How would you invest $50,000?
HockeyPlayer: For #1, are you looking for a 1 in 10 chance of a 5x return, or a 1 in 100 chance of a 50x return?For #2, if you don't want to spend the serious time and money (because  you will lose some money while learning) becoming a angel investor, consider investing in a fund that does angel size investing.  David Cohen of TechStars runs a small fund that does seed stage investing, and I'm sure you can find others as that is a hot area.