I spent my first year angel investing on gut feel. Lost money on 3 out of 5 deals. Then I built a simple scorecard in Google Sheets that changed everything.
Here's what I learned:
The Problem
Early-stage startups have no historical financials. You're betting on people, market timing, and a hunch. Without a system, you fall in love with founders who pitch well or chase hype sectors.
My Solution
I created a weighted scorecard with 8 factors (team, market, traction, business model, moat, capital efficiency, terms, founder fit). Each gets a score of 1-10, multiplied by a weight. The total gives a composite score from 0 to 100.
After scoring 50+ deals over 2 years, I built a benchmark database of anonymized comparables. Now when I score a new deal, I instantly see where it ranks vs. past opportunities.
The Template
The exact scorecard is now available as a Google Sheets template at MicroTools Studio on Gumroad for $29. It includes:
- The 8-factor scorecard with adjustable weights
- 50 pre-loaded comparable deals across AI, fintech, healthtech, climate, and B2B SaaS
- A pipeline dashboard with charts
- Full instructions
Should you buy it?
If you're evaluating 3+ angel deals per quarter and want to stop relying on luck, yes. If you're a casual investor doing 1 deal a year, you can build your own from this article.
Grab it here: Angel Investment Scorecard — Google Sheets
Happy investing!
— MicroTools Studio
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