Despite all of the hype about angel investing, a very small percentage of startups are actually successful in raising angel funding. Depending on which study you believe, angels invest at a ratio of somewhere between one out of every ten or one out of every 400 deals they see.

So…what should you do if your startup isn’t the one out of 400?

The popular advice to give entrepreneurs is to keep trying. Talk to more angels. Pursue crowdfunding. Improve your pitch deck. Have you heard this before?

Some of those suggestions might work, but statistically, they probably won’t. So….instead of spending an extraordinary amount of time fundraising, consider this approach:

1)      Be realistic about your likelihood of being funded. Every angel is an exception to the rule, so it’s impossible to say who will and won’t invest, but do some research to find out what types of companies actually attract angel investments. Also, when you meet with angel investors, ask them to simply tell you the hard truth about whether they or anyone they know would actually invest in you.

2)      Address your real problems. If your business doesn’t have the seven qualities of startups that angels actually invest in, then spend some time trying to acquiree those seven qualities. If you determine that your company will never have at least six (or maybe five) of those seven qualities, then you might want to reconsider your options.

3)      Rethink the whole business idea.  In many cases, entrepreneurs don’t fail to raise capital because it’s hard to raise capital. They fail because, as the experienced investors who turn them down can see, their business concept is unlikely to succeed. I’m saying this from personal experience.  I tried to raise capital when I started my first business and when investors weren’t interested, I followed the “popular” advice, borrowed some money from my family and bootstrapped the business.  I spent five years putting my blood, sweat and tears into something that just limped along instead of rethinking the plan and pursuing something truly remarkable.

4)      Join another startup. If you can’t raise capital for your own business, consider joining forces with another company. There are hundreds of startups in need of entrepreneurial talent and this could be a great way to get your entrepreneurial fix and build your resume for your own startup future.

5)      Find a job that will get you the right experience. Think long and hard about the experience, contacts and industry knowledge that are necessary to build a successful startup. If you don’t have that experience, consider finding a job that will help you get it.

If you can’t raise angel money, your life will not be over. In fact, it might be a blessing in disguise. There may be a smashing startup success in your future, but it may not be your current one. The sooner you move on, the closer you will be to your successful startup future.

Author Elizabeth Kraus is an entrepreneur and angel investor in Boulder, Colorado. She is the co-founder of the Impact Angel Group, a group of angel investors equally dedicated to making a difference and realizing a return, and the Angel Support Network, an organization that provides bandwidth and expertise to early stage investors, funds and angel groups.