ARE YOU RICH? INVEST IN TECH: Angel investors share how they use their personal wealth to fund the next wave of tech startups.

• Author: Ciaramella, Elainna

If you're a millionaire who's grown weary of "traditional" investments, the timing could be right to take it up a notch by investing in Utah-based businesses, particularly forward-thinking companies leading the way in cutting-edge tech.

There are numerous reasons to invest in Utah's ecosystem. For starters, unlike standard investments where you're virtually disconnected from your money, angel investing can be deeply rewarding and satisfying. You get to be involved. You get to play the game. You have a hand in improving conditions, and, most importantly, you have the opportunity to leave your mark. Ask any skilled angel, and they'll say the old way of investing doesn't hold a candle to angel investing.

By investing your money in businesses, the local, national, and even global impact of your investment can be huge. Your investment might help create jobs, stimulate the economy, and improve people's lives for years to come. Angel investing isn't about being bored with your current investments and seeking outside stimulation; it's about making a difference and making a profit while doing it. It's a win-win from every angle.

"I've come to believe that if you're smart about where you invest, and you invest in good operators and deals that are well-structured, over time you generate higher returns than public equities," says Jeremy Andrus, an angel investor with more than 100 private investments in his personal portfolio.

IT'S NOT AS RISKY AS YOU THINK

Though it may sound like a great way to risk all of your money, the answer, as always, is diversification. "If you're doing early-stage tech investing, startups, it's critical that you consider your own portfolio strategy and work with institutional funds or venture funds who can support that diversification as well as do your due diligence, your homework on the companies," says Sid Krommenhoek, managing partner at Peak Ventures.

Because most of your investments will fail, do it through a portfolio, so even if you have nine losses, you can have one massive gain, he advises. "The truth with startups is that most fail, but those that do [succeed] succeed massively. Not 10 times, but 100 times returns."

John Richards, angel investor and founder of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at Brigham Young University says that newly liquid millionaires and billionaires should be cautious and move slowly. "Many newly liquid wealthy entrepreneurs think they can be master angel investors just because...