Angel Invest Boston

Lessons learned in 7 years of podcasting and angel investing: company-specific risk in startup investing, need for tight risk control, 400x return story, importance of strong founding teams, benefits of larger teams, challenges of maintaining focus for startups, reflections on quitting fund and podcast success

Lessons Learned is a compilation of hard-won lessons in angel investing. They come from my podcast interviews over these seven years as well as from my three decades of angel investing. Hints on how to build your portfolio, how to eliminate sure losers and other practical advice will be offered in the voice of my guests and in my own voice. Sorry that the release of the episode is delayed until Friday 12/29 due to personal matters and this year's Christmas calendar. Thanks for listening.

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Repeat life science entrepreneur Tom Weldon is now taking on aging. He is commercializing a compound to extend health span developed at a prominent institution. Composed of substances generally considered as safe by the FDA, the formula has shown impressive results in mice and, to date, in one human, Tom himself. Intriguing chat with a dynamic founder.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Tom Weldon What Problem Rejuvant Addresses "... Then the first time the combination is not additive, take it out. That's a process that would probably take a year or two, but it ensures that you'll have an optimal result. Or, you can buy Rejuvant, because we did all that work already..." "... if you decide that you'd like to try Rejuvant and you go on subscription, we give you a free DNA methylation test at time zero and then we give you another one after six months, which is included in the cost ... They're different and they have different algorithms. All of them except two that I'm aware of, one of which is what we provide, requires your current chronologic age as an input..." "... It was actually discovered by Steve Horvath and he developed the first biologic clock ... Your DNA is damaged every second that you're alive. Prior to puberty, your body does an exceptional job of repairing all of that. However, after that, it starts to decline..." "... Is there any evidence that repair is actually at work? How do we know that it's not just removing the methyl molecule from the DNA, and you have damaged the DNA that's just not methylated?..." "... How long have you been on Rejuvant?..." How Tom Became an Entrepreneur "... This company had this trajectory and now it's just gone Chapter 7 recently. That is the tough side of these life science technology companies because the technology moves so fast..." "... very difficult space. What I have seen in the medical device space, these 510k pathway devices where there is an existing predicate device, and then you can design something which is, no worse and perhaps much better than the predicate device..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Raul Rosa, artist, musician, and sound engineer, discusses his work with the Angel Invest Boston Podcast, some of his favorite interviews, and his own startup, Podspot.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Raul Rosa Raul's Favorite Interviews Fortified Bike Howard Stevenson PodSpot Wistia Piction Health Savran Technologies Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, COVID, robotics/AI

Experienced biotech advisor, Paul Hartung, shares funding tips for startups: seek grants, watch expenses, use pitch contests for exposure, consider syndication across angel groups. Emphasizes the importance of lead investors, risk reduction, and transparent long-term financial planning to attract funding.

Sal Daher, an experienced angel investor, discusses the pros and cons of investing in startups through IRAs. Topics include the burdensome paperwork, annual valuations, and complexities of managing illiquid assets. They also explore the advantages of increased investment opportunities and government coverage of losses, while cautioning about potential losses and the need for careful consideration.

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Katharine Woodman-Maynard has for seven years created a gorgeous and enduring graphic manifestation of this podcast on the web. I am fortunate to have this gifted artist enhancing my work with her talent and wisdom. She returns to talk about her favorite interviews, to share her journey as a professional artist and to offer valuable advice for those starting out.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights:  Sal Daher Introduces Katharine Woodman-Maynard Katharine's Perspective of Startups "... I'm very grateful to you for having connected me with Drew Madson, who founded Readlee. Tell a little bit of the story. How did you connect with Drew?..." EndeavorOTC "... I found it fascinating in the interview that Eddie talked about how it was actually shown in trials to be more effective for adults than it was for children..." "... Human interaction resets us, brings us back to normalcy because if we're off on our own, we go batty..." Katharine's Professional Artistic Journey Sticking to a Schedule "... Once you can learn self-compassion for yourself and realize you're human and you make mistakes and not waste so much energy on being negative and hard, I think you're a lot freer to, advance in your career because you're not so hard on yourself..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, ed tech, platform

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Ethan Pierce’s startup Adaptive Reader makes great literature accessible to kids not reading at grade level. Harnessing generative AI with sophisticated prompts and quality control by humans creates compelling texts based on the classics. Ethan and his co-founder even have a promising business model. Great chat!   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Ethan Pierce Adaptive Reader and What it is Solving "... It's much better if they have this contact with the author, albeit in a structure that's simplified. After all, we're always reading Dante in the translation. We're reading Homer in the translation. It doesn't make it any less compelling..." Teachers' Opinions of Adaptive Reader "... That controversy, the conversation, the passion around helping these students read is really important and that's why we've been really grounded in research here and these conversations with these experts. I think talking to these teachers, the biggest challenge that they face is just getting kids to read at all..." Ethan's Entrepreneurial Journey Palette How Adaptive Reader Came About How Can Listener's Participate in Adaptive Reader   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, product, robotics/AI

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Brian Denenberg is an angel investor, company advisor, and co-founder. Here, he discusses some of the companies he has been involved with, including Fairmarkit, Tive, and his work at Venture Lane Studio helping startups grow sales.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Brian Denenberg Fairmarkit How Fairmarkit Was Started Tive Inbound vs Outbound Marketing "... What Tive did, he innovated a tracker that goes on shipments, and it could go anywhere in the world, and it could not just tell you where the shipment was. It could tell you the condition of the shipment..." "... Scientists don't know the huge difference that exists between the lab and the clinic and industry. There's a massive gap and they think that something that works in the lab will work in a clinic or an industry very easily, but it mostly does not..." Venture Lane Studio "... We call it a studio. It gives us the flexibility to work in different ways. The best way to think of it is like an accelerator. It's really bespoke. We take three to four companies at a time. We're not looking to doing big cohorts..." Cedience CIRT Qase Brian's Background How Brian Got into Startups Advice to the Audience   Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, discovering entrepreneurship

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Brian Freeman, MD, co-founded Energesis to help overweight people lose weight by growing their energy-burning brown fat. Experiments in mice have shown this approach works with GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy in accentuating weight loss. Great chat with a compelling repeat founder.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Brian Freeman Energesis: The Problem it's Solving "... What we're doing is we're acting on those cells and basically nudging them to make more mature brown fat cells, so that the mass of the brown fat cells increases..." "... That's pretty much it. We're trying to recapitulate cold exposure in a pill. That's right..." "... one of the issues with weight loss due to, let's call it caloric restriction ... The body doesn't take it lightly because we've evolved not to starve, right? ... The normal physiologic response to that is to reduce metabolic rate. That makes it harder and harder to lose weight as your weight goes down, and it makes it very difficult to keep that weight off..." Further Thoughts on Energesis Brian's Entrepreneurial Journey "... What if you could magically make everybody in America lean overnight, think of what that would do to healthcare costs. It would be reduced by at least two-thirds..."   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, product, founding story