When I started angel investing, it was intuitive. I had launched a company in beauty tech, mentored founders, and started cutting small checks. I wasn’t thinking about building a portfolio. I was thinking about how I could support founders I believed in and bring in  resources I wish I had.

Now, seven years later, I’ve invested in over 60 companies, many of them led by women or BIPOC founders, and I’ve launched Conteur Capital to back brands at the next level. I call it early growth: founders doing real revenue, building real businesses, and facing the real pressure of what comes next.

Here are the mindsets and insights I’ve carried with me across every pitch, every pivot, and every room I’ve stepped into as a founder and as a funder.

1. Know Where You’re Going

As a founder, you don’t have to follow a straight path. But you do need a destination.

I always ask founders where they see themselves in five or seven years and whether they’re actively reverse engineering that journey. If you can articulate your long game, it makes the short-term decisions clearer.

You don’t need a perfect map. But you do need a compass.

2. Build Discipline Early

When I launched my first brand, HBFIT, I didn’t hire a CFO. I didn’t invest in a real team. I treated it as an extension of my personal brand and that limited what it could become.

I closed the business in 2023 and pivoted toward content and venture full time. But that experience taught me something critical: when you don’t give your company structure and support, it’s hard for it to grow beyond you.

That’s why, as an investor, I look for founders who are thinking like operators, not just visionaries.

3. Be Open, Not Precious

Founders often get stuck when they’re too emotionally attached to their original idea or early team. The truth is, getting from 5 million to 20 million, and 20 million to 50 million, requires different talent, tools, and thinking.

At Conteur, we help founders navigate that scale. Sometimes that means reworking teams, operations, or expectations. It’s not about ego. It’s about getting where you want to go.

You can be loyal and evolve. The key is staying clear on what the business needs next.

4. Bet on Categories You Understand

I’ve made multiple investments in the beauty and wellness space, including Ami Colé, Live Tinted, Ceremonia, Sienna Naturals. Some people question that. But to me, it’s a strength.

I invest where I can offer strategic guidance, founder empathy, and real introductions. Depth matters more than novelty. I’ll always double down on what I know, especially when it’s where underrepresented founders need the most backing.

5. Your Brand Is More Than Visibility

I didn’t always realize the power of showing up. But now I know my network, content, and credibility open doors for me and for my founders.

If you’re a founder, executive, or investor, you should be investing in your personal brand. Not as a vanity play, but as a lever for connection and long-term value. When people trust your voice, they’re more likely to trust your vision.

And in rooms where capital is scarce or conviction is low, that can be the difference.

Final Thought: Use the Data. Trust the Gut. Keep Going.

Founding a business and funding one are two sides of the same muscle. You have to believe in something before it’s fully proven. You have to trust people before the metrics catch up. And you have to bet on yourself, again and again.

I’ve always used doubt as fuel. I’ve always led with heart. And I’ve always stayed in motion.

Easy isn’t the goal. Better is.

About Hannah

Hannah Bronfman is an angel investor, entrepreneur, content creator, and founder of Conteur Capital. Through her angel investing platform Pres10 Ventures, she has backed over 60 brands, the majority of which are BIPOC- or women-founded. A longtime wellness advocate and digital pioneer, she previously built HBFIT and is known for her candid perspective on brand building, equity, and access.