From my experience, seed money from an angel generally doesn't take that much equity from you in return for giving you the ability to confidently work on your p

From my experience, seed money from an angel generally doesn't take that much equity from you in return for giving you the ability to confidently work on your project (ie: pay yourself a micro salary, hire a person or two full-time, etc.). In most cases equity is going out the door -- you either give it to your angel in return for cash to make hires, or pay early-employees with more generous equity since you lack cash. One thing that is particularly important to me is finding an angel that meshes well with you/the company, that you can learn from, and that can do a lot for the company once the product launches such as VC introductions, pull strings for marketing, product advice, etc. The right combination + luck may mean you can avoid VC money all together, or retain a lot more of your company during a series A. To summarize: someone that brings more value than just cash, therefore also deserves a decent equity position because of the additional value they'll return to the company in the future. So to follow the advice already given, yes raising money late can be good but it can be a timely process. If you're picky about your angel then it will take even more time to find the right person, so you should start talking/networking as soon as possible. It took us almost 8 months to close angel money because of the "interview" process.