The cost of meetings extends beyond their duration. 'Pre-distraction' reduces focus beforehand as you anticipate the meeting. Afterward, 'attention residue' keeps your mind stuck on the previous discussion, diminishing your mental capacity for the next task.

Entrepreneurs often get burned by a failed investment (like a bad ad agency) and become hesitant to invest in that area again. This is a cognitive trap. The first loss was the money spent; the second, more significant loss is the opportunity cost of not trying again with a better strategy.

Frame your initial angel investments as a sunk cost, like business school tuition. Instead of optimizing for immediate financial returns, focus on building relationships, acquiring skills, and developing a strong reputation. This long-term mindset reduces pressure and leads to better, unforeseen opportunities down the line.

New VCs often rush to make deals to prove themselves, but this leads to a portfolio of mediocre companies. These investments consume a disproportionate amount of time and energy, leaving no bandwidth to pursue the truly exceptional, career-making opportunities that may appear later.

Scott Galloway actively avoids angel investing, calling it the "worst part of the capital structure." He argues that with only one in seven deals ever providing a return, high dilution risk, and a massive time commitment, it's an inefficient way to deploy capital unless it's for a friend and the money is considered a write-off.

Angel investing as a founder is a mistake. It requires selling your own company's stock and, more importantly, diverts finite time and focus. Every moment not spent on your primary business is a small, unmeasurable loss that compounds over time, making ultimate success less likely.

Contrary to popular belief, becoming a deep expert in a sector can harm your angel investing returns. Experts tend to see all the existing roadblocks and regulations, dismissing breakthrough ideas that a naive but determined outsider might pursue successfully. The expert underwrites the past, not the potential future.

Multitasking is a myth. When you switch tasks, your brain leaves a psychological "attentional residue" from the previous activity, like a poorly erased whiteboard. This residue consumes cognitive resources, reducing your productivity and increasing stress on the next task you undertake.

For many entrepreneurs, angel investing is a poor use of capital, akin to playing roulette. While it feels like 'paying it forward,' it often results in tying up millions of dollars in illiquid assets with a very low probability of a meaningful return, underperforming simpler investments.