* It's never too early to pitch an angel. IMHO, angels are generally comfortable investing before you have real traction - smart angels have told me that they invest in people, not ideas. So, the takeaway is that you want to start talking to angels early - let them know what you're up to and, if there's mutual interest, you'll get to the next level.

* Your deck should include the Kawasaki 10: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html Though, don't whip your deck out on the first date -- I've had more success by having informal coffee/lunch meetings first. If they want to know more, that's when you send them the deck.

* When in doubt, remember this: "Ask for advice and you may eventually get money. Ask for money and you'll often get advice."

Finally, if you want to continue the conversation offline, I'd be happy to help -- feel free to email me.

Personally, I am looking for:

- A solid idea and initial implementation; you can't tell how good an idea will be until it is embodied. I don't want to even talk to two MBAs with a powerpoint deck. I'd much rather see a hacker and a codebase.

- A team I would consider actually working with or for. If they are hard to get along with now, it will be worse later (this is true in the opposite direction as well.)

- Business plans and TAM and all that crap? Forget it. I want product vision and an ability to roll with the punches. Business plans end up on the floor and TAM is just wishful thinking.

There's also a bunch of things I look for in the products, but I guess that's more investing philosophy.

Mostly west coast...

You don't usually need a formal deck. Ask the investor.

Convinced of what? That they're making a worthwhile investment? How do you know when you've hit that point where you're ready to ask someone for money? Is this further down the road from making something people want?

And from what I've seen of the relatively new seed investment firms, you can approach some just as early - an idea, a team, and a plan (sometimes as short as a few pages). Some would prefer that you not even incorporate yet.

It was 1999, though, and likely less formal relative to the more mature market now. Back then it seemed most angels were friends or family of the founders. The boom was so strong that getting early investors was no more difficult than talking to friends who liked to invest. You could also work with an incubator but we didn't call those guys "angels."

It's rarely too early to get in touch with angels and get on the radar if you expect that you'll need funding.

Meanwhile, keep in mind that the longer you wait, the more traction you get, the better your bargaining position and the higher the valuation.