. I got into…