Dalton Caldwell - Startup Investor School Day 2

TL;DR

Dalton Caldwell presents a framework for angel investing centered on a personal process funnel (leads → intros → qualification → decision → close) and effective founder meetings. He stresses that most investment decisions are made in person, that conviction and founder-friendly behavior matter more than groupthink or trying to appear clever, and that saying a clear “no” is better than being wishy-

Key insights

• A process funnel – even a simple one – prevents wishy-washy decision-making; working backwards from a fixed budget avoids negotiating against yourself.
• Face-to-face meetings are the core of investment decisions; reading a deck or asking others is insufficient.
• Different investment criteria across investors is desirable (wisdom of crowds); identical criteria leads to groupthink, overfunded deals, and missed contrarian opportunities.