Early in my journey, I got introduced to someone I thought was a dream angel investor.

He was a senior executive at a major pharma company and had a resume any startup would dream of. We ended our conversations with "I love what you're building," "This is exactly the kind of company I want to support," "Let me help you think through your strategy."

We had coffee. Then a follow-up call. Then another meeting to review the deck. Then a dinner to "go deeper on the licensing strategy." He introduced me to a few people in his network. He gave feedback on our pitch. He offered to help with our regulatory strategy.

Months went by. I felt like we were making progress.

But every time the conversation got close to actual investment, something shifted. "Let me think about it." "I want to see a bit more traction." "Have you considered bringing me on as an advisor first?"

Eventually I realized: this person was never going to write a check.

He wasn't being malicious. He genuinely enjoyed our conversations. He liked being close to innovation. He liked feeling helpful and genuinely wanted to support our growth. This was not to be taken for granted. But he was not an investor.

Meanwhile, I had spent months nurturing this relationship instead of building a real pipeline of qualified angels.

I've since learned this is incredibly common. Many "angels" aren't actually active investors. Some haven't written a check in years. Some prefer advisory roles. Some love the meetings but can't pull the trigger.

The lesson wasn't to be cynical about angels. Many are incredible - they write fast checks, open doors, and become true champions for your company.

The lesson was to qualify angels the same way you qualify any investor. Not everyone who expresses interest is a real prospect. Your job is to figure out who actually writes checks before you invest months of your precious time.

That's what this week is all about.

Before we dive into sourcing tactics, let's get clear on what we're actually looking for.

"Angels" isn't one category. It's two very different investor types, each with their own sourcing strategies, qualification criteria, and timelines:

Individual Angels:

Angel Groups

Why it’s helpful to have both:

Individual angels can move fast and write early checks that get your round started. Angel groups bring larger checks, credibility and a “hive mind” of previous operators. A strong pre-seed round often includes 2-3 individual angels plus one angel group investment.

Here's the truth: the best biotech angels aren't on any public list.

They're not scrolling AngelList looking for deal flow. They're not posting "I invest in biotech" on LinkedIn. You have to know where to look.

1. Physician-Investors

MDs who invest in biotech they understand clinically. They're often angels because they see unmet patient needs firsthand.

Where to find them:

Why they're valuable: They bring clinical credibility and often become scientific advisors.

2. Former Founders

Entrepreneurs who built and exited biotech companies. They know what you're going through.

Where to find them:

Why they're valuable: They've been in your shoes. They can mentor as well as invest.

3. Biotech Executives

Current or former C-suite at pharma, biotech, or life science companies. Many angel invest on the side.

Where to find them:

Why they're valuable: Deep industry expertise, potential customer/partner connections.

4. Accelerator Alumni Networks

If you went through an accelerator (or even if you didn't), their investor networks are gold.

Where to find them:

Why they're valuable: They're already warm to early-stage, high-risk biotech.

5. LinkedIn & Twitter Mining

Don't underestimate direct research on social platforms.

Tactics:

Angel groups are more structured - but also more opaque. Not all groups are created equal, especially for biotech.

Types of Angel Groups:

Life Science-Focused Groups: These are your highest-priority targets. Members understand biotech timelines, regulatory pathways, and technical risk.

Examples:

University-Affiliated Groups: Often connected to major research universities. Strong if you're a spinout or have academic ties.

Examples:

Regional Groups: Geographically focused. May or may not have biotech expertise, but often support local companies.

Look for:

Sector-Agnostic Groups: General angel groups that invest across industries. Worth exploring if they've done biotech before (skip if they haven't).

Check:

What to Research Before Applying:

Now let's make this actionable. Here's how to apply the SIFT system specifically to angels:

ISOLATE: Is this angel relevant?

Before spending time on any angel, ask:

If you can't answer "yes" to at least 3 of these, move them to the bottom of your list.

FILTER: Are they actually active?

