I've made a few small angel investments. I'm starting to see patterns in their success and my own behavior.

I approached one team cold, as their solution was very well executed, and a product I use. Awesome folks, great energy, and they've accomplished a lot. Still, very early. I'm the first money in.

We took a few meetings over the space of a couple of months. They presented a plan and vision that I bought into and was fired up about backing.

Fast forward 6 months. Progress is slow, the velocity is clearly off. They may fix it, but with every update my confidence is falling.

I realize my mistake now, I invested in a dot and not a line. Pre-investment, each dot of a meeting was good, but the line was flat. Projecting this line out, it should've been clear that the plan would not be achieved, investment or not.

Now my job is to help them push that line up from flatness. As an investor, my options are limited.

Lesson learned- make a line with the dots. Project that line out to my goal.