| FOOL’S GOLD: ANGEL INVESTING AND THE FINE ART OF LOSING MONEY New Book Pulls Back the Curtain on Startup Investing With 60 Years of Hard-Won Wisdom, Henry Fiorillo Tells You What Nobody Else Will |
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| Toronto, ON — March 16, 2026 — Every year, thousands of investors write cheques to startups they believe will change the world. Most of them lose. The mythology of the next Google, the next Shopify, the next unicorn is seductive, and expensive. In his bold new book, Fool’s Gold: Angel Investing and the Fine Art of Losing Money (Sutherland House, May 19, 2026), veteran angel investor Henry Fiorillo does something rare in the world of business books: he tells the truth. About the losses. And the heartache, gloss, and tears. “Fool’s Gold” teaches the fine art of losing money so you can master the finer art of making it,” says Fiorillo. After six decades navigating the volatile, unforgiving terrain of early-stage investing, and considering several thousand investments, he has earned the right to say it. WHY THIS BOOK. WHY NOW. Angel investing — putting your own capital into early-stage startups in exchange for equity — has never been more accessible, or more dangerous. Social media has turbocharged the hype cycle. FOMO (fear of missing out) has replaced due diligence. Polished pitch decks and charismatic founders are routinely mistaken for sound fundamentals. The result? Most angels lose their shirts. Fool’s Gold is the book the industry has been missing: a candid, experience-first guide that arms both aspiring and seasoned investors with the tools to see past the shimmer (or worse). Fiorillo reveals what separates a real opportunity from a fool’s gold investment — and it starts long before the sales roll in. If there are any sales at all. WHAT READERS WILL DISCOVER Drawing on his own wins and losses — and the psychological and financial frameworks that explain both — Fiorillo takes readers behind the scenes of startup investing with a clarity that no glossy investment manual dares to match. Taking the reader on a galloping journey, and structured as a digestible series of lessons, Fool’s Gold covers: How cognitive biases silently destroy capital — and how to catch yourself before they doWhy assessing a founder’s personality, integrity, and grit matters more than any pitch deckThe red flags most investors ignore (and why they ignore them)How to ask the essential questions other books are afraid to raiseThe myths, the blunders, and the hard-won insights from over six decades in the room ABOUT THE AUTHOR Henry Fiorillo holds a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on consumer research, buyer behaviour, and finance. His career spans corporate leadership, market research, corporate planning, and line marketing — before a long, consequential run as one of the most respected angel investors in the industry. He has written cheques. He has lost money. He has won. And now, he’s sharing everything. WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING “Fool’s Gold is a bracing antidote to the hype and mythology surrounding angel investing. With uncommon honesty, Henry Fiorillo shows how cognitive bias, misplaced trust, and overconfidence quietly destroy capital. This is not a how-to-get-rich book. It’s a how-to-survive one. Required reading for any serious early-stage investor.” — J.B. Handley, Founder, Bochi Investments “Refreshingly honest… Fiorillo exposes the cognitive biases and common traps that lead even experienced angels astray. This is essential reading for anyone considering early-stage investing — or anyone who wants to understand why most startups fail.” — John Ruffolo, Founder & Managing Partner, Maverix Private Equity “An engaging, experience-based guide for investors seeking the unvarnished truth about early-stage investing. Fiorillo provides sharp insights on how to spot the real thing over ‘fool’s gold.’ A deeply personal, practical resource for both aspiring and seasoned angel investors.” — Ron Farmer, Managing Director, Mosaic Capital Partners; Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Company “I’ve had the pleasure of watching Henry assess and make angel investments for more than two decades. His practice of surrounding himself with smart, independent thinkers to rigorously evaluate opportunities was one of my earliest and most enduring lessons in investment decision-making. Fool’s Gold is rich with practical advice, candid stories, and hard-won lessons from the high-risk pursuit of backing winners—and learning from the losers.” — Bruce Croxon, Co-founder Lavalife, former Dragon on CBC’s Dragons Den, Founding Partner Round13 Capital. FOOL’S GOLD: ANGEL INVESTING AND THE FINE ART OF LOSING MONEY By Henry Fiorillo | Hardcover | $32.95 CAD Publication Date: May 19, 2026 Pre-order now on Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/199773902X?ref_=cb_interstitial_us_ca_desktop_unrec_location_unk_dp_dp For review copies, interview requests, or media inquiries, contact: Sasha Stoltz Publicity | [email protected] | 416-579-4804 |
