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, 345 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Alternatives & angel investing

How much should I set aside for angel investing without hurting my own startup or my family?

Treat angel money as cash you can lose entirely and still sleep. As a founder you already carry huge, concentrated risk in your own company, so angel cheques stack more illiquid, high-failure bets on top of that. A common rule of thumb is to angel invest only from money left over after your emergency fund, your family's near-term needs, and your own runway are all covered, and to keep the total small relative to your net worth. Size each cheque assuming it goes to zero, because many will. Spreading smaller amounts across more startups usually beats one big swing, since a few winners have to carry the losers. This is education, not advice, and the right number depends entirely on your situation, so map it to your own goals or talk to a qualified advisor before committing anything.

Go deeper

3 resources, 2 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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