Today let’s… THINK! 

At Fellow Funders we are curious by nature, but also thoughtful.  We constantly think about new ways to manage and develop alternative investment. However, we often question how we do things and what approach we should give to our activity, always with the ultimate goal of generating the greatest added value for our entrepreneurs and our investors. 

Last week we attended the National Congress of Business Angels in Valencia, magnificently organized and managed by Big Ban Angels.  There, surrounded by expert/ practiced/ veteran / accomplished / versed investors, we heard some reflections that we want to share with you today. 

National Business Angels Congress 

• “Business Angels should not only finance projects, they also have to accompany and help them.” Carlos Blanco. 
• “The existence of a Partners Agreement is crucial in startups and, within it, the possibility that a partner or co-founder can back out and leave the project must be contemplated.” Helena Torras. 
• We should not always think that our exit as an investor should be through an IPO, why not exit with the entry of Secondary Funds or with funds obtained with Financial Debt of the company to repurchase shares.” Tobias Schimer. 
• “A maxim that has always guided my investments is: I don’t invest in what I don’t know or understand.” Rene de Jong. 
• “For investing, two of the most important aspects are: diversify, and don’t fall in love with your investments.” Tomás Guillén. 
• “A Business Angel must not only invest, he must also generate trust, credibility and empathy with the entrepreneur.” Ferrán Martinez. 
• “As important as investing is to generate an ecosystem of synergies and support among the investees.” Felipe García Quirós.
• “I always invest by intuition, but that does not mean having a nose for business. Intuition is the combination of knowledge and past experience.” Eduardo Diez-Hochleitner.
• “Large corporations should give 1 MM. euros to the purchasing manager to contract with entrepreneurial startups and pay them in 30 days rather than creating an accelerator.” Eduardo Diez-Hochleitner.
• “In every startup there must be a leader who transcends the sum of the parts. The leader must be persistent, humble, must have the best team and listen to everyone… but in the end it is he who must decide, make the decisions and the team must execute.” Eduardo Diez-Hochleitner.

At Fellow Funders… 

Many of these reflections have already been shared with you in many of our newsletters… For example: How should a startup be financed? Do startups want to get out of the garage? Heart or head? How do I get profitability from my investments? Or The importance of a good CEO in a startup? 

At Fellow Funders we want to share with entrepreneurs and investors the importance of alternative investment, and more specifically Equity Crowdfunding, a basic instrument, in our opinion, for the development and consolidation of the innovation fabric in Spain. However, in Fellow Funders we want to respect at all times what we have called Fellow Funders commitments (trust, transparency, security and long-term monitoring of projects), the very raison d’être of our project. 

Finally, and as always, we remind you in Fellow Funders we continue to believe that investing in Equity Crowdfunding is an interesting alternative without forgetting the need of a portfolio diversification and the risks assumed. 

-Invest in Startups, invest in your future-