angel investors

I want to start up a business and would like to contact a angel investor/investor, is it possible to contact one without having to pay a middle company / man

Angel investors are not interested in ideas unless you have a track record of creating a start up business. Your best bet is to bootstrap your company and gain some traction. After which, attending start up communities such as HK Commons, StartupsHK, The Hive etc. will intro you to more start up orientated people. They will have the contacts to angels... but they will be looking to see what you have done.


As a general rule, investors don't invest in ideas, they invest in the people/team behind the idea because a good idea with a bad team won't go very far, so they look for some evidence that you are working well.

I'm going to partly disagree on this... I agree that investors are looking for good people but they also want someone with some foresight and creativity to come up with a good idea...


If I wanted someone to run a business I'd definitely be looking for someone with a track record - perhaps an MBA...


But to start up a business I want a driven person with some street smarts, hunger and an idea...


Most of the guys behind the big tech successes had no experience - the google guys, facebook, amazon (I think)... groupon... etc... most of them were in their early 20's ...


One thing to watch out for when looking for investors is the bogus organizations that charge you money to attend meet ups with potential investors... I have heard that some of them make a business out of introducing people to people who pretty much never invest...

Right, but the google guys, facebook etc. Did not get investment until they showed traction. That is key. An idea in itself is worthless, it's the execution of the idea that is most important. Mark Zuckerberg proved he could expand his social network out and attract users before he got any investment.


BTW, I have an MBA (and I've been creating and working in start ups for the past 5 years) and MBA's are not a factor for start-ups. It's all bout people who can hustle, develop a minimal viable product and attract users/customers... only then will investors become interested.


The rationale for the investor is - who is most likely to provide me with an exit that gives me an ROI?


Likewise, for the start-up, you want investors who can help you grow your business with their network. If it's just capital you are after, there are alternative sources that will cost you less in the long run. Investment should only be sought when you need to accelerate your growth.

Just to add on. Acqui-hires are rare in asia, so the main exits for investors are IPO or sale of the company for its product, and the return rate needs to be better than them putting money into real estate.