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Angel Invest Boston

Angel Invest Boston

Sal Daher
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In the Decade of Biotech when there will be myriad opportunities to invest in angel-scale biotech startups. After decades of angel investing, I am focusing on the life science side of my portfolio and invite other angels to do the same. Here's why: https://www.labcoatventures.com/why-we-are-focused-on-early-stage-biotech/ I'm Sal Daher, host of the Angel Invest Boston Podcast. After immigrating to Boston as a child and attending Belmont High School, I studied engineering at MIT and Stanford. Decades of work in international finance followed. During that time, I invested in a handful of ventures founded by friends and acquaintances. Now, I'm a member of Walnut Ventures and MIT Angels and spend most of my time as an angel investor. Startups in my portfolio include: SQZ Biotech, Gelesis, Akili Interactive, Vedanta Biosciences, FineTune Learning, Concrete Sensors, Squadle, doDoc, Pixability, Mavrck, Viral Gains, Streamroot, XMOS, Alice's Table and others. Exits include: Exos (Microsoft), Rifiniti (KKR) and PIKA Energy (Generac).

497 - Frank Ferguson - Tech Executive, Startup Founder & Angel Investor in "Practical Dreamer" Ep. 7
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  • 497 - Frank Ferguson - Tech Executive, Startup Founder & Angel Investor in "Practical Dreamer" Ep. 7

    How does one go from cleaning chicken droppings in Iowa to being a videographer in Iran to heading one of America's iconic technology companies? That question only addresses half of Frank Ferguson's adventurous career; he would eventually co-found and build a remarkably successful business in one of the toughest markets, educational publishing. I spent a bit over an hour in conversation with this idealistic yet intensely practical doer; I could have used another two hours!

    In Episode 7 of the Angel Invest Boston Podcast we explored the ideas and traits that made Frank Ferguson a success on so many fronts.

    My favorite observation from the conversation with Frank Fergusson neatly encapsulates his homespun recipe for success as an investor:

    "You can get sucked in and fall in love with a lot of things, but then you have to ask, "Are these the guys who can actually make it happen?" What are the odds that these guys can keep together, not fight, get over it, be successful, run things correctly, not fall in love with their own things so much that they lose track of the financial realities of the business? Can they sell?"

    Below is a listing of some of the topics covered.

    Yes, That Bose Corporation! Curriculum Associates, Which Frank Ferguson Built, Continues to Be Hugely Successful Scraping Chicken Droppings in an Iowa Farm From Iowa State University to Teheran Courtesy of Syracuse University & the US State Department Frank Ferguson Thinks about Business School at MIT or Harvard Thanks to a Friendly Psychologist With an MIT Sloan MBA in Hand, Frank Ferguson Goes to Work at Baird Atomic Near Harvard Square Frank Ferguson Meets his Co-founders at Curriculum Associates Just as He Starts Work at the Bose Corporation Frank Ferguson Invests $80,000 in Today's Dollars in Curriculum Associates Circa 1959 - Money Saved through Frugal Living in Iran How Frank Ferguson Connected with Amar Bose, Founder of the Bose Corporation Frank Ferguson Invests in the Bose Corporation Amar Bose Invites Frank Ferguson to Be President of the Bose Corporation in 1969 Frank Ferguson Moonlighted at Curriculum Associates while Running the Bose Corporation Frank Ferguson Left the Bose Corporation When it Was Experiencing Growth of 70% per Year to Get Curriculum Associates off the Ground Amar Bose, Brilliant but Difficult at Times Frank Ferguson Succeeds in Educational Publishing, a Notoriously Tough Business, by Finding a Niche – Differentiated Instruction Curriculum Associates Succeeds but Discord Arises Over the Purchase of a Water Cooler! Competition Gets Rough in the World of Educational Publishing Curriculum Associates' i-Ready Succeeds by Measuring Progress of Individual Student to Help Teachers Better Support Students – Teacher Training a Pivotal Element of i-Ready's Success Before Teacher Training Was Required i-Ready Saw No Gains – With Teacher Training Student Gains Are Dramatic! Ugly Truth – Fifth-grade Teacher Has Three to Five Year Grade Span in Her Classroom Lev Vygotsky, Seneca The Younger & Andrew Bell of Madras College – "By Teaching We Learn" "Talk to Me Baby – How You Can Support Young Children's Language Development" by Betty Bardige Visionary Entrepreneurs Need to Hire Grunts Who Are Really Good at Execution – Frank Ferguson Was the Grunt & Amar Bose Was the Visionary How Amar Bose Hired the Smartest of the Smartest for the Bose Corporation Family with 11 Children Uses the Madras Method Whereby the Elder Learn by Teaching the Younger Sign Up at AngelInvestBoston.com to Hear About Upcoming Free, In-person Events – do Review Us on iTunes Frank Ferguson, Practical & Involved Philanthropist – Lionheart Foundation – Robin Casarjian Frank Ferguson Does Nothing in Half Measures – Elon Musk Would Approve Frank Ferguson - Angel Investor in the Bose Corporation and Curriculum Associates – Participated in the Baird Atomic IPO Hugh Stoddard, Father & Son, Piali De & Senscio Systems Senscio Systems Website Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, "Thinking Fast & Slow", "Nudge" by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler Frank Ferguson Connects with Will Graylin, Invests in Loop Pay Now Samsung Pay Will Graylin and ONvocal Frank Ferguson's Approach to Angel Investing – Invests Where He Finds the People and Technologies Compelling – Few Enough Companies So He Can Make a Real Difference People Come up with Great Ideas, Great Markets but Sometimes Forget that there Is Friction in the World Lessons from Iran for Angel Investors

