It's axiomatic that no matter how well planned, almost every startup needs a "plan B" because what it started out to do isn't what the opportunity turns out to be. The software company I was involved in - RTMS - started as a consulting and services business, for example.
Well it happened last week at our angel group meeting. I think this story highlights the value of angel groups. A presenter of a medical device, well prepared, and well qualified, thought that the opportunity for the medical device was, well, in medicine.
It was a small market but interesting from an investment perspective. Late into the meeting a member, who is in the manufacturing business, asked a question about capabilities of the product - and things got exciting.
Turns out our member is an industry expert on this kind of non-medical use and saw an enormous industrial opportunity. It's a chance to be a first mover -- and faster to market since there is no need for regulatory approval.
If the entrepreneur hadn't met these folks, he may never have found "Plan B" - or at least not nearly as quickly and at a time when success here changes everything for the growth of the enterprise.
He only got this opportunity to present because he was really well prepared, knew his science, and had a ton of credibility. And without the group, he might've taken investment money from an uninformed source and spent a long time not seeing Plan B.