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AngelList 101: How To Build A Kickass User Profile

Last week I gave you a general outline of what AngelList is and this week we’re going to focus on how to set up your user profile.

 

Fact: No one likes filling out profiles for social or professional networks. While the best example of that dislike can probably be found in online dating sites (How many times have you read the exact words, “I’m not really good at these things…”), professional networks can be just as daunting.

 

frustrated

 

First things first.

Make all of this private until you’ve spent at least a weekend, if not a week making sure that everything is just so. Once your profiles go live, it’s show time.

 

User Profile

Angel List is no different from any other site in that you have to fill out aaaallllll the information properly if you’re going to get the results (aka the money) you desire. The first part of the user profile is easy: name, education, photo, username, places you’ve worked and/or founded. Use common sense here and get as close to your real name as is available when you’re picking a username. Also, make sure to use a professional picture, not some grainy, cropped thing from Facebook.

 

After that, things get a little more complicated, although not terribly so.

 

Mini Resume

Your mini resume is a maximum of 160 characters, so you need to use them wisely. Obviously you want to get as much info about your past in there, but also be sure to include a few of your top skills that are relevant to your company. Take a look at the image below for what AngelList offers as examples of good mini resumes.

 

Not mine! Focus on the ones on the right.
Not mine! Focus on the ones on the right.

 

In the portfolio section, you can choose whether you’re a Team Member, Founder, Investor, Advisory, or Attorney for the various companies you’re involved in. What I Do is a great place to list out your skills, whereas the locations and roles under the Tags section help you fill out specifically what you’re good at.

 

Links

The Links section on AngelList is more extensive than other networks, asking specifically for your website, blog, about.me, LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub, Stack Overflow, Dribbble, Behance, and Facebooks URLs. Make sure all of those sites are up to date, as anyone looking to invest in you and your team is going to be checking all of them.

 

References/Networking

You. Need. References. Raising money is so much about who you know and who they know and about trust. Remember: you are an unproven entity until you’re known. Get as many references as you can up on AngelList if you want investors to even consider going into business with you.

 

In order to get those references, you need to connect with people who are also on AngelList. You can do that either by connecting your AngelList account to your Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook or by searching directly for their name.

 

Don’t stop there, though. With each connection you make, take a look at who they’re following and who is following them. If you find someone else that you know, follow them and repeat the process. Take the time to spider out your networks in order to make the most of all of your connections.

 

Networking is all about the connections.
Networking is all about the connections.

Manage This Profile

The first part of this one is pretty easy. Are you an investor? No. So you don’t have to do anything here.

 

The second part, Talent Status, is a little trickier. This section is really for startups looking to hire and people looking to work for startups and therefore isn’t all that relevant to you right now. However, if you don’t manage to close your round this is a great place to come back to in search of a new job.

 

Startup Profile

The final section of the User Profile on AngelList is the Startup Profile. Tune in next week for a walk through on how to maximize this section in your quest for investment dollars.

 

Photo Credits

KillerStartups composite, original image by Josh McGinn | Sybren Stuvel | AngelList | Marc Smith

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