John Huston
Dave’s back from a trip to Utrecht; John’s sitting in the rain in Cleveland, and between the three of us we have a lively discussion of early-stage boards and a concept John calls, the Premortem.
Dave, long term listeners will remember, is one of Los Angeles’ most active and successful angel investors; he’s made 88 early-stage investments. John is the past-Chairman of the Angel Capital Association and is the hands-on manager of the Ohio TechAngels in Cleveland.
First, John wants to distinguish pre- from post-mortem; he calls it “Tombstone Training” when investors gather at the end of a startup’s short life — to lament and to understand why. The premortem is an imagining of such a fatal outcome for investors — and trying to ask why before it happens such that the unhappy outcome can be avoided.
Dave Berkus
“Sounds a little ghoulish,” I challenge him, “and don’t some accuse you of having a preconceived negative opinion?” John’s got good answers to all the questions. Download his one-pager on the premortem process and follow along.
John and Dave have a lot to say, about what wasn’t said, in the recent James Geshwiler and Brad Feld discussion of boards.
We cap off our time together with a discussion of the Ohio TechAngels’ Exit Road Map; download a copy to share with your angel group.
Show #365: Stream, flash player or iTunes
