A new option if you want to invest in startups

Just a decade ago, if you wanted to invest in a startup you had to know someone. A lawyer, an accountant, a friend of friend would give you a referral to a company looking to raise money, or they’d invite you to invest with them. That’s how you got in the door.

You had to have a lot of money to play – often $50,000 or more. And the startups you’d see were from your geographical region. That traditional scenario left a lot of interested angel investors sitting on the sidelines.

Today, it’s a lot easier to become an angel investor, due to crowd funding, micro lending and investment sites like MicroVenture Marketplace Inc., which is opening doors to those looking to invest $1,000 to $10,000 or more.