I've always wondered about the implicit economics of some of these angel groups. They seem to spend an awful lot of time getting to the point where they can write a small check. If the expected value of the rate of return of venture investments is ~20%, then it would seem they're barely making minimum wage.

On the other hand, contra the article, I've made angel investments after a pitch. Angels write small-ish checks, so making the founder do a song-and-dance over the course of many meetings would be uneconomic for him. It's a bit different if you're a partner at Greylock writing multi-million dollar checks.