Ragnar Sass, a founder of Pipedrive, LIFT99, and Salto, has published a list of 24 questions he always asks himself before deciding to invest in a startup or negotiate a partnership.
“Two years ago, I published 16 questions, what I ask from myself before making an angel investment. In last 24 months, I have looked 4,000+ startups & made 20+ investments. Indeed – I have learned A LOT working with amazing founders, who have inspired me heavily to update my list,” he says.
Here is the full list of these questions:
- Can I explain this business & why did I make the investment to my mom?
- What positive impact will it have on the world & can it make the World a better place. Like IN REAL! Numbers, please.
- Will they give back to the community & create a new environment for the future unicorn founders?
- How useful & relevant is my personal experience & know-how for this startup?
- Are they cool enough that I’d invite them to my own home for dinner?
- Would I hire these folks to my own team?
- Are they SO good I could imagine them as co-founders in my next startup?
- Are they really self-confident & extremely positive?
- Is any of the co-founders have what it takes to be the CEO of a 400+ person company?
- Does a CEO LOVE to sell their product?
- How proud & excited I would be as an investor (= team member ) of this startup?
- Are they ready for BIG risks?
- Why is the team so excited about the product?
- Have they managed to turn me into its biggest fan?
- How many folks in my network could be useful investors for this exact startup?
- Can I make a list of at least three of my good friends whom I call so they should join the company ASAP?
- What could I win & learn personally from this journey if the startup fails?
- Can I imagine investing in the same founders if they start their next company?
- Do they really care about company culture & PEOPLE?
- Can they hire people who are much smarter & much much more experienced?
- Can I explain to my wife why I have a call with a founder at 01.00 AM or during a romantic vacation?
- Would I trust them asking advice about the next investment opportunity?
- Will they survive a full pivot? Or the second one?
- Would this founder survive a 100 km boat marathon with me as a co-pilot?
Who is Ragnar Sass
Ragnar Sass is an active angel investor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Estonian unicorn company Pipedrive, Salto Network, and Lift99.
According to the Salto website, Ragnar Sass invested in 20+ startups globally; helped numerous companies to grow their teams from 10 to 200+; co-founded Garage48 and mentored hundreds of startups across 80+ global hackathons.
“All my passion & energy is help to build fast-growing startups. Starting from values, hiring best talent & grown them with rocket speed.”
