Brian Nichols is the co-founder of Angel Squad, a community where you’ll learn how to angel invest and get a chance to invest as little as $1k into Hustle Fund's top performing early-stage startups

You've probably heard this before: angel investing is only for the wealthy elite with deep pockets and insider connections. It's one of those persistent myths that keeps talented professionals on the sidelines while the same small group of investors funds the next generation of startups.

The SEC requires accredited investor status to write checks into most early-stage deals. That means you need either $1 million in investable assets (excluding your primary residence) or $200,000 in annual income ($300,000 for couples). Those are real gatekeepers.

But what if you don't meet those thresholds yet? Does that mean you can't learn about angel investing, build relationships with founders, or prepare yourself to invest when you do qualify?

The short answer: no. A new wave of angel investing communities is emerging that welcomes non-accredited investors as learning members.

The Traditional Angel Investing Gatekeepers

For decades, angel groups operated like exclusive clubs. You needed to be accredited to join, you needed personal connections to get in the door, and you needed to write checks of $25,000 or more to be taken seriously. This model worked for a small group of wealthy individuals, but it left everyone else in the dark.

The result? A homogeneous investor base that missed opportunities simply because they weren't seeing the full spectrum of startups. When investors all come from similar backgrounds, they tend to fund founders who look like them, talk like them, and solve problems they personally understand.

How Non-Accredited Members Can Participate

Communities like Angel Squad have cracked the code on making angel investing education accessible before you're ready to invest. Here's how it works: you join as a member to learn the mechanics of evaluating startups, attend pitch events alongside experienced investors, and build relationships with founders and fellow aspiring angels.

When you're ready to write checks, you can take the Series 65 exam. This securities license allows you to become an accredited investor through knowledge rather than wealth.

This model solves a real problem. Instead of waiting until you have $1 million sitting around to start learning, you can build expertise now. By the time you have capital to deploy, you'll already understand deal structures, know how to conduct due diligence, and have a network of co-investors to lean on.

What You Can Actually Learn as a Non-Accredited Member

Being a non-accredited member isn't about sitting on the sidelines watching others invest. These programs offer structured education that gives you the same frameworks professional VCs use to evaluate opportunities.

At Angel Squad, for example, members learn Hustle Fund's approach to assessing 1,000+ deals each month. That includes understanding market sizing, evaluating founder-market fit, analyzing competitive landscapes, and spotting red flags in financial projections. You'll see how experienced investors ask questions during pitch events and what makes them say yes or pass.

The education extends beyond just evaluating individual deals. Members learn about portfolio construction (how many startups should you invest in?), tax implications of angel investing, and the mechanics of SPVs and syndicates. This knowledge compounds over time.

Elizabeth Yin, co-founder of Hustle Fund, has been vocal about democratizing access to startup investing. As she noted in her work with Angel Squad, "Great founders can come from anywhere and look like anyone. The same should be true for angel investors."

Building Your Network Before You Invest

One underappreciated benefit of joining as a non-accredited member: you get to build relationships before money is involved. When you're not yet writing checks, people are more willing to have authentic conversations about what they're learning, what mistakes they've made, and what resources have been most valuable.

Angel Squad's 2,000+ members span 40+ countries and include startup executives, founders, lawyers, doctors, and operators from every industry. The geographic diversity alone is valuable because you'll hear about regional startup ecosystems you might never have encountered otherwise.

These connections become your due diligence network when you do start investing. Need to understand the competitive landscape for a SaaS tool targeting dentists? There's probably a member who knows that space. Want to hear about someone's experience with a particular accelerator or advisor? You can ask.

The Path from Learning to Investing

Let's be practical about the timeline here. If you join as a non-accredited member today, how long until you're writing checks?

For the Series 65 route, most people study for 4-8 weeks before taking the exam. Once you pass, you're qualified to invest. If you're building wealth to reach accredited investor status through assets or income, the timeline varies based on your financial situation.

But what doesn't vary, is the learning you do now compounds. Every pitch you watch, every framework you study, every conversation with an experienced investor makes you sharper. When you do write your first check, you'll be miles ahead of someone who waited until they had money to start learning.

Angel Squad members who've gone through this path consistently report that the education helped them avoid common first-time investor mistakes. Instead of chasing hype or getting swayed by charismatic founders, they knew how to evaluate fundamentals and spot genuine traction.

Making Angel Investing Accessible to Everyone

The broader movement toward accessible angel investing matters because capital allocation drives innovation. When only a narrow slice of society decides which startups get funded, we miss opportunities. Products that could serve underserved markets don't get built. Founders solving problems outside the typical Silicon Valley bubble struggle to find backing.

Opening up angel investing education to non-accredited investors creates a pipeline of diverse investors who will eventually deploy capital with different perspectives and priorities. A doctor who invests might spot opportunities in healthcare tech that a typical Sand Hill Road investor misses. An operator who built supply chain systems might recognize the potential in logistics startups that others overlook.

By the time these non-accredited members qualify to invest, they'll have spent months or years building expertise and networks. They won't be rookie investors making costly mistakes. They'll be prepared, educated angels who can add real value to founders beyond just money.

If you're not yet accredited but want to learn about angel investing, joining a community that welcomes non-accredited members is the smartest move you can make. You'll build knowledge, develop your investment thesis, and create relationships that will serve you for decades. When you're ready to invest, you won't be starting from scratch. You'll be stepping into a world you already understand.

Angel Squad offers the kind of structured learning and supportive community that makes this journey less intimidating. With 2,000+ members who've collectively invested $30+ million across 70+ startups, the community provides both education and access to vetted deal flow when you're ready to write checks.