However, getting more angel investors is predicated on building bigger companies that exit for more money.

WSJ: Ben Rooney: Should European Startups Change Funding Programs?

As a result, angel investors and venture capitalists evaluating early-stage companies no longer see an exit for their capital.

FORBES: Washington And The Markets Unite To Foster Small-Company Growth

Startup veterans, for the most part, move on to second careers as angel investors, from which new position they now compete with venture capitalists, often trying to engineer early-exit scenarios at lower multiples, and effectively allying themselves with the big acqui-hiring companies against the traditional VC class.

FORBES: Entrepreneurs are the New Labor: Part II