Angel Investing with Arlan Hamilton
If you want to invest in a start-up, then you’re an angel investor. Get tips and advice straight from Arlan Hamilton, a pro at angel investing, on this week’s Queer Money®Start your journey to financial independence by getting rid of any credit card debt with the free, 7-Step Credit Card Debt Slasher.
How Arlan Hamilton became an angel investor titan
Have you ever thought, “If only I could get my hands on a few thousand bucks, I could build the business I’ve always wanted to build.” But who’s going to invest in a queer-owned small business startup like mine?’
An angel investor, that’s who!
Angel investors are usually high-net-worth individuals who invest in small businesses in exchange for some ownership of the company.
So, what are the pros and cons of leveraging an angel investor to fund the growth of your business? And what if you’re interested in becoming an angel investor yourself?
Arlan Hamilton is Founder and Managing Partner at Backstage Capital, a seed investment fund that backs women-owned, Black-owned and LGBTQ-owned businesses. She is also the author of It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage.
On this episode of Queer Money®, Arlan joins us to discuss the benefits of getting capital from an angel investor and describe why it’s challenging for underrepresented founders to secure venture capital or angel funding.
Arlan explains what three things LGBTQ business owners should do before we seek out angel investors and explores the opportunity for successful minority founders to improve our individual quality of life and give back to the community.
Listen in for insight on using equity crowdfunding platforms or syndicates to become an angel investor and take on Arlan’s challenge to invest in yourself!
Listen to Arlan Hamilton share her thoughts on angel investing:
Topics Covered
- How angel investors fund small businesses in exchange for some ownership of the company
- The pros and cons of getting capital from an angel investor
- Well-known LGBTQ-owned companies that used crowdfunding to find angel investors
- What differentiates angel investors from venture capitalists (VCs)
- Why it’s challenging for minority-owned businesses to get funding from angel investors and VCs
- The conviction it took for Arlan to go from homeless to a millionaire angel investor
- How Arlan was introduced to angel investing through her work in live music production
- Why Arlan focuses on funding women, People of Color and LGBTQ founders
- How growing a successful business gives us the means to give back and improves our quality of life
- 3 things LGBTQ business owners should do before we seek capital funding
- How to become an angel investor through equity crowdfunding or syndicates
- Arlan’s challenge to take half of the money you’ve set aside to invest and invest in yourself
Previous 3 Podcast Episodes
- 8 Answers to Questions about Lesbian Money
- 2022 Huge Same-Sex Social Security Change
- 5 After-College Goals for Your Money
Connect with Arlan
Resources
- It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage by Arlan Hamilton
- Republic
- Wefunder
- KingsCrowd
- Gaingels
- CreditWise
- Queer Money Facebook Group
- Subscribe to Queer Money on iTunes
- Email [email protected]
Connect with David and John
- Debt Free Guys on Youtube
- Queer Money Facebook Group
- Queer Money on Instagram
- Subscribe on iTunes
- Email [email protected]
We’re David and John Auten-Schneider, the Debt Free Guys (www.debtfreeguys.com) and hosts of the Queer Money® podcast. We help queer people (and allies) live fabulously not fabulously broke by helping them 1) pay off credit card debt, 2) become part- or full-time entrepreneurs and 3) save and invest for retirement.