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

For decades, aspiring angel investors outside San Francisco, New York, or Boston faced a harsh reality: quality deal flow required local presence. You could theoretically invest from anywhere, but practically, the opportunities went to investors embedded in startup ecosystems. Geography was destiny.

That constraint has dissolved completely. Finding your startup community is now about identifying the right fit for your goals and situation, not about relocating to be near the action.

How Geography Became Irrelevant

Multiple shifts converged to eliminate geographic barriers that previously constrained angel investing access.

Virtual engagement became the default rather than exception. Founders now expect to raise from investors they've never met in person. Entire fundraising processes happen through video calls and digital documentation. The pandemic accelerated this shift, but the trajectory was already clear. Physical presence stopped being prerequisite for investment relationships.

Community infrastructure scaled beyond regional boundaries. Investor communities developed models that work identically regardless of member location. Deal presentation happens virtually. Education happens virtually. Peer engagement happens through digital channels. Nothing in the community experience requires geographic concentration.

Institutional deal flow became shareable globally. Funds like Hustle Fund, with all their Bay Area sourcing advantages, began sharing deal flow with community members worldwide. The geographic advantage in sourcing remains with the fund. The access to that sourcing extends to anyone in the community.

Founders actively sought geographic diversity in their investor bases. Many founders now prefer investors from different regions who bring different networks, perspectives, and potential customer connections. Geographic diversity became feature rather than liability.

As Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and GP of Hustle Fund, explains: "Getting deal flow & education have been the bigger blockers to date" for new investors.

These blockers were historically geographic. They're now solved through community infrastructure that works everywhere.

What Location-Independent Access Looks Like

Understanding how geographic independence functions practically helps you evaluate communities and engage effectively.

Deal flow arrives identically regardless of where you are. When Angel Squad presents investment opportunities, every member sees the same information simultaneously. An investor in Austin reviews the same materials as an investor in Amsterdam. Your location creates no disadvantage in opportunity access.

Educational programming works across time zones. Weekly sessions from Hustle Fund GPs happen virtually with recordings available for those who can't attend live. Members in any time zone access the same content and learning opportunities. Nobody gets second-class education because of where they live.

Peer community forms across boundaries. Discussion happens through digital channels where geography is invisible. Your most valuable peer relationships might form with investors on different continents. Shared experience in the community matters more than shared location. The investor in Singapore who evaluates the same deals as you may become more valuable peer than investors in your own city who participate in different communities.

Operational processes function remotely by design. Indicating interest, signing documents, transferring funds, receiving updates: everything works through systems designed for distributed participation. No step in the investment process requires physical presence anywhere. The infrastructure assumes distributed membership and builds accordingly.

As Eric Bahn, co-founder and GP of Hustle Fund, emphasizes: "For beginners, a bigger startup portfolio is better. It helps with diversification and helps you learn and get reps in. Investing requires practice like everything else."

Location-independent access means practice opportunities are equal everywhere. Your development as an investor doesn't depend on proximity to startup hubs.

The Liberation of Location Independence

Understanding what location independence actually means helps you take full advantage of the opportunity.

Your time zone becomes irrelevant to access. Deals are available for review whenever you have time. Educational content exists as recordings alongside live sessions. Discussion happens asynchronously. You engage when it works for your schedule, not when geography dictates.

Your local ecosystem doesn't limit your opportunity set. Whether you live in a thriving startup city or a region with minimal startup activity, your investment opportunities are identical. The deals come from institutional sourcing, not local networks.

Your professional network doesn't constrain deal quality. Your existing contacts may or may not include people building fundable companies. Through community membership, this doesn't matter. Quality deal flow arrives regardless of who you know personally.

Your background doesn't affect your access. Whatever your professional history, geographic origin, or educational background, community membership provides equal access. The democratization is genuine when geography becomes irrelevant.

Finding the Right Community for You

With geographic constraints removed, community selection focuses on factors that actually matter for your success.

Deal flow sourcing quality should be your primary consideration. Where does the community source opportunities? Is there institutional backing? What screening happens before members see deals? Hustle Fund's review of 1,000+ monthly applications provides institutional-quality sourcing that serves members regardless of location.

Educational programming deserves careful evaluation. Who teaches and what's their current investment activity? Is education integrated with deal flow or separate? Does programming work for your schedule and time zone? Active practitioners providing virtual-first education serve distributed members best.

Peer community composition affects your experience. How geographically distributed are members? Is there genuine engagement in discussions and evaluations? A community with members across 50+ countries was designed for distributed participation. One concentrated in specific cities may treat remote members as afterthoughts.

Cost structure should make sense for your situation. What's the membership fee and what does it include? How does cost compare to the value of deal access, education, and community? Angel Squad's $3,500 lifetime membership provides ongoing access to all three.

As Shiyan Koh, co-founder and GP of Hustle Fund, notes: "Great founders can look like anyone and come from anywhere."

Great investors can also invest from anywhere when they find communities designed for that reality.

Your Community Is Waiting

The search for your startup community no longer requires considering relocation or accepting second-class access because of where you live. Communities like Angel Squad were built for global membership from the start, with 2,000+ members across 50+ countries demonstrating that location truly doesn't matter anymore.

Find the community that offers institutional-quality deal flow, education from active practitioners, genuine peer engagement, and infrastructure designed for distributed participation. That community exists now, accessible from wherever you happen to be.

Angel Squad provides what location-independent angel investing requires: Hustle Fund's curated deal flow serving all members equally, virtual-first education from active GPs, globally-distributed peer community, and $1,000 minimums enabling portfolio construction from anywhere. Your location doesn't limit your access anymore. Your community choice determines your opportunity.