About this episode

Angela Lee shares insights on how to secure startup funding and what investors look for in a business.

What separates the businesses that get funded from the ones that don’t? Angela Lee, a professor at Columbia Business School and founder of 37 Angels, has helped evaluate over 20,000 startups and knows exactly what makes investors say yes. In this episode, Angela breaks down how to think like an investor, what metrics actually matter (hint: it’s not just revenue), and how to turn early traction into long-term growth. She shares practical frameworks – from the “triple, triple, double” growth model to scrappy experiments like landing page testing – that can help you validate your idea and scale with intention. If you want to stop guessing what investors are looking for – and start building a business they can’t ignore – this episode is for you. Watch the full conversation on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Thisissmallbusiness In this episode of This Is Small Business , you'll learn about: (01:11) — How Angela Lee turned an investment book club into 37 Angels to tackle venture capital’s diversity gap (04:31) — How to find investors (even if you don’t have connections) (05:24) — How to make your pitch stand out to investors?  (07:23) — How to prove your business model actually works…

People in this episode

Guest: Angela Lee

Topics covered

• startup funding
• investor insights
• business growth
• entrepreneurship
• pitching to investors
• diversity in venture capital

Keywords

• startup funding
• investors
• business model
• growth model
• pitching
• entrepreneurship
• diversity
• confidence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Columbia Business School, 37 Angels, YouTube

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