融资市场反向发展Funding Markets Develop in Reverse
我联合创立 AngelList，是因为我厌倦了对创业者说"不"。我想换一种说法："是的，我们可以帮你拿到融资。"
所以，当看到来自偏远地区的优秀创业公司在 AngelList 上融资时，我们尤其感到遗憾。有些我们设法帮它们拿到了融资——包括加拿大和欧洲的一些公司。其他的则更难——尤其是俄罗斯、拉丁美洲和亚洲的公司。
我逐渐意识到，问题在于融资市场是逆向发展的。
在任何地理区域内，最先获得融资的公司，恰恰是最不需要融资的公司。它们拥有稳健的经营历史、可审计的财务数据、可预测的现金流等。为这类公司提供融资风险较小，因此围绕它们会先形成二级市场，再形成一级市场。可以把这些称为公开市场。
公开市场之后是夹层投资者，他们在公司上市前夕进行投资。由于夹层投资者如今承担了风险，晚期私人投资者开始在他们身后聚集。如此层层递进，直到最后是种子孵化器和天使投资人。
本质上，作为投资者，你面临的唯一最大风险是"下游融资风险"——即公司花光你的钱之后，再也无法筹集到更多资金的风险。
这解释了那个看似矛盾的现象：在创新尚不成熟的城市，你更容易找到愿意向成熟企业投资 1000 万美元的风险投资（VC），却很难找到愿意向初创公司投资 10 万美元的天使投资人。
Y Combinator 选择硅谷作为大本营，正体现了硅谷生态系统的惊人实力。YC 及其同类机构之所以能存在，全靠那里丰富的天使生态。保罗·格雷厄姆深知，他的毕业生离不开丰富的天使生态，因此不遗余力（比如举办 AngelConf）去培育它。
同样，纽约天使市场终于开花结果的真凭实据，就是 TechStars 和其他一批种子孵化器纷纷选择在那里开展业务。
作为选择大本营的创业者，请仔细观察四周。如果看不到多少风险投资（VC），那你很可能也找不到多少天使投资人。尽管 VC 投的钱更多，实际上他们承担的风险却更小。
同样，天使投资人也应该明白这座金字塔是如何运作的。投资那些无法获得风险投资的公司，风险极高。以风险投资的估值投资天使阶段的公司，意味着你的投资组合很可能会产生负回报。
最后，如果你正是身处"前沿"地区、周围缺乏足够天使投资人的优秀创业者之一，你有两个选择：要么自力更生，做到能拿出真实财务回报的程度，以此吸引本地和海外的投资者；要么考虑把总部（虽然不一定整家公司）迁往融资中心。
I co-founded AngelList because I was tired of saying no to entrepreneurs. I wanted to say instead, “yes, we can help you get funded.”
So, it’s especially disappointing when we get promising startups pitching on AngelList from remote locations. Some we’ve managed to get funded – including ones in Canada and Europe. Others are harder – especially in Russia, Latin America, and Asia.
The problem, as I’ve come to realize, is that funding markets develop in reverse.
In any given geographic region, the first companies that get funded are the ones that least need funding. They have strong operating histories, auditable financials, predictable cash flows, etc.. Funding these companies is less risky, and so a secondary, and then a primary, market forms around them. Call these the public markets.
After the public markets come the mezzanine investors, investing just before a company goes public. And because the mezzanines now exist to pick up risk, late stage private investors start forming behind them. And so on and so forth until you end up with Seed incubators and Angel investors.
Essentially, the single biggest risk that you have as an investor is “downstream financing risk.” The risk that the company won’t be able to raise more money once it has spent all of your cash.
This explains the apparent paradox that in less mature innovation cities, you’ll have an easier time finding VCs who will invest $10M in a mature business, than Angels who’ll invest $100K in a raw startup.
It’s a measure of the incredible strength of the Silicon Valley ecosystem that Y Combinator has chosen it as its hometown. YC and its brethren can only exist because of the rich Angel ecosystem. Paul Graham was smart enough to realize that his graduates couldn’t function without a rich Angel ecosystem, and went to great pains (such as AngelConf) to foster it.
Similarly, the true evidence that the NY Angel market has finally blossomed is that TechStars and a number of other seed combinators are choosing to do business there.
As an entrepreneur choosing your base of operations, take a careful look around. If you don’t see many VCs, you’re not likely to find many Angels either. Even though the VCs invest more money, they actually take less risk.
Similarly, Angels should realize how this whole pyramid functions. Investing in companies that won’t have access to Venture is incredibly risky. Investing at Venture valuations in Angel-stage companies means that your portfolio will likely generate negative returns.
Finally, if you are one of these talented entrepreneurs in a “frontier” location where there aren’t enough angels around, you have two choices. You’re either going to have to bootstrap to the point that you can show real financial returns, which will attract local and foreign investors. Or, you should consider relocating your headquarters (although not necessarily the whole company) to a funding hub.