????2.投資熟悉的領域。風險投資安德森?霍羅維茨基金創始人馬克?安德森和本?霍羅維茨近日在接受《財富》（Fortune）采訪時坦承，公司絕大部分投資都集中在某種特定類型的新創企業——軟件公司。霍羅維茨稱：“我們投資自己了解的領域。我們了解產品周期，了解這一行業的人。這是我們最擅長的領域。”霍羅維茨和安德森曾在1999年創立了軟件企業Opsware。把資金投向自己了解的領域，這樣投資起來心里更有底，也更有可能獲得成功。

????3.尋求專業人士的幫助。羅斯表示，每名投資者的背景、專業知識都不一樣，可支配的投資額也大相徑庭。所以，不要覺得不好意思，盡管去咨詢理財專家。他們能幫你更好地分配資金，在進行高風險的早期投資時，這一點尤為必要。注冊金融規劃師標準委員會（Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc）2010年的一份調查顯示，只有28%的美國人聘請了金融規劃師。羅斯稱：“我認為與專業人士共事、聽取專業意見非常重要。千萬不要單打獨斗。”

????4.投資多家公司。新創企業成功的少，失敗的多。事實上，大部分都失敗了。雖然專家們沒有給出具體數字，但有研究顯示，新創企業的失敗率至少有75%，最高達90%。羅斯說，專業人士不會把雞蛋全都放到一個籃子里，他們會投資多家公司以分散風險。“當某人去做專業的天使投資人，他會拿出自己凈資產的一部分，投資于10家、15家、乃至20家公司。他們的網撒得足夠大，其中很可能會有脫穎而出的贏家。”此外，投資者還能通過與朋友或同事合伙，從而減小風險。

????5、了解平臺。光對你有意投資的創業者進行背景調查還不夠。未來可能有成千上萬家眾籌網站，它們可能很快就稱為“門戶網站”。CircleUp創始人兼首席運營官羅里?埃金說，重要的一點是確保你打交道的是一個合法且安全的平臺。CircleUp網站致力于幫助受信投資者尋找合理的投資機會。投資者需要了解，是誰在經營自己打交道的平臺？這個平臺對投資機會的過濾是否細致。埃金問道：“這個平臺是對所有想發布投資機會的公司都來者不拒？還是會參與策展過程？”那些希望獲得長期成功的平臺會盡最大的努力淘汰欺騙性的投資項目。SeedInvest在《創業企業扶助法案》最終定稿前是一家專門針對受信投資者的股權眾籌網站，首席執行官賴安?費特明白篩選投資項目對這個網站的重要性。費特說“達成交易是好事，但假如不能讓客戶滿意，那就是白搭。”(財富中文網)

????譯者：項航

????2. Stick to what you know.In a recent interview with Fortune, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, admitted that they invest primarily in a specific type of startup: software companies. "We're interested in what we understand," says Horowitz, who co-founded software company Opsware in 1999 with Andreessen. "We understand that product cycle. We understand those people. And that's what we're best at." Funneling money toward industries that you are familiar with will allow for more educated, and therefore successful, investments.

????3. Seek professional assistance.Each investor has his or her own background, expertise, and level of disposable income. There's no shame in seeking out financial assistance to determine how to most appropriately allocate your funds, especially when making a risky early-stage investment, says Rose. A 2010 survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. found that only 28% of Americans use financial planners. "I think it's really important to work with a professional and get the right kind of advice," says Rose. "Don't just go at it alone."

????4. Diversify your portfolio.Startups fail more than they succeed. A lot more, in fact. Experts haven't settled on an exact number, but studies peg startup fail rates anywhere from 75% to as high as 90%. To combat these risks, professionals hedge their bets by diversifying their investments across multiple companies, says Rose. "When someone goes out and becomes a professional angel, they're allocating a certain percentage of their net worth to go out and make 10, 15, 20 different bets," he explains. "They have a large enough pool that hopefully they'll find some winners in there." Investors can also minimize their financial risk by teaming up on investments with friends or colleagues.

????5. Understand the platform.Doing a background check on your entrepreneur is not enough. With thousands of potential crowdfunding sites, which may soon be referred to as "portals," it's important to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate and safe platform, says Rory Eakin, founder and COO of CircleUp, a site that helps accredited investors find legitimate investment opportunities. Investors should understand who is operating their platform, as well as how diligently investment opportunities are filtered. "Is the platform accepting any company that wants to post investment opportunities," asks Eakin, "or are they involved in the curation process?" Platforms that hope for long-term success will be doing their best to weed out the fraudulent campaigns. Ryan Feit, CEO of SeedInvest, a new equity-based crowdfunding site tailored toward accredited investors until the JOBS Act rules are finalized, understands the importance of curating his site's offerings. "Getting deals done is great," he says, "but not if you don't keep customers happy."