Ron Conway: More Reasons To Go All Angel

Carleen Hawn on September 13, 2008

Lately we’ve been discussing the many reasons why taking smaller, angel-sized investments instead of larger venture capital stakes often makes more sense for startups in a wobbly, exit-bereft market like the current one.

Today, Ron Conway, the well-known founder of the Silicon Valley-based Angel Investors LP fund, now associated with Baseline Ventures, weighs in with his own assessment of the benefits of the “all angel” investment path.

A former semiconductor executive who went on to co-found Altos Computer Systems, Anchor Intelligence and, most recently, SNOCAP, Conway took up angel investing in 1998. He’s seen his share of both hits and duds, but among the investments that earned Conway his “super angel” status are Google(s GOOG), Digg, PayPal(s EBAY), and Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com(s IACI)). He is also an advisor to Facebook. In other words, Conway knows what he’s talking about. So, if you’re seeking funding, you’d do well to consider his advice, dished out below the fold. Read More about Ron Conway: More Reasons To Go All Angel

Shawn Fanning, Ready for a Rupture

Om Malik on December 15, 2007

Last night at a holiday party hosted by super angel, Ron Conway, I ran into Shawn Fanning, who in the past started Napster and Snocap, and talked to him about his most recent start-up, Rupture. Angel investors like Conway and Joi Ito have invested in the company. (Snocap has been on the ropes and might be down for the final count.) Unlike his past two efforts, this one has nothing to do with music and instead is focused on gaming.

While he would not go into specifics, he did say that the new company would help game-fiends connect in a social sort of a way. The news of Rupture was first reported by Business Week last December, and since then the company has been in a beta test mode. Fanning said that the company was going to come out of stealth in a few weeks. I will keep you posted.

Photo Credit: Joi Ito via Flickr