Resources

Investor Readiness

WeCAN's Fund-Agnostic Intro Webinar Series

Intro to Angel Investing

Other Resources

2024 NVCA Yearbook (an analysis of the 2023 VC ecosystem)
Angel Investing 101 Webinar Series by Movement51
Angels 101 by ClassRebel
Angel Investor Program through the Afrodescendant Leadership Alliance
Founder Institute
National Venture Capital Association
Small Business Development Centre (Silicon Valley)
The Silicon Valley Podcast by Shawn Flynn
VC Lab (launched by Founder Institute)
Venture Deals: Be Smarter than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
Venture University

Founder Readiness

Resources for Founders and Funders (click the link here)

We have compile a list of very useful resources to help understand the investment process further, as well as to help founders be best prepared for the process of raising a round. WeCAN - and each Angel /VC fund - will adopt slightly different approaches and templates, however we hope that this list of resources can help you to navigate most landscapes.

Finally, please note that these resources are compiled from what we believe to be reputable sources across the US and Canada. They are apt to change and we are not actively reviewing this list for currency. We strongly suggest using these sources as a starting point from which to initiate a broader search for your specific circumstances.

Newsletter Resources

California’s VC Diversity Disclosure Law: Transparency as a Catalyst for Change

California’s VC Diversity Disclosure Law (Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Act) (California State Legislature; demographic reporting requirement for VC-backed founders effective 2026) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB54
Governor Newsom’s Statement on Signing SB 54 (Office of the Governor, CA; framing the law as part of economic equity policy) — https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/10/08/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-10-8-23/
2022 NVCA-Deloitte VC Human Capital Survey (NVCA; persistent underrepresentation in VC-backed startups) — https://nvca.org/research/human-capital-survey/
Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule (Nasdaq; board composition disclosure rule aimed at transparency-led change) — https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/diversityrule
Evidence That Transparency Can Promote Diversity (Harvard Business Review, 2020; reporting as behavior-change mechanism) — https://hbr.org/2020/01/evidence-that-transparency-can-promote-diversity
Gender Pay Gap Disclosure in the UK: A Step Toward Transparency (World Bank Blog, 2021; pay equity metrics post-reporting) — https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/gender-pay-gap-disclosure-uk-step-toward-transparency

Denmark (Gender Pay Gap Reporting):

Do Transparency Policies Affect Wages? Evidence from the Danish Gender Wage Gap (NBER working paper; gender pay reporting law impact; ~7% gap reduction) — https://www.nber.org/papers/w23329
The Impact of Pay Transparency on Gender Wage Gaps: Evidence from Denmark (Journal of Labor Economics; board-seated angels linked to ROI; peer-reviewed) — https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/706092
Eurostat: Gender Pay Gap Statistics (EU comparative data; Denmark tracking over time) — https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Gender_pay_gap_statistics

United Kingdom (Board Diversity Disclosure):

Women on Boards: Davies Review 2011–2015 (UK gov’t report; recommended board disclosure + targets; doubled female board presence) — https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482059/BIS-15-585-women-on-boards-davies-review-5-year-summary-october-2015.pdf
FTSE Women Leaders Review (2022) (UK Government-backed review; 10-year impact data on board diversity) — https://ftsewomenleaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/FTSE-Women-Leaders-Review-2022.pdf
Hampton-Alexander Review: Improving Gender Balance in FTSE Leadership (UK voluntary disclosure follow-up program; outcomes tracking) — https://ftsewomenleaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Hampton-Alexander-Review-2020.pdf

United States (Toxic Chemical Disclosure):

The Effect of Information Disclosure on Industry Performance: Evidence from the TRI (Journal of Environmental Economics and Management; impact of 1986 EPCRA reporting) — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095069697915156
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis (US EPA; historical emission data post-disclosure mandate) — https://www.epa.gov/trinationalanalysis
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Overview (EPCRA) (US EPA law summary; basis of TRI program) — https://www.epa.gov/epcra/what-epcra

Want better returns? Get an Angel (on the board)

Mitigating the Decline in Angel Board Representation (ACA blog; CTAN and Launchpad data; board-seated angels linked to higher ROI) — https://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/blog/mitigating-the-decline-in-angel-board-representation
2022 Angel Funders Report (ACA industry report; board roles correlated with greater investor involvement and exit performance) — https://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/docs/2022-Angel-Funders-Report.pdf
Angels on Board: Evidence from Norwegian Startups (NBER working paper, 2024; UChicago/Norwegian data; board participation among few consistent ROI predictors) — https://www.nber.org/papers/w32009
Angel Investing: Start to Finish (ACA & Rob Wiltbank, 2022; practical guide with data on angel board involvement and investment outcomes) — https://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/angel-investing-start-to-finish
Angel Investment Performance Project (Kauffman Foundation, 2007; angels who joined boards and stayed engaged achieved 3.7× returns vs. 1.3× for passive peers) — https://www.kauffman.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/angel_investment_performance_project.pdf

When Diversity is Priced as Risk

Financing the Next VC-Backed Startup: The Role of Gender (NBER working paper; cofounder-matched design; funding penalties tied to gender, not firm quality) — https://www.nber.org/papers/w33943
Discrimination in the Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Field Experiments (arXiv/Columbia; randomized trials with real VCs; context-dependent bias mechanics) — https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.16084
When Do Gender-Diverse Teams Engage More Investors? (Organization Science, 2025; threshold/representation effects — token presence rarely shifts investor behavior) — https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2025.20141
What Do Entrepreneurs Pay for Venture Capital Affiliation? (Journal of Finance, 2004; affiliation/certification effects — who’s on the cap table shapes interpretation) — https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/3_1.pdf
Whom You Know Matters: Venture Capital Networks and Investment Performance (Journal of Finance, 2007; investor-network reach and performance implications) — https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1294148
The Cost of Friendship (Journal of Financial Economics, 2016; homophily in VC collaboration and correlated blind spots) — https://yuhai.merage.uci.edu/GompersMukharlyamovXuanCostOfFriendshipJFE.pdf
Final Rule: Amending the “Accredited Investor” Definition (SEC, 2020; wealth/credential gates relevant to participation) — https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/final/2020/33-10824.pdf
Qualified Purchaser — Definition (15 U.S.C. § 80a-2(a)(51)) (Cornell LII; higher wealth thresholds relevant to fund participation) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?def_id=15-USC-1586993939-30509909

Monetizing Your Network Without The Ick

Oldies But Goodies (pre-August 2025 Newsletters)

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