> This means that a lot of angels are getting forced out of a lot of deals they might have been in before, or have to enter a deal through a syndicate and take

> This means that a lot of angels are getting forced out of a lot of deals they might have been in before, or have to enter a deal through a syndicate and take a 20-30% haircut on the carry. Or maybe the growth of these super-angel funds means "only" money isn't enough to get direct access to deals. "Only" money means you're going to pay the toll/carry. But money + advice/connections/intros/brand is your ticket to direct participation. At a time when startups can start with relatively low capital requirements, the "strategic" part of "strategic investor" would seem to be the valuable part. But, I wouldn't worry too much about angels getting cut out entirely. If "their margin is [your] opportunity" (Jeff Bezos), then founders should be able to get better terms from a direct angel investment. Or, maybe more accurately, an angel investing directly should be willing to pay a higher price given that there is no carry.