The "candidate company" targeted by Nodal Partners and the economics of our investment thesis have become more popular this year. Aydin Senkut (former Googler) has just closed a $40M super-angel fund, which follows Ron Conway's $20M super-angel fund, Chris Sacca's (former Googler) $8.5M super-angel fund, Dave McClure's (former PayPal'r) $30M super-angel fund and Mike Maples' new $73.5M super-angel fund. So almost overnight, smart angels with investment track records are turning into mini-VCs, capable of making seed investments in hundreds of startups.
The drivers of these developments are the same: It doesn't take huge amounts of capital to get going in a startup. The combination of "lean startup" principles, "agile" software / product development and the "customer development" methodology outline by Steve Blank, all combine to make the initiation of disruptive businesses easier and faster. That, coupled with the inability of incumbents to engage in the creative destruction of their own business models and products (a.k.a. "The Innovator's Dilemma"), opens incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs and those who back them.
We are happy to be a part of the migration of more and more of life's activities online. And we feel that, despite the increased volume of capital investing in these startups, the limiting factor is not money but time and people. Our posture of being involved and available to help with bus.dev deals, and our focus on industry restructuring rather than the Next Big Thing still looks like a winning combination for both entrepreneur and investor.
