Meet Pipeline Fellowship alumna Caryn Effron.
Name: Caryn Effron
Title: Founder
Affiliation: GoGirl Finance
Twitter handle: @caryneffron
Describe the moment when you decided to become an angel
:
The moment I met Alexa von Tobel, the Founder of LearnVest.
What investments have you made since graduating from the Pipeline Fellowship?
*Female founder!
Company: LearnVest
Founder: Alexa von Tobel*
Company: E-Line Media
Founders: Michael Angst, Alan Gershenfeld
Company: DailyWorth
Founder: Amanda Steinberg*
Company: DayOne Response
Founders: Patricia Compas-Markman, Amy Cagle*
Company: Traklight
Founder: Mary Juetten*
Company: SPARK Experience
Founder: Spencer Gerrol
Company: Alice App
Founders: Justin Effron, Alexander Shashou, Dmitry Koltunov
Company: Eniac Ventures
Founders: Hadley Harris, Nihal Mehta, Tim Young, Vic Singh
Company: Rothenberg Ventures
Partners: Mike Rothenberg, Fran Hauser
Company: Metamorphic Ventures
Partners: Marc Michel, David Hirsh
Company: 645 Ventures
Founders & Partners: Nnamdi Okike and Aaron Holiday
How many investments do you make per year?
Three to five.
What are your investment deal-breakers?
Single founders.
What types of companies do you look to invest in?
I look for companies that address clear pain points and have a clear value proposition to the customer.
What do you look for in an entrepreneur/founding team?
Domain expertise and co-founders with complementary skill sets. Having a technical co-founder/committed CTO is a must.
How has your background played a role in your angel investing?
I am in the real estate mortgage finance business but I spend a great deal of time originating business—my day-to-day business involves being creative and understanding my clients’ needs—which has helped inform the way I think about investing in startup companies.
One piece of advice to an angel-in-training?
Look at as many opportunities as you can and be involved with an angel community or a few angel communities where you can evaluate deals with other active angels.
One piece of advice to an entrepreneur looking for capital?
Pay attention and develop metrics for your business success early on. While they can change as you learn, metrics and milestones are a must for capital raising.
What does impact investing mean to you?
Supporting companies and teams that line up with my core values.
How would you define a for-profit social venture?
A sustainable business that has a social impact piece alongside or as part of their for profit model.
Favorite quotation?
The road to success is always under construction. – Lily Tomlin
Random fact?
When I meet a great woman I cannot help but connect her with other great women.
Help us change the face of angel investing! Apply to Pipeline Fellowship’s fall 2015 angel investing bootcamps in Albuquerque, Boulder, Denver, LA, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, SF, Silicon Valley, and Vegas: http://pfapply.seamlessdocs.com/f/bootcamp
This post originally appeared on Pipeline Fellowship.
Photo credit: Elenamiv via Shutterstock.
Pipeline Angels, a network of new & seasoned women investors, is changing the face of angel investing & creating capital for women social entrepreneurs. Help us change the face of angel investing! Apply to Pipeline Angels’ angel investing bootcamps in Albuquerque, Ann Arbor-Detroit, Atlanta, Austin-Houston, Baltimore, Bangor-Portland, Boston, Boulder-Denver, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, Columbus, Dallas, DC, Jackson Hole, LA, Memphis-Nashville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, NYC, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Portsmouth, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, SF, Silicon Valley, Tampa, and Vegas: Learn More
