This is the fifth & final (I promise!) article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. After that it’s domain experience, access to VCs and deep pockets.

5. Access to buyers – I saved the least obvious for last. Most people think that being a successful investor is about finding the right deals and nurturing the teams through the difficult times to come out with a great company. That’s certainly the most important part of the success.

Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. Part 2 discussed the need for domain knowledge since merely “joining the right club deal” will in no way determine success.

Not everybody agreed on the need for domain knowledge. Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism” being an important part of startup success. Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. Me? I’d rather be Roger Ehrenberg with a thesis around data-centric companies and base my investment decisions on the skills I’ve developed in my career.

Prism's goal is to build substantial businesses around disrupting the status quo. Prism VentureWorks has only been around since 1996 but has raised 5 funds and manages $1.25 billion currently. Each of the 10 partners focuses on different industry sectors within technology and life sciences. These industry sectors in technology include digital media and software & services In life sciences, Prism focuses on medical devices, therapeutics, and breakthrough diagnostics.

Don't miss part I of this interview with Woody on trends enabling start-ups right now, how these trends are affecting the VC market, and Woody's position on the angel market.

AlwaysOn: So what markets do you think are hot right now? 

Woody: Distressed European assets. No – that’s a good question. I think innovation markets are hot. Really innovative new ideas that take advantage of the consumer being in charge, time shifting, society trends, and that have a mobile element are hot. It’s really based on the ingenuity and creativity of the entrepreneurs.I think the things that are hot are bigger ideas. The thing to be careful about taking less capital to start something is that there are a lot of very thin ideas out there - too many small ideas that can actually get to the market place because of the lower capital requirements. The really innovative things happen when there’s a bigger idea at play.

I don't have an MBA, but I have earned my SIlicon Valley MBA.  Let me explain. When I was a few years out of college, I considered going back to get an MBA.  I liked working in the valley and knew that I wanted to spend my career in tech and ultimately around startups - at that point I had only worked for Apple.  So I asked around to a lot of people I knew well and respected.  People who I thought had been successful in their careers and whose path I wanted to learn from.  Many of them had MBAs and some did not.  I wanted to hear their perspectives on the value of a traditional MBA.

Disruptive technology is forcing big changes in Hollywood: new contracts, new genres, new stars. As the behemoth industry steps into the digital era, entertainment execs will be paying even closer attention to the global Silicon Valley—especially the startups that are writing the rules and creating the tools for the digital entertainment age.

If desperation is the mother of innovation, then ignorance might be its father. In the early stages of a company, being protected from external influences can be a powerful stimulant for creativity and innovation. Why? For the same reason that we often see some of the most creative and entrepreneurial insights coming from younger people. Wisdom and experience help to grow and sustain a company, but generating novel ideas requires a certain amount of naïveté. In the context of entrepreneurship and idea generation, ignorance equals open-mindedness. An empty mind is an open one — it is empty of bias, empty of past experience, and empty of external critique.

What is Apple going to do about AT&T's network problems? One iPhone fan, desperate for a solution, asked if someone from Apple is working on the problem. Jobs, as usual, keeps his cards close to his chest and gives a carefully crafted response, but not a real answer. The bottom line seems to be that the Apple-AT&T partnership is still worth more than the headaches AT&T's network is causing for Apple.

Here at home, the angel community in New England is really starting to flex its muscles.  Thanks to Scott Kirsner's arbitrary declaration (and admirable leadership), June is Innovation Month in New England and there is a ridiculous amount of activity going on.It started off on June 1st with Angel Boot Camp, a confab that gathered over 200 angels, VCs and start-ups. Last night was Tech Stars Boston Investor Night, which continues to gain momentum heading into its second season, as well as the big annual the MITX Awards event.  Every night this month, there is something going on.  You can see the master schedule at www.neinnovation.com. Many of these venues didn't exist 3-4 years ago - Mobile Mondays, Web Inno, Open Coffee, etc.  New events are coming to Boston this month, including the Open Angel Forum, which is June 18th.

Steve Jobs recently said that fewer people will be using personal computers in the next 5-10 years than today. Steve Ballmer disagrees and says that PCs will continue to shift in form factor but are here to stay. Is this just an issue of semantics? Is the iPad a PC as Ballmer suggests? Either way, what's Microsoft's role in an post-iPad world?