Raising an angel round is often your first formal step toward building a venture-backable company.

But before you start pitching friends-of-friends, crafting wire instructions, or signing SAFE notes, there’s critical groundwork to cover.

This article outlines 10 hard questions you must ask (and answer) before raising your angel round — not just to look credible, but to build real conviction and avoid painful mistakes that second-time founders dodge instinctively.

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1. Why now? Why you? Why this problem?

These aren’t just pitch deck slides — they are litmus tests.
Angels invest in momentum and inevitability. If you can’t clearly articulate why this problem matters now, why you're uniquely suited to solve it, and what makes this timing urgent, you’re not ready to raise. You're asking someone to invest in a movie — you better have a compelling opening scene.

2. What’s your “venture backable” story?

Not every good idea is venture-scale.
Angels backing you are hoping for venture-like returns. So ask: Can this become a $100M+ company in a $1B+ market?What unfair advantage lets you get there? If your story feels niche, service-based, or has a ceiling, rethink your wedge or model before raising.

💡 Founder Tip: A "venture-backable story" isn't just TAM slides — it's a believable path from wedge → scale → dominance.

3. What are you actually raising for — and what will it unlock?

This isn't about how much you want — it's about what the money unlocks.
Angels want their capital to de-risk the next milestone. Be clear on:

• What this capital will achieve (MVP? key hire? early traction?)
• What milestone it unlocks (e.g., a $500K raise buys you 12 months to reach $20K MRR)
• Why that milestone makes you “Series A-worthy” or backable at pre-seed

✅ Checklist: Match use of funds to de-risking core assumptions (tech, team, market, GTM

4. Do you understand dilution and your cap table post-angel?

Raising $500K on a $4M SAFE cap feels clean — until you look up after a pre-seed and realize you've already given away 25%+ of the company.
Before raising:

• Model your cap table out to Series A
• Account for future SAFEs, ESOP expansions, and dilution
• Know your ownership at each stage and what’s “normal”

5. What kind of angels do you want — and why?

Don’t just chase checks, chase leverage and asymmetric value add. Ask yourself, for each $, am I getting a high ROI beyond the value of the $?

Smart angels:

• Open doors (talent, customers, VCs)
• Add credibility and signal
• Won’t slow you down with overreach

Ask yourself:

• Do I want operators or financiers?
• Am I optimizing for signal, sweat, or speed?
• Who can help me get to the next round?

6. Do you have a compelling “why now” for investors, not just users?

Your product might be sticky for users — but why is now the right time for investors to bet on you?
Example angles:

• A market is shifting (regulation, AI infra, consumer behavior)
• Your insight is contrarian but increasingly right
• Competitors are stuck in an old model

🎯 Investor Lens: "Why is this the right time for this team to win this market?"

7. What’s your fundraise narrative, not just your pitch deck?

Decks don't close rounds. Narratives do.
Your narrative should:

• Be tight enough to pitch in 60 seconds
• Show traction or insight (ideally both)
• Spark interest in the outcome, not just the product

🧠 Pro Tip: Use the “Insight → Wedge → Beachhead → Vision” narrative arc

8. Do you have a founder-friendly structure, and can you explain it?

Angels want confidence that:

• Your deal terms are clean (SAFE, standard cap, post-money preferred)
• Your governance structure is functional (who’s on the board? how are decisions made?)
• You won’t fumble your legal stack at the next raise

📎 Investor-Friendly Stack: Delaware C-Corp + YC Post-Money SAFE + 10–15% ESOP pre-raise = green flag

9. Have you de-risked the top 1-2 investor red flags?

Before you raise, know the dealbreakers angels watch for.
Big ones at idea/angel stage - EVERY startup has them, no matter how amazing.

• Founding team misalignment
• No unique insight or edge
• Flimsy GTM or no unique plan to acquire users (SEO, and advertising is not a plan)
• Cap table red flags (e.g., ghost co-founders, weird splits, dead equity)

10. Do you have the materials to close?

You don’t need a data room at this stage, but you do need to be buttoned up.
Minimum viable investor materials:

• Clear one-pager or Notion memo
• Clean cap table (post-angel modeled)
• SAFE terms and target raise defined
• Deck that tells the story + vision

📦 Starter Data Room Pack: Deck, one-pager, cap table, FAQs, SAFE template

Finally: Angels Invest Based On Trust and Momentum

Angel rounds are built on early conviction, but conviction has to be earned.
Second-time founders don’t start raising until these ten questions are answered, rehearsed, and reinforced in every conversation. When you're tight on your story, your structure, and your strategy, the capital follows faster than you'd think.

Yours,

Maria Rotilu

Openseed VC

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