Ask An Expert: The 5 H's of Investing

Emmet McGonagle

Jun 17, 2022

Ziad Moukheiber, president and CEO of Boston Harbor Angels, has outlined the “five H’s” behind his personal investment thesis.


Discussing risk and rewards at Valhalla Private Capital’s member-only “Ask An Expert” event alongside
Faz Bashi, chair of the medical device screening committee of Life Science Angels US; and Randy Stewart Thompson, chairman and CEO of Valhalla Private Capital, managing director of Old Kent Road Financial and co-owner of Peterborough United Football Club; Ziad encouraged members to “keep an open mind” to prospects outside of their geographical comfort zone.


The Boston Harbor Angels president also emphasized the significance of working with founders who “really believe in what they're doing”, before outlining the five H’s of angel investing.


“You have to be humble, honest, hardworking, hungry, and you have to have a sense of humor,” he concluded.


Randy, on the other hand, remarked that in spite of Ziad’s investment thesis, mid-pandemic North America “is not a good time to be investors” due to a “capital overhang” which has been exacerbated over the last year-and-a-half.


“We are having to be more selective about who we invest in,” he told members, citing that “there's too much capital chasing too few good deals which has made valuations really big”.


However, Faz maintained that there is an opportunity for angel investors to take advantage of today’s economic climate.


On the topic, he explained: “While the venture people are out there doing their venture studio nonsense and excluding everyone in the ecosystem and just benefiting the managing partners, angel investors can be smart too.”


Using former Tesla Motors CEO and co-founder
Martin Eberhard - who enlisted Elon Musk as his replacement in 2018 - as an example, the chair of the medical device screening committee of Life Science Angels US remarked that the key to success in this environment is trusting “those of us here who are mature enough and already had the experience that can make [sufficient ROI] happen”.


Do you have a question about angel investing? Get in touch with Valhalla Private Capital via our
contact page.

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