Learning Blog > Startup Financial Planning
We need to think of start-up or angel investing as an asset class. Other asset classes we are all familiar with include public equity markets (stocks), bonds, private equity, and alternative assets such as real estate, crypto, and many others. Many such assets, especially the public ones, come with an array of tools and reporting that allow you to track their progress and your returns. Similarly, start-up/angel investing is an asset class that also requires a plan to track investments and returns. As you track these other asset classes, your goal is obviously not only to be successful but also to improve your returns over time. You improve over time by studying what you have done and developing the ability to modify your investment approach as you learn. This learning can only take place if you have the data necessary to understand your performance or results. This same comment applies to angel investing. As you review the start-up investment data being tracked by your angel group, you begin to better understand what is working and what is not, and what is likely creating success. This allows you to create ‘lessons learned’ to help you modify or alter your start-up investment approach, just like other investment classes mentioned above. An approach that collects and analyzes data on investments and outcomes accelerates learning, thereby improving results and returns.