Rust’s Rules of Negotiation
November 17, 2025
Over the last 20 years, I’ve been involved in negotiations for everything from small sales contracts to IPOs.
Today we’re talking about investor definitions. It’s not always clear what type of check an investor will write, especially in these rapidly changing times. So here’s a rough outline of the definitions for investors based on their initial check size:
Angel Investors — Not to be confused with Angel groups, these are individuals who usually don’t invest fulltime and are investing their own money. You would expect their check size to range from $5k up to $100k.
Micro VCs — These are investors with a smaller fund, usually under $100M. Often a small team of up to 3 partners, investing from $50k to $500k in most cases.
Seed Funds — With a team of 3 to 20+ investing professionals, seed funds usually have more than $100M in their current fund and invest $500k to $5M initially.
Big VCs — You’re likely to see a huge team, numerous different types of funds, investing at various stages and all across the globe. Initial check sizes start around $5M and go up from there.