    Visit Angel Invest Boston Sign Up Form and sign up to be informed of upcoming free, in-person events. A text transcript of this interview is available in the Frank Ferguson page on the Angel Invest Boston Home Page.

    Wed, 08 Feb 2017 - 1h 08min
  • 496 - Patrick Rivelli - Startup Founder, Angel Investor - "Love & Biotech Exits" Ep.6

    Family considerations drove several of Patrick Rivelli's career choices but did not prevent him from having brilliant triumphs. Success as a consultant was followed by success as an executive. This led him to found his first company and to fund another startup. The most eloquent evidence of his achievements was exiting two biotech startups in eleven years. If you are a seasoned biotech investor, I'm sure that grabbed your attention. Patrick was also instrumental in founding MIT Angels of the Bay Area and now leads the life science track at MIT Angels in Boston.

    I learned a lot from this fun chat with Patrick. I hope it will be entertaining and instructive for you as well.

    Note: When Sal talked about biotech booming circa 1996 he actually meant to say the internet. Biotech was still a backwater then.

    Topics discussed include:

    Patrick Rivelli's Bio Love Drives the Choice of Patrick's First Job Family & Luck Steer One's Career Consulting at Bain Leads to Private Equity Bain Paid for Sloan MBA Work at Bain Was Different After Patrick Graduated from Sloan Patrick Gets Involved in the Life Sciences – Pharma Companies Had Medical Device Businesses Then Biology Was a Backwater in the 1990s – Then Human Genome Was Sequenced by 2003 Consulting Was Taking a Toll on Patrick's Family Life So He Took a Corporate Position Patrick Goes to Work at a Medical Device Company in 1996 – First Internet Wave Just Starting Then Netscape IPO & "The Nudist on the Late Shift" Target Therapeutics Is Sold – Mass Firings Ensue Patrick Has a Tough Period in His Career – Growth & More Self-knowledge Patrick Gets Involved with a Startup for the First Time Patrick Founds Smart Therapeutics "…Nobody Wanted Medical Devices. Everybody Wanted Pets.com and Whatever.com" "You Went from Nerd to Cool Dude" Markets Always Overshoot Boston vs. Bay Area How Boston Has Changed Since the 1960s Patrick Gets Into Angel Investing Chestnut Medical Technologies Is Acquired in 2007 Patrick Gets MIT Angels Moving in the Bay Area Boston Angel Ecosystem Is Highly Collaborative Despite Some Friction Pivots Investing in Biotech vs. Non-biotech Companies – Patrick's Crucial Calculation – Very Instructive
    Wed, 01 Feb 2017 - 1h 11min
  • 495 - Fred Bamber "The Perfect Startup Portfolio" Ep. 5 Experienced Venture Capitalist and Wise Angel Investor

    As a venture capitalist Fred Bamber helped build such successful companies as Interleaf, Q1 Labs and Volt Server. Now working as an angel investor Fred is invested in such exciting companies as SQZ Biotech, Pixability, Streamroot and ViralGains. In his self-effacing and modest way, Fred reveals deep wisdom gained from 75 investments in his venture capital career. Here are some of the topics covered:

