O16 - Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and GovernanceReturn

Does an early-stage startup have future potential or not? This is a question that many investors or start-up appraisers ask themselves. A qualified answer to this question can be obtained by learning how and why experienced business angel investors, who are those who invest substantial sums in early-stage start-ups, make empirical decisions. In this article, we identify the key signals that are decisive for Mr. Jiří Hlavenka, a experienced Czech angel investor in IT sector with a history of more than 50 invested start-ups and several thousand analyzed investment opportunities. The results show that the angel investor’s decision is primarily a “bet on people” – his decision to invest in an early-stage start-up is most influenced by the specific set of skills and abilities of the founder(s), namely: (i) the ability to execute a business, (ii) being a good leader, (iii) being a good merchant, (iv) ability to build a team, (v) all-round versatility, (vi) carrying a strong vision. The findings of this article may be of interest, among other things, to appraisers, investors who estimate the future potential of new start-ups, or start-up founders who use the investments themselves in the early stages of their business.