That advisor who told me to skip Michigan for startup cash was dead wrong

Professor Hartley at U-M said in 2022 that Detroit had no serious VC money and I should move to San Fran, but I stayed and just closed a $500k round from two local angels last month without leaving the city, anyone else had old-school advice that didn't age well?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_olivia7h ago

Your timing is really interesting here because that advice wasn't totally wrong for its time, just outdated fast. Detroit's VC scene has changed a ton since 2022, and Hartley probably wasn't seeing the same local network that exists now. I've heard from a few founders that the angels here are still pretty picky, but once you prove traction they move quick. A $500k round from two locals is solid, but I'd qualify that a little - some of those "angels" are really just rich folks with no startup experience, so make sure they're not gonna meddle too much. Glad it worked out for you, but just keep an eye on who actually has board experience versus who just wrote a check.

the_piper5h ago

Has anyone else noticed that some of those newer angels are way more hands-off than the old guard? @the_olivia, I had a similar experience where one just wrote a check and then ghosted every follow-up, which honestly was better than the ones who tried to micromanage without any real startup know-how.

jadej502h ago

The whole hands-off vs hands-on thing is just part of a bigger shift I see everywhere now, not just startups. Like even in my neighborhood, the old timers who've been here 20 years will actually show up to help you fix a fence or lend you a tool, but the new people who moved in during 2020 will just Venmo you $50 and never make eye contact again lol. I think a lot of these newer angels came in during the easy money boom and never learned the actual work of being a mentor or advisor. They just see it as another investment portfolio item, not a relationship. But honestly, I'd rather have the check and no calls than someone who pretends to know what they're doing and wastes my time with bad advice. The real skill is figuring out which camp someone falls into before you take their money, and that's getting harder every year.