    Fred Bamber Finds His Career Path Avoiding the Military Draft Led Him to Work for His First Startup Fred Bamber & Friend Found a Venture Fund – Consulting vs. Venture Capital IPOs Then & Now Investment in Interleaf Makes His First Fund a Success! Two Ways of Connecting in the World of Venture Capital – Via Success & Via Failure Several Losing Investments in Companies Seeking to Exploit the Piezoelectric Effect Themes In Angel Investing – Investing in Brand New Fields i.e. White Spaces '…Oracle has a huge go-to-market cost, and engineering is a tiny bit of it.' Technology Causing Convergence of Consumer & Enterprise Businesses Startups with Jeff Weiss - The Perils of Being Early – Early Augmented Reality (AR) Rich Lane & Reflection Technology – Augmented Reality-like – Projecting Text into the Eye Progress of Technology Is Painful – "Thread Across The Ocean" by John Steele Gordon Michael Lewis & Drama in Business – Paul English & "A Truck Full of Money" Paul English Finds His Inner Entrepreneur after Interleaf Robert P. Smith & "Riches Among the Ruins" – Not Made for Working In Large Companies VCs Should Be Humble Fred Talks About His Investment in Volt Server Uber & Washington, D.C. Cabs Peter Thiel's Critique of Entrepreneurship – "We Were Promised Flying Cars and We Got 140 Characters" SQZ Biotech & Massachusetts Materials Technology What Fred Looks For In a Startup – Technology, Coachability, Tenacity, Openess – VC vs Angel Startups Should Report Frequently – Reports Should Tie In to Previous Reports i.e. Close the Loop Angel Investor Should Be Father Confessor without the Ave Marias Bettina Hein & Pixability – Example of Determination Combined with Openess Beth Marcus' Test For Listening Fred Bamber's Suggestion of the Perfect Number of Angel Investments in a Portfolio Why Sal Daher Is Invested In About 42 Companies The Role of a Board of Directors – Father Confessor Fred's Favorite Pivot – Q1 Labs (IBM) Fred Also Likes Streamroot's Pivots Q1 Labs Pivot Runs Counter the Received Wisdom of Startups Needing a Narrow Focus to Succeed "Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey A. Moore "Why Knowledge Matters" by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
    Wed, 25 Jan 2017 - 1h 09min
  • 494 - Beth Marcus "Startupdoc Is In The House" Ep.4 Startup Founder, Inventor, Advisor and Angel Investor

    Dr. Marcus has founded several startups including Exos and Zeemote. The technologies on which her companies are based tend to be widely adopted. Very few inventors can say that their invention is in the hands of ten million people. Beth has those bragging rights. She is a recognized expert in the hand-device interface and has provided strategic advice to leading firms in the space. She is also a highly sought-after advisor to startups with particular understanding of product design and fundraising for technology-based enterprises. Her thoughts can be found on Twitter @StartupDoc. Beth, is a graduate of MIT and Imperial College, London, and continues to be involved with both institutions. She is Entrepreneur In Residence at Imperial College London.

    In this chatty and candid episode, Beth Marcus imparts some of the hard-earned lessons that can help an entrepreneur turn a defeat into victory. She recounts the story of the remarkable pivot she executed at Exos which led the company from a rout to a very attractive sale to Microsoft. She provides her views on IP strategy, boards of directors, venture capitalists and hiring.

    Among the luminaries that play a role in the conversation are Bob Metcalfe, Ed Roberts and Pierluigi Zappacosta.

    Wed, 18 Jan 2017 - 1h 02min
  • 493 - Ben Littauer, Founder, Angel & Advisor - "#1 Fundraising Mistake" - Ep. 3

    Ben Littauer travelled an unlikely path from philosophy to communications technology. He brings to life the exciting turns in his careers as founder and angel investor. In his light-hearted style, Ben provides a thoughtful tour of Boston's angel scene in this episode that ranges over many topics including equity crowdfunding. In particular, he explains what leads founders to make the worst fund-raising mistake of all. The philosopher's clarity of thought and the engineer's practicality are in evidence.

    Sign up at https://www.AngelInvestBoston.com if you want to be made aware of upcoming in-person events. Obviously, this is of particular interest if you are in Boston or environs.

    You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and on Twitter @AngelInvestBOS

    Topics on this podcast:

    Fundraising

    Equity Crowdfunding

    Angel Investing in New England

    Cornell University

    Harvard Law School

    Baranof Software

    Walnut Venture Associates, Boston Harbor Angels, Launchpad, Comparison & Contrast

    The Capital Network

    Mass Challenge

    Connection between Coding & Philosophy

    COBOL

    BBN, Lotus, Lotus 123, Sun Microsystems

    ARPANET

    MS Excel

    VisiCalc, Bob Frankston

    Mitch Kapor

    Symantec

    UNIX

    Oracle

    Java

    MS-DOS, Notework

    LAN, Local Area Network, Ethernet, Bob Metcalfe

    EMA, Electronic Messaging Association

    Paul Graham, Y Combinator

    Michael Mark

    Babson College

    Christopher Mirabile, Ham Lord

    Angel Treaty

    Boston vs. Silicon Valley

    CIC, Cambridge Innovation Center

    Kickstarter, Indiegogo

    JOBS Act, Reg CF

    WeFunder, Mike Norman

    NetCapital, Troupe Jewelery, Kitsy Lane

    Wed, 11 Jan 2017 - 1h 01min
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