This is where you separate real investors from tire-kickers:

Red flags to watch for:

🚩 "I love to advise early companies" (but no recent investments listed)

🚩 Asks about advisory equity before discussing investment

🚩 Multiple meetings with no clear decision timeline

🚩 Can't name specific companies they've invested in recently

🚩 Wants to "keep talking" but won't commit to a process

🚩 Lots of opinions about your business, no mention of check size

🚩 "I'm very interested" but won't say when they can decide

Green flags to look for:

✅ Clear track record of biotech investments (verifiable)

✅ Asks about your timeline and round structure early

✅ Mentions their typical check size without prompting

✅ Offers to introduce you to founders they've backed

✅ Has a decision process ("I usually decide within 2-3 weeks")

✅ Asks about other investors in the round (serious angels care about who they're investing alongside)

Once you've applied ISOLATE and FILTER, organize your angel list into tiers:

Tier 1: Dream Angels (15-25 names)

Tier 2: Strong Prospects (30-50 names)

Tier 3: Worth a Shot (30-50 names)

By the end of this week, you should have:

Next week, we'll tackle the most opaque investor type: Family Offices.

But first, let's build your angel pipeline.

This week's goal: Add 75-150 angels and angel groups to your SOURCE list + begin ISOLATE/FILTER

Time commitment: 6-8 hours total

Last week you built your foundation. This week you're going deep on one investor category. By Sunday, you should have a qualified list of angels ready to tier and prioritize.

Day 1-2: Individual Angel Sourcing (3 hours)

Target: 50-75 individual angel names added to your list

Day 3-4: Angel Group Research (2-3 hours)

Target: 15-25 angel groups added to your list

Day 5-6: Apply ISOLATE and FILTER (2 hours)

Target: 50% of your angel list qualified with ISOLATE/FILTER applied

Day 7: Tier and Assess (1 hour)

Week 2 Targets:

Congratulations - now your angel pipeline is taking shape.

You have your Week 2 action plan. Here are three tools to help you find and qualify angels faster.

Find biotech-savvy angels based on your specific company profile. This prompt identifies physician-investors, former founders, and biotech executives relevant to your space.

[Get the AI Mega-Prompt]

Paste your company description and get a list of potential angels with their backgrounds, investment history, and LinkedIn profiles. Includes instructions for customizing by therapeutic area, geography, and stage.

10 copy-paste LinkedIn search strings specifically designed for finding biotech angels.

[Get the Search Strings]

Includes searches for:

Save hours of trial-and-error with ready-to-use strings that actually surface relevant results.

A curated list of 50+ angel groups that invest in biotech and life sciences so you don't waste time applying to groups that will never fund your company.

[Access the Directory]

For each group, you'll get:

Use this directory to shortcut your angel group research and focus on the groups that actually matter for biotech founders.

You now have a complete playbook for sourcing and qualifying angels.

This week, your job is focused: build your angel pipeline. Add 75-150 individual angels and angel groups to your list, apply ISOLATE and FILTER, and identify your Tier 1 targets.

Remember: not every angel is a real investor. Some are advice-givers, some are tire-kickers, some just like the meetings. Your job is to find the ones who actually write checks - and qualify them before you invest months of your time.

Next Sunday, we're tackling Family Offices - the most opaque (but potentially the most transformative) investor type in biotech.

Family offices manage wealth for high-net-worth families. They write $250K-$1M+ checks, have longer time horizons, and can be incredibly founder-friendly. But they're nearly invisible. You won't find them on typical investor lists or databases, or even at industry conferences.

I'll show you exactly how to identify them, where to find them, and how to get access.

I'd love to hear from you: Have you ever worked with an angel investor (good or bad experience)? What's your biggest question about raising from angels? Hit reply and let me know!

See you next Sunday!

To your success,

- Vadim

PS: If you have someone on your team helping with fundraising or know another founder who could benefit from this intensive, forward them this email. They can sign up to join us here: [Join the Intensive]