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

Access to quality startup deals is the first practical barrier aspiring angels face. You've decided to invest, you have the capital, but where do the actual opportunities come from? Most advice on this topic is vague or outdated.

These are the three access methods that actually work in today's environment.

Method 1: Angel Investing Communities

What it is: Membership organizations providing curated deal flow, education, and peer support. You join, pay membership fee, and gain access to investment opportunities screened by the community's institutional source.

How the deal flow works: Community partners with or is operated by venture capital firm. Firm reviews thousands of applications and curates subset for community members. You see opportunities that passed institutional screening.

Specific example: Angel Squad is operated by Hustle Fund, which reviews 1,000+ applications monthly. Best opportunities from that pipeline are made available to Angel Squad's 2,000+ members at $1,000 minimums.

What you get beyond deal flow:

• Educational programming (weekly sessions with experienced VCs)
• Peer community for discussion and accountability
• Operational infrastructure (SPV creation, documentation)
• Consistent opportunity volume enabling portfolio building

Costs: Membership fees vary. Angel Squad charges $3,500 for lifetime membership. Some communities charge annual fees or per-deal fees.

Best for: Investors wanting comprehensive support system alongside deal access. Those who value education and community as much as opportunities.

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.

Communities solve both blockers simultaneously.

Method 2: Investment Syndicates

What it is: Experienced investor (syndicate lead) sources deals, conducts evaluation, and invites others to co-invest alongside them. Leads share their deal access in exchange for carry (percentage of profits).

How the deal flow works: Lead investor uses their network, reputation, and expertise to access opportunities. They evaluate and select deals, then present to syndicate members with their analysis and recommendation.

What you get:

• Access to deals sourced by experienced investor
• Evaluation and diligence from lead you can leverage
• Selective participation (choose which deals to join)
• Learning from lead's investment thesis and approach

Costs: Typically 20% carry (lead keeps 20% of profits). Some syndicates charge additional fees. Per-deal commitment rather than membership structure.

Considerations:

• Quality varies enormously by lead investor
• Carry significantly reduces net returns
• Dependent on lead's continued activity and deal flow
• Less structured education than communities
• May have minimum investment per deal higher than communities

Best for: Investors who want to leverage specific lead investor's judgment and deal access. Those comfortable with carry structure and per-deal decision-making.

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."

Syndicates can provide reps, but require evaluating lead quality carefully.

Method 3: Strategic Network Building

What it is: Deliberately building relationships that generate deal flow over time. Investing effort in relationship development that eventually produces investment opportunities.

How the deal flow works: Connections with founders, other angels, VCs, and startup ecosystem participants create awareness of opportunities. People bring deals to you because they know you invest and value your participation.

Specific approaches:

• Attend startup events consistently
• Provide value to founders (advice, introductions, support) before investing
• Build relationships with other angels who might share deals
• Engage publicly with startup ecosystem (writing, speaking, social media)
• Participate in accelerator or incubator mentor programs

What you get:

• Deals that come directly to you
• Relationships with founders before investment decision
• Reputation in ecosystem that attracts opportunities
• Proprietary deal flow others don't see

Costs: Time-intensive. Takes years to build network producing consistent quality deal flow. Requires ongoing relationship maintenance.

Considerations:

• Long timeline before producing results (2-5 years)
• Quality depends entirely on network you build
• Volume may be inconsistent
• Requires ongoing effort to maintain
• Geographic proximity to startup hub helps significantly

Best for: Investors with long time horizon, existing partial network to build on, and willingness to invest significant time in relationship building. Works best as supplement to other methods rather than sole approach.

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

Network building exposes you to diverse founders, but takes time to develop.

Comparing the Three Methods

Time to first investment:

• Communities: Weeks (join, complete onboarding, start reviewing)
• Syndicates: Weeks to months (find quality lead, wait for deal)
• Network building: Years before consistent flow

Deal quality consistency:

• Communities: Consistent (institutional curation)
• Syndicates: Variable (depends on lead)
• Network building: Variable (depends on your network)

Educational support:

• Communities: High (structured programming)
• Syndicates: Low to moderate (learn from lead's thesis)
• Network building: Low (self-directed learning)

Ongoing cost:

• Communities: Membership fee (fixed)
• Syndicates: Carry (percentage of profits)
• Network building: Time investment (significant)

Best standalone method:

• For most investors: Communities
• For those with access to quality leads: Syndicates
• As supplement: Network building

The Recommended Approach

Start with community: Join angel investing community for immediate access to quality deal flow plus education and support.

Add syndicate selectively: If you identify quality lead investors, consider supplementing community deal flow with syndicate participation.

Let network develop organically: As you invest through community, relationships form naturally. Don't try to force network building before you have investment activity.

Avoid common mistakes:

• Waiting to build network before starting (delays years unnecessarily)
• Joining low-quality community with poor deal sourcing
• Following syndicate leads without evaluating their track record
• Spreading across too many access methods without depth in any

Taking Action

If you're ready to start immediately: Join Angel Squad for curated deal flow from Hustle Fund's pipeline, weekly education from active VCs, and community of 2,000+ members for peer support.

If you want to evaluate options first: Research 3-5 communities. Talk to current members. Compare deal sourcing quality, educational offerings, and cost structures. Make informed selection within 2-4 weeks.

If you have specific lead investor in mind: Evaluate their track record, investment approach, and deal flow quality. Consider supplementing community membership with syndicate participation.

If you're building for long term: Start community investing now while beginning network building. In 3-5 years, network may produce meaningful supplementary deal flow.

Access to startup investing is solvable problem with clear solutions. Communities provide fastest, most reliable access for most investors. Syndicates offer supplementary access with experienced guidance. Network building develops over time through active investing and engagement.

Choose your method and start building your portfolio.