Welcome to In The Arena, a blog/magazine by Arena Ventures. Our goal with In The Arena is to publish insightful advice, stories, and interviews about the world of startup investing. We hope this will be much more than just a company’s blog - we want it to be an engaging publication and educational resource for the wide range of startup investors around the world and for entrepreneurs seeking a deeper understanding of how investors think.
There are many quality media outlets and blogs online to guide new entrepreneurs and tell their stories, but comparatively few resources for new investors. Given Arena’s goal to activate 10,000 new angel investors through our hybrid model of venture capital and crowdfunding, we decided to step in and start filling that gap.
Early stage investing operates in an entirely separate sphere from other fields of finance: it’s not about Excel docs and financial models, it’s first-and-foremost about understanding people, then secondly about creativity. It’s a culture where the smartest minds work in t-shirts and old sneakers experimenting with new product ideas, not sitting in corner offices wearing Armani suits.
Investing in startups, either as an angel or a venture capitalist, is an exhilarating adventure that rewards creativity, contrarian thinking, and entrepreneurial hustle. We’re fortunate to be investing during a pivot point in man’s relationship with technology: the pace of technological innovation continues to accelerate faster than ever before. A future with driverless cars, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence is no longer science fiction, but reality.
The industry of venture capital and angel investing has historically been shrouded in the mystery of backroom deals and old boys clubs – we’re eager to create more transparency on what actually happens behind the scenes and to profile the ins & outs of what makes top seed stage investors successful.
Arena Ventures’ name derives from a quote by Theodore Roosevelt that “credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood” – that the people who impact the world take action through good times and bad times, they never sit on the sidelines. Through articles and videos on In The Arena, we hope to encourage more people to themselves get “in the arena” alongside us - actively getting involved in the companies changing our world. With the posts here by our investment team and many other guests, you’ll find tips on becoming a savvy angel investor, interviews with (and profiles of) angels and entrepreneurs, and a bit of our own commentary on developments at Arena.
Whether you aspire to become a big name in Silicon Valley or just want to make a few small investments over your iPhone while lounging on a beach, In The Arena aims to be a guide. We also hope that shedding light on the investor perspective will allow everyone in the startup community (not just fellow investors) to take away knowledge of startup dynamics that isn’t being shared elsewhere. Our team is excited to starting writing and to hear your early feedback.
To receive the weekly synopsis of new articles, our favorite links, and other commentary, make sure to subscribe to our In The Arena newsletter.
If you have an idea for an editorial collaboration or want to offer feedback,
reach out to us over Twitter at @arenavc.
