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Tuesday March 9, 2010
Lauren Flanagan

Illustrations by Ray Vella

Lauren Flanagan

Managing Director
Phenomenelle Angels Fund

• Saying, "We’ve Got 100 Years of Experience." What really matters is relevant experience. What I look for in a management team is not that they have 100 years of experience combined but that they have they returned money to investors. Just saying you have so many years of experience doesn’t mean you are the right person. And just because you were at a big company doing it doesn’t mean you are a successful entrepreneur. What’s most important to me is if members of the management team have been successful entrepreneurs.

• Talking Too Much About Yourself. A lot of times, entrepreneurs come in and talk too much. They don’t ask many questions of the investors.

• Not Doing Your Homework. People contact us and haven’t even read our Web site. I have to tell them: "Excuse me, our fund doesn’t even do that. No, we’re not a fit." The inverse of that is that those who are savvy do their homework. They look at our portfolio companies and find synergy with those companies—some contact them. It shows you know how to get in.