众筹投资5大军规

    2.投资熟悉的领域。风险投资安德森•霍罗维茨基金创始人马克•安德森和本•霍罗维茨近日在接受《财富》（Fortune）采访时坦承，公司绝大部分投资都集中在某种特定类型的新创企业——软件公司。霍罗维茨称：“我们投资自己了解的领域。我们了解产品周期，了解这一行业的人。这是我们最擅长的领域。”霍罗维茨和安德森曾在1999年创立了软件企业Opsware。把资金投向自己了解的领域，这样投资起来心里更有底，也更有可能获得成功。

    3.寻求专业人士的帮助。罗斯表示，每名投资者的背景、专业知识都不一样，可支配的投资额也大相径庭。所以，不要觉得不好意思，尽管去咨询理财专家。他们能帮你更好地分配资金，在进行高风险的早期投资时，这一点尤为必要。注册金融规划师标准委员会（Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc）2010年的一份调查显示，只有28%的美国人聘请了金融规划师。罗斯称：“我认为与专业人士共事、听取专业意见非常重要。千万不要单打独斗。”

    4.投资多家公司。新创企业成功的少，失败的多。事实上，大部分都失败了。虽然专家们没有给出具体数字，但有研究显示，新创企业的失败率至少有75%，最高达90%。罗斯说，专业人士不会把鸡蛋全都放到一个篮子里，他们会投资多家公司以分散风险。“当某人去做专业的天使投资人，他会拿出自己净资产的一部分，投资于10家、15家、乃至20家公司。他们的网撒得足够大，其中很可能会有脱颖而出的赢家。”此外，投资者还能通过与朋友或同事合伙，从而减小风险。

    5、了解平台。光对你有意投资的创业者进行背景调查还不够。未来可能有成千上万家众筹网站，它们可能很快就称为“门户网站”。CircleUp创始人兼首席运营官罗里•埃金说，重要的一点是确保你打交道的是一个合法且安全的平台。CircleUp网站致力于帮助受信投资者寻找合理的投资机会。投资者需要了解，是谁在经营自己打交道的平台？这个平台对投资机会的过滤是否细致。埃金问道：“这个平台是对所有想发布投资机会的公司都来者不拒？还是会参与策展过程？”那些希望获得长期成功的平台会尽最大的努力淘汰欺骗性的投资项目。SeedInvest在《创业企业扶助法案》最终定稿前是一家专门针对受信投资者的股权众筹网站，首席执行官赖安•费特明白筛选投资项目对这个网站的重要性。费特说“达成交易是好事，但假如不能让客户满意，那就是白搭。”(财富中文网)

    译者：项航

    2. Stick to what you know.In a recent interview with Fortune, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, admitted that they invest primarily in a specific type of startup: software companies. "We're interested in what we understand," says Horowitz, who co-founded software company Opsware in 1999 with Andreessen. "We understand that product cycle. We understand those people. And that's what we're best at." Funneling money toward industries that you are familiar with will allow for more educated, and therefore successful, investments.

    3. Seek professional assistance.Each investor has his or her own background, expertise, and level of disposable income. There's no shame in seeking out financial assistance to determine how to most appropriately allocate your funds, especially when making a risky early-stage investment, says Rose. A 2010 survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. found that only 28% of Americans use financial planners. "I think it's really important to work with a professional and get the right kind of advice," says Rose. "Don't just go at it alone."

    4. Diversify your portfolio.Startups fail more than they succeed. A lot more, in fact. Experts haven't settled on an exact number, but studies peg startup fail rates anywhere from 75% to as high as 90%. To combat these risks, professionals hedge their bets by diversifying their investments across multiple companies, says Rose. "When someone goes out and becomes a professional angel, they're allocating a certain percentage of their net worth to go out and make 10, 15, 20 different bets," he explains. "They have a large enough pool that hopefully they'll find some winners in there." Investors can also minimize their financial risk by teaming up on investments with friends or colleagues.

    5. Understand the platform.Doing a background check on your entrepreneur is not enough. With thousands of potential crowdfunding sites, which may soon be referred to as "portals," it's important to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate and safe platform, says Rory Eakin, founder and COO of CircleUp, a site that helps accredited investors find legitimate investment opportunities. Investors should understand who is operating their platform, as well as how diligently investment opportunities are filtered. "Is the platform accepting any company that wants to post investment opportunities," asks Eakin, "or are they involved in the curation process?" Platforms that hope for long-term success will be doing their best to weed out the fraudulent campaigns. Ryan Feit, CEO of SeedInvest, a new equity-based crowdfunding site tailored toward accredited investors until the JOBS Act rules are finalized, understands the importance of curating his site's offerings. "Getting deals done is great," he says, "but not if you don't keep customers happy."