Understanding the Basics: Accredited vs. Non-Accredited Investors

Before diving into angel investing opportunities, it’s important to understand who can legally participate. The image you’ve shared illustrates the key requirements for accredited investors in the US and Canada.

In the US, accredited investors must meet one of these financial thresholds:

• $200,000 annual income individually
• $300,000 combined income with a spouse
• $1,000,000 in financial assets (excluding primary residence)

Alternatively, certain qualifications like holding Series 7, 65, or 82 licenses or working for Venture Capital /Private Equity funds as “deemed knowledgeable” can qualify you.

Canada offers some different paths, including:

• Self-certification as a knowledgeable investor
• Participation in pilot programs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario
• Annual investment limits ($30k total, $10k per company)

These requirements exist because angel investing carries significant risks that regulators believe should be limited to those who can afford potential losses.

Where to Find Angel Investment Opportunities

Investment Platforms

For both accredited and (in some cases) non-accredited investors, several platforms have democratized access to startup investments:

1. StartEngine – Equity crowdfunding platform allowing investments in early-stage companies
2. AngelList – Provides access to startup investments and syndicates led by experienced investors
3. FrontFundr – Canada’s leading equity crowdfunding platform connecting ventures with investors

Investment Syndicates

Joining an investment group can provide deal flow, due diligence support, and learning opportunities. Here are a few that I am a part of:

1. Black Angels Group – Focused on supporting Black founders and diverse teams
2. 1891 Angels – Emphasizing investments within the Johns Hopkins Alumni Network
3. Gaingels – LGBTQ+-led investment syndicate supporting diversity in entrepreneurship

Venture Capital Firms

While traditional VC firms primarily work with institutional investors, some offer opportunities for angel participation:

1. Sequoia Capital – Legendary firm with occasional opportunities for angels to co-invest
2. BAG Ventures – Working with qualified angels on select deals

The Importance of Developing an Investment Thesis

Creating a macro thesis for your angel investments isn’t just helpful—it’s essential for success. A well-defined thesis helps you:

1. Focus on your knowledge areas – Investing in industries you understand improves your ability to evaluate opportunities
2. Maintain discipline – A thesis prevents the “shiny object syndrome” of chasing trendy deals
3. Build pattern recognition – Concentrating on specific sectors helps you spot winners and avoid pitfalls
4. Create a cohesive portfolio – Related investments can provide synergies and cross-learning

Your thesis might focus on industry (fintech, healthcare), business model (SaaS, marketplace), geography, founder characteristics, or a combination of factors.

Resources for Angel Investing Education

Before making significant investments, educating yourself is crucial. Several resources can help:

1. Class Rebel – Their “Angel Investing 101” course offers comprehensive guidance for beginners
2. Books – “Angel Investing” by David S. Rose and “Venture Deals” by Brad Feld provide valuable insights

Streamlining Your Investment Process with Luminant

Managing angel investments becomes increasingly complex as your portfolio grows. Luminant helps investors:

1. Screen potential deals efficiently against your criteria
2. Track portfolio performance across investments
3. Manage documents and cap tables in one place
4. Connect with other investors for co-investment opportunities

If you’re interested in trying Luminant sign up here

Conclusion

Angel investing can be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling, allowing you to support innovation while potentially generating returns. By understanding the legal requirements, focusing on opportunities aligned with your thesis, continuing your education, and using the right tools, you can build a strategic approach to angel investing in 2025 and beyond.

There is a lot to be said about these topics. Instead of regurgitating any talking points, below are resources that I agree (with commentary)

Took and passed the CKAD exam a few weeks ago. Here are some things that helped me

Study Guide

Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Udemy Course: is a must take for CKAD prep. Purchase on the holiday to get a discount. DO the mock exams. DO lightning labs

CKAD Exercises – This helped build muscle memory for the various kubernetes commands. Especially helpful for kubernetes beginners

Killer.sh – Simulates an exam that is pretty close to the real thing. It is difficult on purpose. If these exercise don’t feel difficult, you should be able to pass the exam easily.

Signing up for the exam

This is the link for the exam. Purchase on the holiday as well to get a steep discount

Pro tip: Schedule your exam as soon as possible to secure a spot. You can schedule well into the future!

During the Exam

Show up at least 20 minutes early for the exam. Make sure your exams space is CLEAR of notes and any obstructions. Your virtual exam proctor will have to use your webcam to verify. This process can take a long time!

The Kubernetes documentation will be your friend and available (via one tab) during the exam. Navigate them quickly using the search bar. Grep through docs using Ctrl+F / Command + F for relevant portions

Example: If you’re looking for an example pod yaml for a persistent volume claim setup, go to the relevant page and search for “kind: Pod” to find the yaml setup

Helpful Aliases

alias kd= kubectl describe # example usage: kd pod x

alias kns='kubectl config set-context --current --namespace ' # example usage: kns default

export do="--dry-run=client -o yaml" # example usage: k get pod x $do

VIM

I used my vim as my editor of choice. I use the following techniques to move faster with file manipulation

Duplicate sections of yml using yank and paste

Delete sections of code using dd # example usage to delete next 4 lines: 4dd

Here is my ~/.vimrc which I created at the beginning of the test

set tabstop=2
set expand-tab
set shiftwidth=2

With these presets, you can copy and paste sections from the web and align them within the yaml properly (with extra manual formatting)

Background

Ever wanted to start a project with a tech stack that you are familiar with? One that you have already customized with preferred dependencies and defaults? Github allows users to create projects as templates. These templates can be used to generate other projects with code from the template.

For an example, when I create react applications I know I want to always start out with typescript, jest, react testing library, and certain directory structures.

Steps

I created a react-starter project. Then went to Settings > Template Repository to convert that project to a template

Next, I created the my other project using the Use this template button in the react-starter template repository

Now it’s time to configure your new project as normal

New projects created from templates should have a reference to the template under the name of the project

And that’s it! The current repository does not have too many defaults right now but nothing is stopping me from continuing to add more down the line

Book and game recommendations for younger children to get into programming! Leave your recommendations in the comments!

Installing binaries within AWS lambda using layers

My bot uses ffmpeg to produce the audio clips. In a serverless environment, I needed to make sure that my lambda had access to the ffmpeg program on disk to run my lambda function AWS lambda provides a way to use binaries using aws layers. The layer concept allows developers to install programs in the serverless environment to be used by your lambda program. The serverless framework provides an interface to use layers via serverless.yml. More documentation on layers here

Serverless upload size

An error occurred: AppLambdaFunction - Unzipped size must be smaller than 185965792 bytes

AWS has a hard limit for the unzipped size of your lambda function. What helped me trim my deployment:

• Remove all serverless plugins upon uploading your program. Alternatively, a plugin can help reduce node lambda deployments. See the serverless webpack plugin for more information
• Make sure to only package required development dependencies
• Trim down packages installed within your layers. For an example, ffmpeg comes with docs, libs, and binaries that were not necessary.

Debugging deployments

Development logs from within the UI seemed to truncate 90% of the information. Tailing the logs was the best way for me to debug my deployed application.

serverless logs -f <application-name> -t