Interview/podcast Archive

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Summit Wrap-up

By Frank | Filed in Annual Summit, Interview/podcast, Photos

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Lauren Flanagan, Jordan Green, Jamie Rhodes, Bob Chaworth-Musters, Ed Alfke, Michelle Scarborough and David Verrill

NY Angel Chairman Brian S. Cohen

Marianne Hudson appreciates outgoing Chair Catherine Mott

Almost 500 attendees

the Alliance of Angels' Dan Rosen on Public Policy

Four Tech Coast Angel Chairmen: Me, Dave Berkus, Steve Flaim and Ralph Mayer

'How do you want to spend the next 15 minutes?' Bob Metcalfe

Current Motors crashes the party!

at the Ignoble dinner: Allen Yeung, me, MC Mic Williams and Mark Green

Tech Coast Angel Richard Sudek presents the Luis Villalobos Award to AssureRX Health's Don Wright, funded by Queen City Angels' Tony Shipley

Show #368 Stream, flash player or iTunes

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JJ Richa, 8-Minutes to Confuse Us

By Frank | Filed in Angel Investing, Interview/podcast

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JJ Richa

He’s an entrepreneur turned angel investor and he recently started his own show — through Vokle and the Tech Coast Angels — to preview entrepreneurs and offer feedback on their video pitches. I was recently a guest on his show, so today is pay-back.

He’s a former bootstrapper, so since I am, too, we dig into the virtues and challenges of bootsrapping your startup. Then we discuss the Pre-Screen process. That’s where an entrepreneur gets their first opportunity to make their case to a small group of the Tech Coast Angels; if they do well, they’ll get their shot to pitch to the larger membership. It’s exciting because every step of the way is pass-fail. JJ describes the process in detail — the entrepreneur gets 8 minutes to make a presentation via a video link then there’s 20 minutes for a thorough Q&A.

Show #367 Stream, flash player or iTunes

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John Huston and Dave Berkus, the PreMortem

By Frank | Filed in Angel Investing, Annual Summit, Interview/podcast

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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

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Karen Wilson at the OECD

By Frank | Filed in Angel Investing, EBAN, Interview/podcast


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Karen Wilson

It’s not easy tracking angel investment data, so says Karen Wilson in her new book written for the OECD, Financing High Growth Firms, The Role of Angel Investors. I’ve seen her present her research at conferences in Warsaw, Ottawa and Cambridge; today she’s assembled all of it into the book.

Would you be surprised to learn that angel investing is larger than venture capital? Probably not surprised that the lack of exits hurts both.

She doesn’t shrink from dispelling myths, such as university-based startups and how they are less successful attracting angel investors. She discusses the entrepreneurial culture of many countries that make up her body of research.

The book would be a great guide for policy makers; they’d avoid many mistakes by listening to Karen.

It’s Part III of a three-part series on Research.

Listen to Karen: Stream, Flash player or iTunes

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Lisbon’s Paulo Andrez

By Frank | Filed in Angel Investing, EBAN, Interview/podcast

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Paulo Andrez

Think angel investing is only about investing locally?

Portugal’s Paulo Andrez might have you thinking twice…

We’ve crossed paths in Madrid, Istanbul and Warsaw; he’s involved in research for EBAN.

These interviews are often arranged for early mornings, and especially when calling from Los Angeles to Europe, but I miscalculated the time and this call started before dawn, leaving my co-host, San Diego’s David Barach, well, leaving him out for the first part of the interview.

David Barach

Once we all wake up we’re off to the races, with Paulo leading us on a wide ranging discussion of early stage investing in Portugal and all across the continent, including plans for a large fund:

At EBAN we are lobbying the European Investment Fund, and we expect that EIF will launch an initiative of 1 Billion Euros for the period 2014-2020, for Co-Investment Funds in Europe. This will make a revolution in several countries in Europe, because many governments will co-invest along the EIF and BAs, and we believe that the total investment capacity will reach 5 billion euros.

It’s Part II of a three part series on Research. Listen to Paulo: stream

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David Verrill, Boston’s Hub Angels

By Frank | Filed in Angel Investing, Interview/podcast

verrill-david

Quick! Can you think up some fishing analogies for angel investing? David Verrill, founder of the Hub Angels Investment Group, can.

You can’t go to the Hub Angels website and apply; so how do entrepreneurs get evaluated? They must network through one of the members, to come in through a trusted source. That’s different! David says it acts as a great filter and reduces administrative effort looking at deals that aren’t a good fit.

He’s got a fund to work with so he can afford to be optimistic: “I really have a good feeling about this environment, there’s a lot of opportunity out there. When markets have a way of becoming more efficient, that’s usually good and if you’re well positioned during one of those shake outs, I think you’re gonna end up far better than you would if you were sitting on the side lines.” Yet entrepreneurs need a big dose of reality…

Show #199 Listen to David

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