Watch Over Your Angels!

Sure, as much as you'd like your heavenly angels to shower you with divinity, as an entrepreneur you may be blessed to be seed funded by angels - who are your fans, believe in you, and cheer you by motivating you to strive for the best. A good angel will get you off the ground, be there for you when you need them the most, and continue to be there for you till the very end.

If your company needs big money to grow and scale (remember that a company can be a healthy angel funded company never requiring VC money) then VC money is what you need next. The angel to VC transition follows the line of money; it is a business like banking and the stock market. Pampered as you may be by your angels, consider the honeymoon to be over when you seek institutional investment in your startup - you will need to get more serious in all aspects of business and execution.

Raising VC money will require more rigour. You will need to create a business model and slide decks that may need to show hundreds of millions of dollars in value that you can create. Look closely at your VC term sheets and seek help in trying to understand the terms. There can be a lot of subtle stuff in there. This is the time to watch over your angels. You angels will love you no matter what, but in the no-matter-what case if they are "wiped out," the angels (the ones with gossamer wings) shall weep.