Seraf Investor Compass

Trust But Verify: The Importance of Reference Checking

There is an old proverb that was adopted by Ronald Reagan during the later part of the Cold War and which became a signature phrase of Reagan’s in the mid-1980s. When talking about the Cold War adversaries, Reagan always liked to say we should “Trust, but Verify.” It...

The Emerging SMB Asset Class Webinar

We hosted a webinar where we talk about a different kind private investing: the growing opportunities in investing in SMBs.

Hazard Pay: Fundamentals of Director Compensation

You’ve started a new company, you’ve successfully recruited great Board Directors, but how do you navigate the tricky road of compensation? This post provides insight into what you should be thinking about when creating your policy.

Part 2: Bringing Fund Admin In-House: Regulatory & Compliance Framework

In Part I, we covered Series LLCs and the core documents. In this article, we’ll turn to the regulatory frameworks.

Part 1: Bringing Fund Admin In-House: Series LLCs & Core Documents

With the right team and frameworks in place fund managers can bring operations in-house. In this three-part blog series, we’ll cover how you can do that, focusing on the key operational, legal, and accounting considerations. This first installment focuses on the...

Part 2: The Due Diligence Framework for SMB Acquisition Deals

In Part 1, we introduced SMB acquisition investing as an emerging, cash-flow-driven, private asset class that offers a risk-return profile distinct from early-stage venture capital, making it a potentially attractive tool for portfolio diversification. Now, we turn to...

Part 1: Small Business as an Asset Class—A Counterpoint to Venture

SMB acquisition investing focuses on purchasing established companies with a proven business model, existing revenue, and reliable cash flow.

Angel Investing Exits: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

After a year or two down the path of building a diversified portfolio of angel investments, many individual angels are faced with some uncertainty about their path forward. The questions on many experienced angels’ minds are “Will I make a good enough return on my...

Women in VC Webinar

Join Seraf for an insightful webinar on Women in Venture Capital, where we will explore the growing impact of women in the VC industry.

I’ll Be Brief: Why Angels Should Insist on a One-Pager

Entrepreneurs seeking to engage with investors usually offer up written materials. Usually they offer whatever they have on hand. Smart investors should insist on a crisp “one-pager” executive summary. They are kind of a hassle to create, and that is exactly the...

Angel Investing by the Numbers: Valuation, Capitalization and Startup Economics

May 28, 2025 | Seraf Investor

In the sport of Major League Baseball, the greatest hitters are those who get a hit just one out of every three times at bat and a home run 5 or 6 times out of 100 at bats. In the world of startup company investing, the best-known investors are those who invest in the...

Scavenger Hunt: What To Look For In A Pitch Deck

May 23, 2025 | Seraf Investor

Deciding whether to invest in a good idea is hard. Even when its potential is clearly explained. Trying to make that evaluation without a solid explanation is an exercise in needless frustration. I’ve talked about the role of a compelling executive summary to get an...

Scavenger Hunt: What To Look For In A Pitch Deck

May 21, 2025 | Seraf Investor

Apples, Oranges and Rotten Tomatoes: Owning A Diverse Portfolio

May 15, 2025 | Seraf Investor

I believe building a diverse portfolio is critical to success as an angel investor. But when I first sat down to write an article on diversification of angel investments, I knew right away I was facing a serious challenge. Numerous articles have been written on...

Angel Fundamentals: Understanding Equity Deal Terms – Mapping Key Deal Terms to Key Investor Concerns

May 7, 2025 | Seraf Investor

As part of our ongoing series on early stage deal terms, in this article we are going to take a close look at the individual term sheet provisions and make sense of them by assigning them to the categories where they belong: Deal Economics; Investor Rights/Protection;...

Emerging Fund Managers Webinar

May 1, 2025 | Seraf Investor

We hosted a webinar featuring Emerging Fund Managers, where panelists discussed key strategies for successfully launching and managing new funds.

Angel Fundamentals: Understanding Equity Deal Terms – Introduction

Apr 24, 2025 | Seraf Investor

Active angels work with term sheets regularly, but not every investor fully understands the sometimes arcane language in these highly-specialized documents. What are term sheets, what do they signify, and why are they so important? If you will walk through this short...

You Can’t Improve What You Don’t Measure – How Tracking Key Performance Indicators Propels Action

Apr 17, 2025 | Seraf Investor

Measuring and monitoring performance runs in parallel with managing every type of business. Many organizations rely on high level financial statements to show year over year changes and business trends in order to plan for the future. But relatively infrequent and...

How to Avoid the Closing Package from Hell

Apr 9, 2025 | Seraf Investor

The moment of truth has arrived: it is time to close the round. The deal lead and founders worked hard together to line up investors, negotiate terms, work through deal documents and disclosure schedules, and track down every last detail of cap tables. As usual it...

Learning the Hard Way – Due Diligence Mistakes

Mar 27, 2025 | Seraf Investor

It is easy to talk about due diligence in the abstract, but it is much harder to practice what you preach. One of the hardest things about early stage investing is that it is really risky - if you don’t have some suspension of disbelief, and you obsess too much about...