Meet the Angels: Tasha Crawford-Jones
Tasha Crawford-Jones, founder of Twenty39, is a longtime member of Citrine Angels and one of our board representatives. Learn more about her, and her best advice for new angel investors, below!
Why did you join Citrine Angels?
I joined Citrine Angels at the very beginning to learn more about angel investing and have access to better opportunities than I was seeing on my own. I also wanted to support women founders and thought Citrine would be a good group to do that with. I had met many women who had their own companies and a common theme was trouble with access to capital. I did not understand at the time what this meant and how egregious the problem was, but wanted to see how I could help - while diversifying my investment portfolio.
My favorite part of being a member of Citrine Angels is the education and connections I have made with other angels inside and outside of Citrine. My network has not only grown, but transitioned to include people that benefit me in so many aspects of my life beyond investing, and this is something I had not anticipated when I joined. However, I appreciate every bit of it.
What career advice do you live by?
Be authentic, always learning, and considerate of the person next to you. I don't believe any one person gave me this advice. It's a culmination of lived observations, experiences, and advice from different people.
Who inspires you?
This is a HARD question because I get inspiration from so many sources! I would say my very top inspiration is my family because seeing them become a version of themselves, evolve, thrive, and become again inspires me to do the same and always strive towards my aspirations and to be better.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter angel investing?
I would make sure to manage expectations on the time and money commitment and ensure they know their options for getting started in angel investing. Not everyone is able or wants to jump into the deep end. For example, starting with crowdfunding provides an opportunity to get involved without a significant financial investment, and you don't have to be an accredited investor. Other things I would talk to them about would be to invest in learning about the process, budget annually for your investments, and always set aside a portion of funds (dry powder) for follow-on raises in your portfolio, identifying different groups to find your tribe, start with small checks, and just start! You will never know every single thing. The process is more like a marathon than a sprint, but these points, I believe, are good, nice-to-knows upfront.