At Hustle Fund, we believe that great investors can look like anyone and come from anywhere.

And the fact that people don’t need to be ultra wealthy to invest is a huge win for our industry (and our world, frankly).

But before you start writing checks, there's a little thing called "accreditation" you need to know about.

What's an accredited investor?

The SEC (that's the Securities and Exchange Commission) came up with this term to identify folks who are financially savvy enough to handle the risks of investing in startups and other private ventures.

To become accredited, you need to meet at least one of these criteria:

• Income: Earn over $200,000 annually (or $300,000 with a spouse) for the past two years, with expectations to maintain that income.
• Net Worth: Have a net worth exceeding $1 million, excluding your primary residence.
• Professional Credentials: Hold a Series 7, Series 65, or Series 82 license in good standing.
• Insider Status: Be a "knowledgeable employee" of a private fund (like a director or executive officer).

Entities like corporations or trusts can also qualify if they meet certain financial thresholds. But today we’re just talking about people.

Why does accreditation matter?

Anyone can invest in the public market. But there are some investment opportunities that aren't available to the general public

Becoming an accredited investor gives you access to things like:

• Early-stage startups
• Venture capital and private equity funds
• Syndicates and SPVs
• and sometimes even alternative assets like wine, art, or crypto hedge funds

Also…

Startups and funds want to work with accredited investors because it reduces their legal risk.

When you're accredited, it means the company doesn’t have to jump through as many compliance hoops to take your money — which makes it easier for them to fundraise.

At the same time, the SEC is saying: “Hey, if you meet these criteria, we trust that you can make high-risk decisions without needing the same investor protections as the average retail investor.”

So it's kind of a mutual trust pact.

Also…

It’s a stepping stone.

If you're serious about becoming an angel investor — or maybe even starting your own fund someday — being accredited is the baseline.

It lets you participate in the kind of deals that can shape industries (and your portfolio).

Want to join the club?

The path to accreditation is fairly straightforward. If you qualify financially, you’re basically just in.

If you don’t, you’ll need to pass your Series 65 exam. There are no prerequisites to take the exam and you don’t need a sponsor.

But you will want to prepare.

Hustle Fund's Angel Squad program can help. They’ve got study guides, practice exams, and an awesome community to guide you through the process.

Squad will even reimburse you when (not if) you pass the exam.

When you’re ready, you’ll want to enroll in FINRA and schedule the exam (the test takes about 3 hours).

Once you pass (woohoo!) you’ll need to take a few more administrative steps like registering with the SEC or with your state regulator.

Here, this guide breaks down all of these steps in a ton of detail.

You got this

The thing I love about angel investing in today’s world is that there are so many opportunities to write small checks… to make (ahem) small bets.

But the first step is this accreditation piece. While it’s not the most exciting part of becoming an investor, it is important.

Oh, and if you want info about becoming an accredited investor, here’s a more detailed guide.