Meet Pipeline Fellowship alumna Fradel Barber.
Title: Visionary Entrepreneur, Investor & Financial Services
Affiliation: World Financial Group
Describe the moment when you decided to become an angel:
Being an entrepreneur myself, I understand the struggles an entrepreneur goes through in starting a business from scratch and decided to become an angel investor so that I can help entrepreneurs get started.
What investments have you made since graduating from the Pipeline Fellowship?
*Woman founder!
Company: DayOne Response, Inc.
Founder(s): Tricia Compas-Markman*
Company: Shodogg
Founder(s): Jamie Cohen, Herb Mitschele, David Strober
Company: Ideapod
Founder(s): Mark Bakacs, Justin Brown
What are your investment deal-breakers?
#1: The entrepreneur! Their passion for what they do, their attitude towards failure, mental toughness, and work ethic.
#2: The usage of the investment money. Whether it will enable the company to grow or is being used to pay the entrepreneur a salary.
What types of companies do you look to invest in?
I want to invest in a variety of different types of companies.
What do you look for in an entrepreneur/founding team?
I look for passion and belief in their product or service, a relentless and persistent attitude and work ethic, and their coachability in learning and adapting to new situations and environments.
How has your background played a role in your angel investing?
As an entrepreneur in the financial services industry, I’ve consulted and assisted many individuals, as well as businesses, on how to plan for their financial futures. Understanding angel investing and becoming an angel investor myself has broadened my horizons on how I can properly guide my clients in this area.
One piece of advice to an angel-in-training?
Learn as much as possible from going through the process of making your first investment. Hands-on experience guided by experts in the industry is always the best way to learn!
One piece of advice to an entrepreneur looking for capital?
Make your potential investors understand what exactly you need the money for and how it will be used to grow and expand the company.
What does impact investing mean to you?
Investing in a company that makes a difference for people and/or the world, and has the ability to change people’s lives via their product or service.
Favorite quotation?
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. — Margaret Mead
Random fact?
I am the oldest of twelve children born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to the same pa.
This post originally appeared on Pipeline Fellowship.
About the blogger: Help us change the face of angel investing! Apply to Pipeline Fellowship‘s fall 2014 angel investing bootcamps in Atlanta, Austin, LA, Miami, Seattle, or SF, here.