Investing in Driven, Maniacal, Genetic Entrepreneurial Freaks Only

This is part of my Series on Angel Investing.

One of the biggest qualities you need to have as an Angel Investor is a sense of humor. If you don't have one, you probably won't last too long. What other activity carries with it the ridiculously long odds of success together with the interminable waiting time? Most angels I've met actually have a great sense of humor and pathos and find both mentoring and learning from younger entrepreneurs very rewarding. Nevertheless, my next post in this series will be called Angel Investing as Mental Illness.... (just kidding).

I've been an angel since 2001, investing with a small group of entrepreneur friends. We've certainly had a lot of good laughs along the way and have learned quite a bit. I'll tell you where I'm at these days.

At this point, I really am focused on one major gating factor as an investor:

If the CEO is not a driven, maniacal, one-in-a-thousand genetic freak of an entrepreneur, I'm just not interested in learning more about the business.

I've simply realized that without such a totally commited, insanely driven entrepreneurial leader at the helm- the start-up has zero chance of a real success. If the CEO does indeed have these qualities, I'm willing and eager to hear more about the product, the market, the team, etc. 

I'd love for other angels to weigh-in here with any insights, stories and wisdom they'd like to impart.

For the next post in this Series, click here.