The Ledger
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Ben Kepes Avoids Angel Networks Because They Are 'Kind of Douchebaggy'
“So, you know, one option is to get involved in an angel network. I'm not so big on that because it's kind of douchebaggy.”
Work-Life Balance Is Impossible for Scaling SaaS Founders, Kepes Argues
“And the reality is that as a SaaS founder, no matter what people say, you don't have that balance because you have to focus because it's a short life cycle. And in order to scale to the level, To see the outcome you need to be hustling.”
CEOs Cannot Be Completely Honest With Employees, Must Rely on Boards
“The reality is a C it's super hard because you can't be completely honest with your employees because, you know, at the end of the day, the buck stops with you. And so, Your board members, you should absolutely see them as a sounding board that you can be tota…”
Founders Sometimes Cut Off Angel Investors After Raising Institutional Rounds, Kepes Says
“I mean, I've had not with CloudAbility, but with other companies, I've had sort of the email from CE saying, hey, we've done Series A, B, C, whatever from now on, we probably won't be updating you ever, and I won't reply to your emails, kind of thing, which is…”
Angels Should View Invested Capital as Payment for the Experience
“For an angel, don't invest anything you're not prepared to lose. When you do invest, really enjoy the ride, but you, you're kind of paying for the ride, and if you have an outcome at the other end, that's a bonus, and so I don't think about that money.”
Ben Kepes's Initial Angel Check Into Cloudability Was $20,000 To $30,000
“I mean, the chick size was, from memory, it was like, 20, 30 k, so not much at all.”
60% of Kepes's Realized Angel Investments Yielded Positive Returns, 40% Went Zero
“So there's probably 40% still in play. I would say I've been super lucky. So probably 60% of the ones that have had an outcome have been a positive outcome. 40% have been to zero.”
Ben Kepes Was Cloudability's First Investor, Introduced Founders to Foundry Group
“So I was the first first investor in Cloudability. And again, that was super interesting. Invested introduced those guys to Brad and the team at the Foundry you know, watch that investment play out over time. And then they got, got acquired by Aptio.”