Angel investing has a reputation for happening only in the large urban centers of the world. This impression is actually miles away from the truth. In some of the world’s smallest towns can be found some of the most creative angel investors. They are creating returns that anyone would crave in their portfolio while being able to provide a meaningful local contribution at the same time.
Being a small town angel investor isn’t without a unique set of challenges. It can be difficult to find potential investors that are educated within a specific industry. Follow-on VC can be impossible to locate, assuming that someone knows what venture capital even is. There is an overall lack of a support network that is local as well.
For the small town angel investor, however, they would never change a thing.
The Internet Has Changed Everything
There are three key advantages that the small town angel investor has despite all of the unique challenges that they may face.
1. Local officials welcome their input and will bend over backwards to accommodate needs.
2. There is enough room to work independently without heavy levels of competition.
3. The presence of the internet allows for global supports, even if no local supports exist.
The internet has changed how the small town angel investor operates. Instead of staying local and supporting mostly community projects only, they can get involved with virtually any project they want from whatever location they want. This has opened up more markets and provided more access.
Big towns are starting to notice these advantages and their perspectives are starting to shift as well. Instead of looking for returns on a global scale, angel investors are looking at returns on the neighborhood level. They are discovering that smaller returns with better margins add up to larger returns with larger margins.
It’s like taking a trip from Boston to Los Angeles. There are benefits from crossing the flyover states and the returns in doing so are known. Stopping off in a small town halfway provides a different, unique perspective and it is that perspective that can generate massive returns. This means sometimes it really is nice to live in a place where everyone knows your name.
Strong proponent of individual liberty and free speech. My goal is to present information that expands our awareness of crucial issues and exposes the manufactured illusion of freedom that we are sold in America. Question everything because nothing is what it seems.
