Leading American angel John Huston as well as experienced New Zealand investors Steve Saunders, Bruce Bartley and Rudi Bublitz, last week told a Tauranga audience of entrepreneurs why the start-ups should seek out angel investors.
"I was pretty stunned to hear about the size and vigour of the Tauranga angel group and since I was in the country I dropped by," said Mr Huston, who was in New Zealand to speak at this week's angel investor conference in Auckland.
"My desire is to help young ventures avoid a lot of mistakes that those of us who've been in business for many years have committed," said Mr Huston.
Mr Huston added that he had experienced a 30 per cent death rate in his portfolio.
"Of the 50 companies, I have had eight large exits, so I am now in Nirvana. But even with these companies, they've all missed payroll a number of times - and these are the winners. If you have a first-time entrepreneur and you couple them with a seasoned angel who has seen a number of deals, I think you have a much more powerful combination and increase the odds for success."