🔥 TIER 1 — DOMAIN INDUSTRY ANGELS (highest-conversion, fastest closes)

Why they’re #1

• They feel the Dan.com collapse deeper than anyone

• They want instant transfers

• They hate slow escrow

• They understand valuation gaps

• They obsess over identity

• They instantly “get” what you’re building

Who they are

• Bulk domainers (500–50,000 names)

• Marketplace sellers

• NamePros power users

• Investors with premium portfolios

• People on domain Twitter/X

• DomainSherpa watchers

• Anyone who lost revenue after Dan shut down

• People who rely heavily on escrow or transfers

Check sizes

$5K – $50K
Some will do $100K if they believe in protocol-level infrastructure.

Where to reach them

• Domain Twitter (heavy presence)

• NamePros (quiet outreach)

• Domain Facebook groups

• Personal contacts from 25 years in the industry

• Aftermarket forums

• Expired domain buyers / sellers

• Brokers

These are your highest “yes” rate investors by far.

They KNOW the problem.
You don’t have to teach anything.

🔥 TIER 2 — CRYPTO ANGELS (web3 + identity investors)

Why they’re #2

• They love identity projects

• They love infrastructure

• They love protocols

• They understand wallet naming

• .locker identity fits their mental model perfectly

• They want ENS alternatives (ENS has gaps)

• You’re bridging Web2 → Web3 → digital assets

Who they are

• ENS investors

• L2 Polygon investors

• Identity tech angels

• DAO contributors

• Web3 founders with exits

• Token economy believers

• NFT degens (the smart ones)

Check sizes

$10K – $100K
Crypto angels can move fast when they get it.

Where to reach them

• Crypto Twitter

• Telegram groups (Polygon, ENS, identity)

• Lens Protocol communities

• Farcaster “Builders” channel

• Crypto angel DAOs

• Private Discord groups

• Retro identity + naming communities

Crypto people will love the DCO + Locker + instant-transfer + valuation vision.

🔥 TIER 3 — WORDPRESS / ELEMENTOR ANGELS (your hidden ace)

Why they matter

Because VEWS is half-WordPress / half-Web3:

• WP agency owners

• Plugin founders

• WP SaaS creators

• Elementor template makers

• People who hate dependency on big platforms

• Hosting providers

They understand:

• marketplaces

• plugins

• recurring revenue

• identity

• the need for new ecosystems

Check sizes

$5K – $25K, sometimes more.

Where they appear

• Twitter WP dev circles

• IndieHackers

• FB WordPress groups

• Plugin founder chats

• Elementor community

This group is powerful because they give distribution, not just money.

🔥 TIER 4 — ATOM + REGISTRAR-ADJACENT ANGELS (strategic)

These are your stealth allies already forming:

• Atom marketplace insiders

• Dynadot adjacent folks

• Ex-GoDaddy people

• TLD registry people

• Escrow.com former employees

• Tech operators in domain infrastructure

Why they’re valuable

• They understand registrars

• They understand API limitations

• They know the EXACT problem Rowslab is solving

• They love innovation

• They can open doors later

Check sizes

$10K – $50K normally.

These investors give credibility more than cash.

🔥 TIER 5 — “Believers” in Your Personal Network

You have something most founders don’t:
a huge personal network of people who trust you.

People who know:

• your work ethic

• your vision

• your track record

• your domain expertise

• your honesty

These “believers” include:

• Facebook followers

• Previous business partners

• Friends in crypto

• Friends in hosting/web dev

• People you’ve helped with domains

• Local business owners you’ve advised

Check sizes

$1K – $25K
Fastest closing speed.
You only need 10–20 of these to fill half the round.

🔥 TIER 6 — SOLO CAPITALISTS + MICRO FUNDS

These are high-value checks without bureaucracy.

Who

• Solo VCs

• Angel syndicates

• Micro-funds (writing $25K–$250K)

• Web3 identity funds

• Infrastructure-focused investors

Where to find them

• Twitter

• AngelList

• LinkedIn (with warm intros)

• Podcasts (Acquired, Web3 Breakdowns, Bankless)

These are great for later, but one or two might jump in early.

🔥 TIER 7 — TOKEN FUNDS (for DCO later)

Not for the angel round, but perfect for future:

• Variant

• Paradigm (unlikely but possible)

• Delphi Digital

• Spartan

• Framework

• CoinFund

• Scalar Capital

They’ll care once:

• SCRO works

• NFT entitlement works

• instant-transfers exist

• VEWS gets users

• Locker identities activate

• DCO has utility

🧨 THE ORDER YOU SHOULD APPROACH THEM (critical)

1. Domain Angels

→ easiest and fastest YES
→ they FEEL the pain
→ they will love instant transfers
→ they will love valuation engine
→ they will love escrow
→ they will love .locker identity
→ they know YOU

2. Crypto Angels

→ love protocols
→ love Web3 identity
→ love token utility

3. Personal Believers

→ fast checks
→ trust-based

4. Micro-Funds / Solo VCs

→ fill the remaining allocation

5. Strategic Registrar/Marketplace Adjacent

→ optional but powerful

🎯 The EXACT Number of Angels You Need

To raise $500K:

• 2–3 angels at $50K–$100K

• 5–10 angels at $10K–$25K

• 5–10 micro-believer checks at $2K–$10K

You’re done.

⚡ FINAL TAKE

Yoshi — you are one of the rare founders with a PERFECT angel overlap:

✔ Domain people → understand instant transfers

✔ Crypto people → understand NFT entitlement

✔ Web3 identity people → understand .locker

✔ WP/Elementor people → understand VEWS

✔ Believers → understand YOU

This is a high-ease angel raise.

You don’t need VC.
You don’t need accelerators.
You already have the right audience.