Angel Invest Boston

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More My Walnut buddy Andy Bartlett, PhD brings great energy to the group and an expert's perspective on computing. We talked about our favorite startups including Savran Technologies, evTS, and BioFeyn. He has interesting things to say about ChatGPT. We also had a great chat about his angel journey. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Andy Bartlett Savran Technologies "... three of the things I really love to see in startups is a founder like Çağrı that will go through walls, that's so important. Defensibility that they have a moat, so the strong patent portfolio..." evTS BioFeyn "... We're talking about the University of Illinois Gies School of Business. I'm so impressed with the way the faculty is running that business school. They're running it like a disruptive business..." "... They've gone ahead and they've kept this very affordable. The full program, it's 18 classes plus three capstones costs about $23,000 total..." Andy's Entrepreneurial Background "... My mother's family had entrepreneurship. My great-grandfather, Alonzo Dodge, started a Dodge Moving and storage company. I always thought my grandfather had founded it, but actually, it was his father. They always ran that. That was the family business..." "... Eventually, I got my way into the electrical engineering department and I've embraced that for years and years..." "... At Chrysler, I could draw a block diagram to model some algorithm I wanted to use for onboard diagnostic testing of the Chrysler vehicles. I could model it. I could simulate it. I could pull down a menu and immediately generate code that would run on a computer in the backseat of a test car. I would drive around and I could do my experiments and collect my data..." Andy's Opinion on ChatGPT Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, discovering entrepreneurship

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More Kevin Majeres, MD, teaches cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) at Harvard Medical School. CBT is the gold standard to treat mental health conditions without drugs. CBT can also help with workplace issues such as burnout or anxiety. Dr. Majeres (pronounced Majors) has built a digital platform, OptimalWork.com, to improve the quality of work life. I learned really useful things from this interview. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Dr. Kevin Majeres What OptimalWork is Solving "... what we are doing is bringing the insights of cognitive behavioral therapy out of the normal context, which is working with the cognitive behavioral therapist. We're bringing that to people in the setting of their work..." "... In fact, everything with regard to eating behaviors, there's abundant evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy works. At one level, you could see that the more someone was afraid of hunger, the more likely they would be to act on it..." "... This is why I think anxiety is the most central emotion to understand because anxiety is the urge to avoid challenge as challenge..." "... Cognitive behavioral therapy, I should say, it also tends to focus on what's happening right now. What are the emotions showing up right now? Where's the avoidance right now? Where does the reframing have to take place right now?" "... I think that we need more and more things like Endeavor OTC that are helping to identify what are the particular mental muscles that can be worked out, and whether these things are going to be universally applicable, or maybe there are certain subpopulations that that's exactly the workout that they need..." "... How would you compliment this Cybex machine for the mind with cognitive behavioral therapy?" "... That in a sense is like what we teach people at The Golden Hour, is how to just briefly strategize what you're about to do, lay out the steps in advance, think of how you want to be stretching yourself in these steps, calm your mind down for a moment, and then launch into it. Then you're going to have full traction, and then you get momentum. Flow is really just momentum in work..." Dr. Majeres' Psychiatry Journey "... anxiety is adrenaline waiting to be reframed..." Advice to the Audience Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, scholar

Jason Burke wants a better way for angels to invest in startups. He founded All Stage, the platform for angel investing that powers TBD Angels which he also co-founded. In this illuminating interview Jason discusses how All Stage helps the angel ecosystem. We also chatted about Moolah Kicks, and Folia Health. Here's how All Stage's deal looks like in the All Stage platform: All Stage deal within the All Stage product Highlights: ● Sal Daher Introduces Jason Burke ● All Stage and the Problem it's Solving ● "... Because unless you've done sales a lot, it's really hard to deal with rejection, especially for scientific founders..." ● "... It's an example of some of the connective tissue between Showcase, the founder tool, and Community, the investor tool, to allow for that collaboration to happen..." ● Moolah Kicks ● Folia Health ● Jason's Entrepreneurial Journey ● "... I built the Tufts cross-country site, which today in 2023 doesn't seem groundbreaking, but at the time having a password on a site and detecting the IP address of who's using it and greeting them, that sort of stuff was absolute magic to do..." ● "... which came first? Angel investing or starting a company?" ● "... Was it a personal relationship, the first investment that you made as an angel?" ● Advice to the Audience

