Use Angel List for customer development...and then raise money.

I actually emailed them explaining my frustation on how the site was really for people who already had connections. It didn't work very well for connecting people that had very little influence or existing connections with investors. They were very honest and admitted:<p>"Right now, we don't do a great job addressing your situation. That forces some users to make initial contact with investors off-site (LinkedIn is common); we're working on new ways for you to make those initial contacts within AngelList."<p>If they can solve this problem then I think the platform will really gain mainstream appeal. Otherwise I think it will remain a tool that works well for a small niche of startups.

Your investors are not your customers! This is the worst kind of "do-what-gets-funded" thinking.<p>I love AngelList, but it's proper use is not making sure your startup has enough buzzwords and TechCrunch-influenced positioning to attract investors.

I have to agree. I signed up and put as much information as I could about my company, but am now left with an, "Okay, what now?" situation.<p>We've been banging code for about two years now as a labor of love, and actually have a running system, ready for investment to actually take it out and make something of it. I've been the tech founder a number of times, but this is my first time in the game as both technical lead <i>and</i> business lead, and I'm more than happy to admit that I'm learning as I go.<p>A site like Angel List would be a great help, because part of taking on investment is also getting experience from the investors. But how do I reach out to them?<p>And how do I show them what we have without broadcasting it to the world? Because between you and me, what we've built is the kind of thing that I suspect many people would say, "Wow, I can't believe nobody's done that yet!" Sure, the barrier to entry is reasonable, but why give someone else a head start?<p>Sigh ;)

This is a good quote:<p>"I tried to go after cold money and make it warm. Instead, I should have gone after warm money and made it hot."

"You don't have to have your advisors ready yet. Set-up your profile as fast as you throw your Launchrock page up."<p>This strategy won't work for everyone. Angellist actually reviews every new published profiles to determine if your profile is worthy of being syndicated to their angels. This only happens once, when you hit publish.<p>If you just publish your profile w/ just a name and phone number, you put yourself in a hole where you now have to climb to get out.<p>So unless you are a "rockstar" and can easily get followers and the likes, I would advise not follow this approach.

It sounds like it works for those who have some credibility already either from pre-existing connections or an exit.<p>I seriously doubt that Angel List can maintain its sense of community and still be useful to those who don't possess those pre-existing connections/past successes.<p>And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. What it does is working for its target market.<p>This may just be a classic example where another company needs to step in and fulfill the needs of those who don't fit the Angel List target market profile. Given the comments here I definitely think there's a market opportunity for catering to those who need intros/connections/mentoring etc but don't have the sort of assets the blog author has (pre-existing connections from earlier startups, Ivy League MBA alumni network, etc).