-
Bill Payne - Source: NZI Business -
Watch Video
Aspiring entrepreneurs and investors can for the next few months pick the brains of one of America's most successful and respected angel investors.
Bill Payne, a prolific investor who has set up four Angel Investment networks, is in New Zealand for five months to offer his expertise as the BNZ University of Auckland, Business School entrepreneur in residence.
Payne says he wants to share his experiences gathered over 30 years investing in early stage start up ventures. Prior to that he was an entrepreneur himself and he says he hopes to help NZ entrepreneurs avoid some of the mistakes he made.
Angels are more than just the product and technology, says Payne who is more interested in the size of the opportunity and quality of the management team.
"We bet on the jockey, not the horse," says Payne.
The management team is the key, followed closely by scalability of the company, he says.
"Our batting average in investing in start up companies is quite low."
Payne believes the start up end of the spectrum in New Zealand tends to be doing quite well.
"The quality of new ventures I have seen are on a par to what I see in the US."
While Payne says New Zealand's distance from the markets can be seen as a weakness, he says Kiwis can operate under the radar and get some traction in local markets before they have to face" the really tough competition that comes out of Silicon Valley".
He says Angels sit on boards and returns on investment are not the only motivation. Payne cites gift back and economic development as an aspect to their engagement with entrepreneurs.
The key to becoming an Angel investor is having an interest, says Payne.
