Angel Investing: From First Check to Portfolio
A linear, one-concept-per-lesson path through angel investing: sourcing deals, running diligence, negotiating SAFEs and term sheets, and constructing a portfolio of individual checks, without a fund behind you. 35 lessons · 3 tiers.
Prerequisites: No coding background required. Comfortable with basic arithmetic, percentages, and reading a simple table of numbers is enough.
This course has no code and no API key: every lesson works through mental models, worked numbers, and short scenarios you can follow with a spreadsheet or a pen and paper. It is written for an individual writing checks from their own capital, not a fund: no LP relations, no fund-level reserves math, no carry mechanics, just the diligence and portfolio-construction judgment calls a solo angel actually has to make.

Beginner
The vocabulary and mechanics: SAFEs, cap tables, term sheets, and screening a deal.
- 01What Is Angel Investing?
- 02Risk, Return, and Illiquidity
- 03Startup Stages and the Financing Lifecycle
- 04Equity Basics: Ownership, Dilution, and Cap Tables
- 05SAFEs vs. Convertible Notes vs. Priced Rounds
- 06Valuation Caps and Discounts Explained
- 07Reading a Cap Table
- 08The Term Sheet: Key Terms for Angels
- 09Pro Rata Rights and Why They Matter
- 10Sourcing Deal Flow as an Individual
- 11First-Look Due Diligence: Founder and Market
- 12Checkpoint: Building Your Investment Thesis
Intermediate
Running the process: diligence, negotiation, and building a portfolio of checks.
- 13Deep Due Diligence: Product, Traction, and Team
- 14Sizing the Market: TAM, SAM, and SOM at Early Stage
- 15Founder Assessment: Signals and Red Flags
- 16Competitive Landscape Analysis for Angels
- 17Financial Model Basics for Pre-Revenue Startups
- 18Negotiating Terms as a Small-Check Investor
- 19Syndicates, Angel Groups, and Co-Investing
- 20Portfolio Construction: Check Size and Number of Bets
- 21Follow-On Decisions and Reserves
- 22Post-Investment: Value-Add and Board Observer Roles
- 23Legal Structures: SPVs, Direct Investing, and QSBS Tax Basics
- 24Checkpoint: Constructing a Model Angel Portfolio
Advanced
The real economics: power law returns, protecting your position, and exits.
- 25Power Law Returns and Why Most Angels Lose Money
- 26Signaling Risk and Follow-On Dynamics
- 27Down Rounds, Bridges, and Recaps: Protecting Your Position
- 28Secondary Markets and Early Liquidity
- 29Exits: M&A vs. IPO from an Angel's Seat
- 30Advanced SAFE Mechanics: MFN, Pro Rata Side Letters, and Stacking
- 31Common Angel Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- 32Building a Track Record and Reputation
- 33From Angel to Fund: When and Why to Formalize
- 34Case Studies: Anatomy of a Winning and a Failing Deal
- 35Capstone: Evaluate and Decide on a Real Deal