An Angel's Perspective: Put 100 Dollars into a Seed Startup or Growth-Stage 91APP?
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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above
English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2023-11-16. Translated 2026-10-24 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文
Reading guide
Robin proposes a hypothetical: you are a retired corporate executive who worked for 40 years and saved 100 million dollars, then became a startup adviser and angel investor. A sincere founding team puts in 1 million, while an angel club contributes 10 million. Each side holds 50% and receives 100,000 shares. Angels pay a premium nine times the team's cost, at 100 dollars per share. The same 100 dollars could buy a liquid stock such as 91APP in the secondary market, be sold for emergency cash, and perhaps still deliver a good return multiple over ten years. How would you invest? Robin adds that fundraising should follow a sequence. Do not necessarily raise externally so early; first build the minimum viable product (MVP) and refine it. Seeking a high valuation without results may bring repeated disappointment and complaints about an unfriendly environment. These figures are hypothetical; 91APP is a comparison, not a recommendation or assessment, and this is not investment advice.
Key points
- Consider opportunity cost from the angel investing 100 dollars.
- Illiquidity and limited exit flexibility are costs of seed investing.
- Fundraising needs a sequence; do not raise externally too early.
- Build and refine the MVP before discussing valuation.

Full text — English translation
These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.
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