A lot of us seem to continually be asking how to help early stage entrepreneurs get going.
Of course, we expect early opportunities to be incomplete. They often have a compelling product concept, but most of us are not deeply knowledgeable about the specifics of a proposed market and often, truth be told, the venture isn't either.
Lately, I've been talking to technology entrepreneurs who want to be able to spin-off an idea - a very difficult task, to be sure, but not impossible - look at all of the technology transfer coming out of universities. (A Tech Transfer VC I know, tho, always says, "No garage science," meaning non-academic inventors carry a high risk of not knowing the scope of the science, and therefore can get blindsided.)
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Here's an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about a local company with a spin-off idea: Brandt Innovative Technologies. It strikes me that a perfectly legitimate investor position is "the problem is that Brandt isn't focused on (this product.)" After all, if an angel sees him or herself primarily as a screener, then the investment opportunity skill is primarily about interpreting plans and making judgments about levels of risk and reward. Most of the angels I know think that way.
Now I have yet to talk to Kurt, but I think there is an alternative way for an investor to approach ideas like this.
If the idea/venture "checks out," why not treat it more like a technology transfer opportunity? Can angels help put together the components required for it to be successful? That's a tall order - the angels need a lot of talent and a darn good rolodex. But it's also one way to develop deal flow and use the skills and talents of the people in the network.
Perhaps early stage pre-investment incubation belongs somewhere else; our group's track record has been so-so in trying to help companies get going. But it is an approach worth thinking about.