Depending upon who you ask, we’re either in a finance bubble that’s about to pop, or we’re doing just fine. Regardless of which side you choose, there’s one thing that’s all but undeniable – Facebook’s impending IPO is going to spark the next crop of Angel investors.
Reuters points out that many of the potential newly-wealthy have plans to go play with their cash, but even a $200,000 trip on Virgin Galactic won’t break the bank. When the playtime is done, there’s still money to be spent and it’s entirely possible that many of this new breed will find themselves in a position to want to help technology move forward.
It makes sense, on the whole, that we’d see a number of new investors crop up from within Facebook’s ranks. But that also means that we might see a number of Facebook employees leave for new ventures, even if those ventures don’t include investing.
Just as we saw a near-exodus from Google over the past couple of years, it’s possible that we’ll see the same at Facebook after the IPO. It’s a matter of entrepreneurial culture. In the earlier stages of a company, entrepreneurs are drawn to the siren song of a startup. Once things are established for an extended period of time, it’s not uncommon to see these free spirits chart their own paths again, and that’s made even easier to do with millions in cash on hand.
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Angel investment has, of late, gathered a bit more “sex appeal” than it might have had in the past. With celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Selena Gomez backing companies, the new-formed Silicon Valley celebrities may very well find themselves on the same road. But the question remains – Will they be any good at it? Alex Wilhelm says it’s dumb money.
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