We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. The next eChai Startup Demo Day is on 29 August in Bengaluru and Pune. The next after that is on 26 September, all in person. 11 cities confirmed, 344 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Alternatives & angel investing

How do I quickly evaluate a startup before I angel invest, when I barely have time?

As a founder you have an edge and a trap: you understand building, but you are short on time and prone to backing people you simply like. Keep it simple. Ask whether the market can get genuinely big, whether these founders can actually ship and sell, and whether the terms are fair for the stage. You will rarely have enough data to be sure, so weight the team and the problem over the model. Be honest that you cannot do deep diligence on every deal, and that a warm intro is not diligence. If you cannot explain in one line why this could return your whole cheque many times over, pass. Most angel bets fail, so only back what you would be at peace losing. This is education, not advice, and no framework removes the underlying risk.

Go deeper

2 resources, 1 India-specific, 1 link-checked.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

The India-specific angel tax rules that touch both founders raising and individuals angel investing, worth understanding before you write a cheque.

Angel tax, explained

From ClearTax by ClearTax

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📖 Book
Paid Beginner

The best reminder that avoiding ruin beats chasing returns, and that wealth is the money you don't spend. The whole founder concentration problem, told as stories.

The Psychology of Money

From The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

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