Level up your angel investing while growing your network

On Deck is on a mission to 10x the number of founders building world changing companies.

To accomplish this goal, we also want to help increase the number of experienced operators-turned-investors backing these founders and companies.
‍
When startups raise capital, who they choose to raise from can have a critical impact on their trajectory.
‍
World-class founders love raising from other established founders and experienced operators who have been there before, can provide relevant advice, and open up their networks to find new customers, potential hires, and more.
‍
But just like starting a company, getting started as an angel investor is fraught with risk and uncertainty.

* How much capital should I allocate?”
* “What is the right valuation, and do the terms make sense?”
* "How do I evaluate opportunities in this industry, or find experts to help me evaluate?"
* “How should I reference this founder, or understand if this team’s experience fits the problem they’re trying to solve?”
* “How much do I weigh traction against other positive signals?”

The goal of ODA is to build an amazing community and peer learning environment around cohorts of established founders and experienced operators; helping them accelerate their journeys to becoming world-class angel investors.

In lieu of a program fee, for all investor fellowships we ask you to contribute to the On Deck Access Fund. For the Angel Fellowship, we ask for a $5,000 donation that enables two fellows to partake in the On Deck Founder Fellowship.
‍
As a participant in On Deck Angels, you get: 
1) An 8-week program & curriculum, including hundreds of hours of live programming, breakout sessions and masterclasses across the On Deck Angel and Founder Fellowships.

2) Access to the online community and On Deck Directory (sneak peek here). You’ll have visibility into the various projects and ideas fellows are working on, opportunity to engage in online forums, and host discussion groups/workshops with our founders.

3) The opportunity to participate in official On Deck investor programming, including office hours, our “first look” investor program, founder pitch days, and to request introductions directly to 1,000+ ODF founders at the most formative stages of company building.
4) And ultimately: the life-changing opportunity to build relationships with a group of high potential co-investors, talented founders and operators: a network and talent “asset” that will follow you deep into your investing career.

To join ODA, you are likely:

* A current or past founder of a technology company with deep knowledge of your market;
* A technology executive or otherwise experienced “operator” with experience building/scaling startups, and/or leading teams at notable tech companies, looking to pay it forward and share your experience.
* Someone with a unique background or lived experience, knowledge of an industry or technology that gives you access to and/or ability to help founders working on problems with which you are familar.
* Passionate about learning the craft of angel investing and helping founders succeed.

We regularly describe the On Deck Fellowship as a “buffet”, and ODA is no different.
‍
Both programs are very much a “you get out what you put in” community: often the biggest contributors are also the biggest beneficiaries.
‍
Depending on your schedule and interests, you could choose to:

* attend everything and “gorge” yourself on knowledge until you explode;
* tune in at your leisure to attend sessions that interest you; or
* just search the directory and connect with interesting people 1:1.

There’s no pressure to invest in any companies or founders you meet: you can invest at your own pace and remain focused on your company. Most participants invest in companies they’re already helping. To make the most of the active 8 week cohort, we recommend you try to commit to 2 hours per week of engagement with the program.

Yes, the On Deck Angel Fellowship is for accredited investors only.
‍
We want the ODA community to be a safe space to share information about active fundraises, deals you’re seeing and considering participating in. Unfortunately, this means we have to restrict access to accredited investors only.
‍
Accredited investors are individuals or entities that meet standards defined by U.S. securities regulators which allow them to invest in certain private securities offerings. Most startups raising money do so from accredited investors only.
‍
You should read the full definition here, but in brief this includes:
‍
1) Individuals with annual income over $200K individually (or $300K with spouse) in each of the last 2 years and an expectation of the same this year.
‍
2) Individuals with net assets over $1 million, excluding their primary residence (priced common stock or vested shares in a startup can count).
‍
3) An institution with over $5 million in assets, such as a venture fund or a trust.
‍
4) An entity made up entirely of accredited investors.
‍
While this regulation itself is problematic for a number of reasons, the consequences of not playing by SEC rules are high and mostly fall on founders, so we have to be strict here.

Yes: just like ODF, the On Deck Angel Fellowship will be run entirely virtually/remotely. This enables participation from all corners of the world. With the On Deck Founders Fellowship, we've demonstrated our knack for mastering the playbook in building remote communities and relationship building online, and apply the same approach here.

Our community is strong in several hubs around the world mostly notably in the San Francisco Bay Area. As soon as the coast is clear post-COVID, we’ll be back to organizing frequent offline programming including dinners/small gatherings and retreat.

No, we expect that most participants will be founders and operators who plan to continue operating and building companies as their “day job” while scaling up their investing on the side. If you are a VC, we suggest you check out the On Deck VC Fellowship.
‍
We see entrepreneurship as a career that goes from founding and building startups to investing in them. You’ll learn how to be a better operator from the other investor/operators in your program. You may start one or two companies over your career—but you can invest for a lifetime.

Yes! Many ODF Fellows are excited founders and experienced operators who are investing in addition to building their own companies. We’d love to have you involved in both, or take one after the other depending on the optimal timing for your founder journey.

You can view our values here, but to summarize: Service, Sacredness, Respect, and Gratitude.

After the fellowship ends, you’ll maintain access to your cohort and community.