Hi,
I've successfully made dozens of private investments into small businesses since 2008 and have only had one go bad. It was a second-lien mortgage deal brought to me by a broker. In general, my deals yield me between 12 and 25% APY and always have multiple 'ways out' should they go bad.

Being an accredited investor is a legal definition. You don't apply for this or go to school to learn it. The definition can change by jurisdiction. Where I live, for instance, one can be considered accredited if total net worth is over $5M, If liquid investments are over $1M or if your income is over $350K/yr.

Basically, a farmer with no mortgage would be considered an accredited investor or perhaps a dentist who had a few associates.

The rules about accredited investors are there to keep guys like you from making the investment that you did.

The problem with most investments being pitched is that they are for equity in startups. This is the riskiest place to invest one's money. The large VC investors that you cite in your question typically make many investments knowing full well that most will go bust. Their business model relies on having just one or two shoot to the moon. You probably can't afford this.

I recommend you start with small secured loans to local real-world businesses. Get your feet wet and educate yourself with respect to how you can manage various downsides.

My book, Invest Local, is all about this. It's on Amazon or your can get it from www.InvestLocalBook.com

On that site you'll also find hundreds of blog posts and links to over a hundred videos on local investing. Once you're ready to act, I also recommend my online course which is at www.LocalInvestingCourse.com

If you want my help, schedule a call with me after you've read Invest Local. It's only $10 and sometimes Amazon has it on sale for Kindle.

Best of luck.