If you decide you really need funding, talk to everyone and everyone they know. A guy I had met a few times before asked me for some advice about an offer he h

If you decide you really need funding, talk to everyone and everyone they know. A guy I had met a few times before asked me for some advice about an offer he had from a start-up. At the end of our conversation, I mentioned to him that we were raising a round of financing and were looking for introductions to angel investors. This guy is not an "elite connection", but he mentioned that he did know a guy who had invested in a start-up and offered to do an introduction. I met his contact for coffee a few days later and he brought on a few of his other friends and contacts and we closed a seed round. I learned in the process that you may not be looking for "elite connections". Our investors are not flashy "elite" types, they are hard-working people who have managed their money wisely. They don't have the net worth to invest as an LP, so they invest as angels. That to me was an interesting realization, that most angels aren't the ones who have made it to the top, but rather they are still in the fight, and managing their risk trying to get to the next level. They are also keen to offer their help and advice.