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

Not all angel investing communities are created equal, especially when it comes to SaaS and tech deals.

Some communities claim to have tech deal flow but end up sharing random consumer apps and local service businesses. Others have great tech deals but no educational support to help you evaluate them properly. And some are basically just Slack channels with occasional pitch decks dropped in.

If you're specifically interested in backing SaaS companies and tech startups, here's what actually matters when choosing a community.

What Makes Tech Deal Flow Different

SaaS and tech deals require different evaluation frameworks than other types of startups. You're looking at metrics like MRR growth, churn rates, CAC payback periods, and gross margins. A community built for evaluating local restaurants or consumer products won't teach you how to think about these.

The best communities for tech deals are typically backed by VC firms that specialize in software. They're already seeing hundreds of SaaS pitches monthly. They understand the sector. And they're only sharing deals that meet institutional standards.

Angel Squad fits this profile because Hustle Fund invests almost exclusively in pre-seed and seed software companies. When they share a SaaS deal with members, it's a company they're actually backing with their own fund. That alignment matters.

Deal Volume and Selection Rate

Here's a question most communities won't answer clearly: how many deals do you actually review before sharing one with members?

If a community is seeing 20 deals per month and sharing 5, that's a 25% acceptance rate. That's not selective enough. You want a community that's seeing hundreds or thousands of deals monthly and only sharing the top 1-2%.

Hustle Fund reviews 1,000+ companies every month. They share 2-3 with Angel Squad. That's a 0.2% acceptance rate. This level of filtering is what separates great deal flow from mediocre deal flow.

The math matters because most startups fail. If you're investing in randomly selected tech companies, you'll lose money. If you're investing in the top 0.2% after institutional-quality screening, your odds improve dramatically.

Education Specific to Tech Investing

General angel investing education is fine, but tech deals require specialized knowledge. You need to understand:

SaaS metrics that actually matter. Not just revenue, but MRR growth rate, net revenue retention, customer acquisition costs, and gross margin structure.

Enterprise vs. SMB motions. How go-to-market strategy changes between selling to Fortune 500 companies versus small businesses, and why that affects valuations.

Product-led growth dynamics. When PLG works, when it doesn't, and how to evaluate if a company has the right model for their market.

Technical infrastructure decisions. Enough to spot red flags in how founders are building their product, even if you're not an engineer yourself.

The best angel investing communities for SaaS teach these frameworks explicitly. Angel Squad runs regular sessions with experienced investors breaking down how they evaluate tech companies. Turner Novak, Ann Miura-Ko, and other successful VCs have shared their frameworks in "10 Minute Blitz" sessions.

This isn't generic advice. It's tactical, specific knowledge that makes you better at evaluating the next SaaS pitch you see.

Geographic Focus Matters Less Than You Think

A common misconception is that you need to join a Bay Area focused community to get the best tech deals. Not true anymore.

Great software companies are being built everywhere. Toronto, New York, Miami, Singapore, Berlin, Bangalore. Some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies right now are based outside traditional tech hubs.

What matters more is whether the community has active deal flow in software specifically. Angel Squad members have invested in companies across the US and internationally. The deal flow isn't limited by geography because Hustle Fund sources globally.

This actually gives you an advantage. While other investors are fighting over the same Palo Alto deals, you're seeing opportunities they're missing.

Minimum Check Sizes and Portfolio Building

For tech deals specifically, you want a community that lets you start small and scale up as you learn. SaaS companies can look similar on the surface (subscription revenue, B2B sales), but the actual quality varies wildly.

Starting with $1,000 or $2,000 checks lets you invest in 10-15 companies while you're learning. Once you've developed an eye for what works, you can increase check sizes to $5,000 or $10,000.

Angel Squad's structure supports this approach. There's no pressure to write big checks. Members invest what makes sense for their situation, and many scale up naturally as their confidence grows.

Co-Investment Dynamics

Who else is investing in these deals?

If you're the only one backing a company, that's risky. But if you're co-investing with a VC fund that has decades of experience and a 600+ company portfolio, you're getting implicit validation.

When Hustle Fund shares a deal with Angel Squad and puts their own capital in, you know they've done serious due diligence. You're not investing blindly. You're investing alongside people who've evaluated thousands of tech companies.

This co-investment model reduces risk significantly compared to solo angel investing where you're making every decision independently.

The Member Quality Factor

The other investors in your community matter more than people realize. If you're surrounded by experienced tech operators, product leaders, and successful founders, you'll learn faster.

Angel Squad members include executives from major tech companies, founders who've sold businesses, and experienced angel investors. When you're in Slack channels with these people, you absorb their thinking.

Someone asks about how to evaluate a marketplace's network effects, and three members with marketplace experience share their frameworks. That's real-time education you can't get from a course.

Cost vs. Value for Tech Deals

Here's the ROI calculation specifically for tech-focused communities:

If you invest $10,000 per year across 5-7 SaaS deals at $1,500-2,000 per deal, and pay $3,500 in membership fees, your total outlay is $13,500. If even one of those companies becomes a moderate success (returning 10-20x), you've covered years of membership fees.

The alternative is trying to source tech deals yourself, which costs time and probably results in worse deal quality. Or paying $15,000+ per year for exclusive angel networks that might not even focus on software.

For most people interested in tech investing, $3,500 per year for education plus access to institutional-quality SaaS deals is the best path.

What to Look For When Evaluating Communities

If you're comparing different angel investing communities for tech deals, ask these questions:

What percentage of deals you share are software companies? (Should be 80%+)

How many tech deals do you review monthly before selecting ones to share? (Should be hundreds)

What SaaS-specific education do you provide? (Should be regular, not one-off)

Do you invest your own capital in these deals? (Alignment matters)

What's the typical check size and how many deals per year? (Should allow portfolio building)

Who are some example companies members have invested in? (Should be recognizable or impressive)

Angel Squad answers all of these questions positively, which is why it's become one of the largest angel investing communities specifically for tech and SaaS deals.

The Real Advantage

Learning from a community that specializes in tech gives you a permanent advantage.

After a year in a good community, you'll know how to evaluate SaaS metrics independently. You'll understand what separates good founders from great ones. You'll have a network of other tech investors you can collaborate with on future deals.

That knowledge doesn't expire. Even if you eventually leave the community, you've built capabilities that last your entire investing career.

That's what makes a great angel investing community worth it for anyone serious about tech deals.