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

The single biggest determinant of angel investing success is who knows you're investing and what they think of you when they have something to share.

Great deals rarely come from cold outreach or browsing AngelList. They come from friends saying "you should look at this," from founders you've helped asking if you want in on their next thing, from other angels co-investing and remembering you were smart about the last one.

That deal flow only happens if people know you exist and have some reason to think of you.

Most angels treat community building like collecting LinkedIn connections. They go to events, exchange business cards, add people on social media, and call it networking. Then they wonder why their deal flow sucks.

Real community building is about becoming valuable to specific people. It's about developing expertise others respect, sharing knowledge generously, and showing up consistently over time.

Reputation Compounds Faster Than You Think

You don't need thousands of followers or a massive network to get good deal flow. You need a few dozen people who trust your judgment and think of you when relevant opportunities come up.

Building that reputation happens through consistent participation in whatever communities you're part of. If there's an angel group you've joined, show up to events. Ask good questions. Share perspectives when you have something useful to add. Help other investors think through deals even when you're not investing yourself.

Over time, people notice who adds value and who just shows up looking for opportunities. The value-adders get better deal flow. It's that simple.

Within communities like Angel Squad, members have built reputations as sector experts just by consistently sharing knowledge in their areas of expertise. When a climate tech company pitches, people want to know what the climate tech expert thinks. That expert status came from showing up and contributing, not from credentials or a big portfolio.

Pick One or Two Areas to Go Deep

You can't be an expert in everything. Trying to have opinions on every sector makes you seem like you don't really know anything.

Pick one or two areas where you have genuine knowledge, either from operating experience or from deep personal interest, and become known for those. When deals in those areas come up, you're the person people think to ask.

This creates a virtuous cycle. You see more deals in your focus areas, which helps you develop better pattern recognition, which makes your feedback more valuable, which makes more people want to share deals with you.

The specificity matters. "I invest in software" is too broad. "I invest in dev tools for mobile engineers" tells people exactly when to think of you.

Share Knowledge Generously

The counterintuitive truth about building community is that the more you give away, the more you get back.

When you see a deal that's not right for you but might be perfect for another angel you know, make the intro. When you learn something useful about a sector or company, share it. When a newer investor asks questions, take time to answer even though there's no immediate benefit to you.

This feels inefficient in the moment. You're spending time helping other people with no obvious return.

But angel investing is a long game. The investor you helped two years ago now runs a fund and remembers you were generous with your time. The founder you gave feedback to when you passed on their seed round is now raising a Series A and wants you involved. The angel you introduced to a deal co-invests with you on the next three.

The returns come, just not immediately and not in predictable ways.

Social Media Actually Matters

Most angels are either completely absent from social media or treat it as pure broadcasting, posting about their portfolio companies and accomplishments with no actual engagement.

Both approaches miss the point.

Social media done well is about showing you're active, sharing what you're thinking about, and giving people a sense of who you are beyond just "angel investor."

Posting regularly matters because it signals you're in the game. When your smartest friends start companies, they need to know you're actively investing. They're not going to reach out if they haven't heard from you in two years.

What you post matters less than you think. Some of the most successful investor content is personal, hobbies, interests, random observations. Eric Bahn from Hustle Fund posts about minivans and Formula 1. It makes him seem like a real person, not a bot. People who also love F1 connect with him even though minivans have nothing to do with startup investing.

The key is posting consistently without being promotional. If everything you share is "look at my portfolio company," people tune out. If you share what you're genuinely interested in, people pay attention.

Other Angels Are Your Best Sources

Most new angels focus on building relationships with founders. That makes sense—founders are the ones raising money.

But your fellow angels might be more valuable for deal flow. Angels who invest actively see hundreds of deals. They can't take all of them. When they see something good that's not quite right for them, they'll pass it to other angels they trust.

Becoming one of the angels other investors think of means showing you're thoughtful, easy to work with, and add value beyond just capital. It means being someone other investors actually like.

The way to build those relationships is simple: be helpful when you can, don't be annoying, and treat other investors like peers rather than competitors. Angels who hoard information or act superior don't get deal flow from their peers. Angels who share generously and treat others well become everyone's go-to for co-investing.

Create Reasons for People to Show Up

If you're building your own angel community, whether formally or informally, you need to give people reasons to participate regularly.

Regular events work. Monthly pitch sessions, quarterly dinners, annual retreats. The specific format matters less than the consistency. People show up when they know something is happening regularly.

Make participation low-friction. Virtual events are easier than in-person for most people. Short sessions are easier than long ones. Clear structure makes it easy to know what to expect.

The best communities balance structure with flexibility. You want enough organization that things actually happen, but not so much that it feels bureaucratic or formal. The goal is to make it easy and enjoyable for people to participate.

Aligning Incentives Through Carry

Some communities share carry on deals that members source. At Hustle Fund, they split carry into five buckets. The first three buckets are for the team, but the fourth and fifth bucket are for LPs only. If you send in a deal and they do it, you get 10% of the carry on that first check. That's meaningful dollars because they're writing two to three million dollar checks.

That kind of structure aligns incentives. Members have reason to source great deals and bring them to the community. The community rewards sourcing in addition to investing.

The Value of Honest Feedback

The most valuable thing communities provide is honest feedback. When you're investing solo, you can convince yourself a bad deal is good. When you're in a community, other members will tell you why they think you're wrong. That saves you from expensive mistakes.

It also helps you have conviction when you're right. If you bring a deal to a community and multiple experienced investors think it's good, that's validation. You can size up your investment appropriately instead of under-investing out of fear.

Your Personal Board for Angel Investing

The community becomes your personal board for your angel investing. Just like founders need boards to help them make better decisions, angels need communities to help them invest better. The returns compound not just financially but in knowledge and relationships.

At the end of the day, angel investing can be lonely when you're solo. You're making high-risk decisions with your own money and nobody to talk through them with. Communities make it less lonely and more profitable. That's a rare combination.

The Long Game Always Wins

Community building in angel investing is measured in years, not months. You're not going to meet someone at an event and immediately start seeing incredible deal flow from them.

But show up consistently for a year, add value whenever you can, and develop genuine relationships with a few dozen people in startup ecosystems, and your deal flow will transform.

The patience required to play this long game is exactly why most angels don't build strong communities. They want immediate results. They want to attend one event and see three deals the next week.

It doesn't work that way. But for angels willing to invest in relationships and community over time, the payoff is enormous. You'll see better deals, get better allocations, have more fun, and build friendships that last beyond any individual investment.

If you want to be part of a community that's built around learning, sharing deal flow, and helping each other become better investors, Angel Squad connects you with active angels and direct access to how experienced investors at Hustle Fund evaluate hundreds of deals every month. You'll build the relationships and knowledge that turn into better returns over time.