"My question is, in 2016, will the bar be even higher? Maybe angel investors will expect a working product, reasonable traction, and product/market fit all befo

"My question is, in 2016, will the bar be even higher? Maybe angel investors will expect a working product, reasonable traction, and product/market fit all before they put in the first $1M? How much can market-risk be proved out before any professional money is raised?" At some point, the start-up founders have done all the work and bootstrapped themselves into a thriving business. If the VCs (or Angels) delay the funding too long, there's no value for them to add between those rounds and an acquisition.