Ajo Angels Weekly Pulse

The Deck Ain't the Point

I've seen founders walk into a room with a beautiful deck and polished story with no real juice(substance) behind it. I've also seen founders stumble through their slides, get a bit lost in the numbers but go one to build great products and businesses.  After years of doing this, I've learned that the deck is basically a prop. The founder is the real key.

When you're investing in companies during their very early stages you're really not betting on the product. Products change, markets may shift and baby companies tend to pivot. So the thing they're building today might look completely different in two years. What you're actually betting on is whether the person running it has what it takes to push through the hard stuff and execute the dream. This is something you can learn to sus out if you know what to look for.

🟢 Green Flags Worth Paying Attention To

They know exactly who has the problem. Not "everyone" or "small businesses" or some vague group. They can describe a specific person, explain how that person moves through the problem today, and tell you why the current options aren't working. 

They've already done something hard. This doesn't mean they had to do a startup before. Its could be a relevant career, a product they built or a department they’ve ran. What you're looking for is evidence that they can execute under pressure and don't fold when things get uncomfortable. Past behavior tends to be a good indicator of future behavior.

They tell you what they don't know. This one might sound backwards, but it's one of the strongest signals I watch for. A founder who can clearly name their blind spots, say "I haven't figured this part out yet," or tell you where their assumptions could be wrong, that person has self-awareness. And self-awareness is required to make sure weak spots are identified and addressed with self growth or thru hire people to offset weak points. 

They respond fast and follow through. Before you invest, watch how they operate. Did they send the follow-up materials they said they would? Did they answer your question or dodge it? Things that seem small at this stage can often loom large later. How they treat a potential investor is often how they treat everything.

They have some kind of pull in the market. Early customers or maybe a paid waitlist or a highly engaged community. If nobody outside the founder's friend group cares yet, that's something to think about.

They can't explain why now. If a problem has existed for years and nobody has solved it, the founder needs to explain what's different today. Did laws change or have tech caught up something has to have changed. If they can't answer that question clearly, they may not understand the space as well as they think.

They get defensive. Good founders expect hard questions. They've already asked those questions themselves. When a founder gets irritated or starts deflecting instead of engaging, that's a sign they're more attached to the idea than to the truth. And an investor that pushes back is a lot better than getting crushed by the market..

The team is just them. A solo founder isn't automatically a red flag, but it should make you ask questions. Building a company is too much for one person to carry indefinitely. Who's helping? This used to be a bigger potential issue before the rise of AI. Now it's plausible to have a 1 person company grow big, but they need to show you that they have or will have a team; human or AI. Vague staffing plans at early stages can mean they haven't thought seriously about building around them.

Their numbers don't add up and they don't notice. I'm not talking about projections being off. Every early-stage projection is more hope than math. What I'm watching for is whether the founder understands their own numbers. Like their CAC, their burn rate etc. Do they know what assumptions are baked into their model? If they're fuzzy on the basics, that's a problem.

What You're Really Doing

Angel investing is pattern recognition built over time and its a skill you can learn and build on. You won't catch every green flag on the first meeting and you won't spot every red flag before it costs you. But the more deals you see, the better you get at reading people and the room.

The goal is not to have a founder with a perfect scorecard. It's more about building enough judgment to know when you’re dealing with a founder that has the potential to pull out a win even in the toughest of situations.

Summary: Blackstock & Weber is a luxury menswear brand built around classic loafers, strong storytelling, and a smarter way to make and sell product. It blends old-school craftsmanship with modern culture, giving customers premium footwear and apparel without the waste and guesswork of traditional fashion.

The Backstory: The founder saw a big gap in menswear. Many old brands lost their soul, and many new brands cared more about hype than quality. He believed there was room for a new kind of American brand, one that respected heritage but still felt fresh and culturally relevant.

Key Innovation: Blackstock & Weber built a faster, more efficient way to run a fashion brand. Instead of making huge amounts of product and hoping it sells, they use a demand-driven model. They can produce shoes in 48 hours, deliver in 10 days, and move from design to sample in 15 days.

Funding: Raising $750,000. The money will go toward inventory, marketing, product development, working capital, and releasing finished pairs from the factory.

During every tech wave, from the internet to mobile to AI, the most consistent money makers have been made by the companies selling the tools and infrastructure, not the apps themselves?

Cheers,

Abdul

Hey Hey… I’m Abdul I’m the chairman of Ajo Angels and Shujaa Capital and I’m on a mission to introduce angel investing to 25,000 black folks over the next five years. I’m doing this with the goal of narrowing the racial wealth gap as well as trying to close the billion dollar funding gap for black founders.

This information is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Angel investing involves substantial risk, including the risk of total loss. Consult with a qualified financial advisor and attorney before making investment decisions.