How to get from wannabe to trusted expert, or why proof beats potential

How to get from wannabe to trusted expert, or why proof beats potential

We were talking recently about how to do a better job connecting Angel Squad members with the founders in our portfolio.

We know a lot of people who want to help startups. We know what our portfolio companies need. So why is matching the two so hard?

Then I realized we’re really dealing with two different groups. There’s the people who want to help startups. And then there’s the people we’d actually feel comfortable vouching for. The tricky part is figuring out who is both.

Why quality stays invisible

In our line of work, we meet a lot of people. But most of these meetings don’t tell you very much about how someone actually performs.

Someone can be great at networking and terrible at execution. They can be thoughtful in a conversation and struggle to ship. They can tell you they’re excellent at growth, product, recruiting, or whatever else, but that doesn’t necessarily give you a reason to put your name behind them.

And that last part matters, because when you recommend someone to a founder, you’re putting your own reputation on the line.

Make it easy for people to spot quality

So how do you go beyond that? To answer this, I’m going to hold up one story in particular about someone in our community. She’s organized, sharp, a great communicator, and genuinely interested in product.

But what really caught my attention was that she didn’t just say she wanted more experience. She went and built something herself, then she wrote about what she learned. Somebody on our team read it, reached out, and now there's an actual conversation about working together.

That’s the part people sometimes miss: proof beats potential.

If you want people to recommend you, don’t just tell them what you could do. Give them something to point to. Build the thing. Write the analysis. Ship the small version. Help someone solve a real problem.

This goes for angels, too

The same is true if you’re an angel. Founders vouch for investors to other founders. That's how a lot of deal access actually moves, especially when you're writing $5k checks and don't have a brand yet.

Wanting good deal flow isn’t enough. The question is whether a founder has a reason to tell their friends, “you should talk to this person.”

The good news is that you don’t need to manufacture some huge accomplishment. An intro that turned into a customer. A hire you sourced. A market breakdown you wrote that they forwarded to their team. One piece of evidence beats five years of being pleasant on calls.

What to do this month

Pick one thing you actually know something about and make something about it to share, like a teardown of a company in your sector. Or a short guide on the operational thing you've done a hundred times. Even a list of the twelve people you'd call for a specific type of hire.

Send it to two founders. Don't attach an ask. That's the entire move.

It's slow, it compounds, and it's the only thing I've seen consistently nudge people from wannabe to trusted pro.

What's the piece of evidence in your background that nobody knows about? Reply and tell me, I'm genuinely curious what's hiding in this list.