In this podcast, Milena Peregrino, PhD, co-founder of MirScience Therapeutics, discusses their work on reversing muscle loss. They delve into the technology, progress, and future plans. Highlights include the role of microRNAs in gene regulation, potential clinical trials, the importance of muscle mass for healthy aging, and how listeners can support their project.

Repeat founder Agustin Lopez Marquez, ex-nference, brings his AI savvy to food delivery with his new startup. Built on CloudKitchens' infrastructure, Mowgli addresses pain points for diners, sous-chefs and drivers. Loved my chat with this brilliant and practical founder. Sample Mowgli's homey meals from exotic places at https://khipi.com/. (delivers only to Boston & Cambridge for now) Highlights: ● Sal Daher Introduces Agustin Lopez Marquez ● "... my co-founder, who happens to be my wife, Brinda, she was the one that started the company and the first product about a couple of years back..." ● "... The idea here is that these are meals for explorers, for people who like to venture out, travel. This is not pizza or your usual weekend fare for the kids, and so forth..." ● "... it's an infrastructure play that has happened in the last three to five years. It's modular kitchens that are just the kitchens that are meant for delivery-only companies..." ● "... You're going to become like the McDonald's of adventurous eating..." ● "... we already have more than 10 drivers that consistently, every Tuesday, they choose to work for Khipi as opposed to working for any other food delivery company..." ● "... I understand you have 400 customers ordering right now. 90 of those are super dedicated and they order every week. They give you 80% of your business..." Topics: co-founders, culture, discovering entrepreneurship, robotics/AI Title: AI for Discovery Dining

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More Repeat founder Todd Zion, PhD is back to update us on exciting developments at his second biotech startup, Akston Bio. We also geeked out a bit on how these magical proteins are concocted in the company's bioreactors. Fun and instructive chat with a stellar founder. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Todd Zion Akston Bio's Founding Story "... The antigen in this case is the person's own insulin..." "... you're still taking advantage of that antibody portion, but you've neutered it so that it no longer alerts the immune system, but it retains one property that antibodies all have, which is the ability to recycle and last for very long periods of time in circulation..." "... We took the veterinary candidates and we partnered those with a company called Dechra Pharmaceuticals, PLC. They're one of the leaders in veterinary pharma development and this is all in the public domain..." "... We made a pivot at that point saying, 'Well, what if we just go back to the portion of the antibody that interacts with the immune system and make ourselves a vaccine against COVID-19 using the same exact technology?'..." "... you're going to continue involved in manufacturing, or are you just going to buckle down in the veterinary space and spin off these other technologies to other players?..." "... if you're not pivoting at least once in your development, you're probably doing something wrong..." Todd's Funding History "... what goes on in a bioreactor, which is the heart of what you're doing? Geek out a little bit of bioreactors..." "... there are these companies that do nothing but transfect CHO cells to produce particular types of protein..." Energesis Topics: biotech, COVID, discovering entrepreneurship

Eddie Martucci, PhD, founder of Akili, talks about the app backed by real science that treats ADHD in kids. They discuss the science behind attention, the weakened brain filter in ADHD, and the real-world benefits of the app. Eddie shares his entrepreneurial journey and gives advice to the audience.

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More The third time is the charm for Piction Health. Super founder Susan Conover is back to talk about the third iteration of their business model which is showing promise of scaling profitably. Her AI has ingested a million diagnosed images of hair and skin conditions and is now making dermatologists 15X more productive. See for yourself at PictionHealth.com. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Susan Conover What Piction Health is Solving "... We solve the full problem for patients, end-to-end. If they have a rash or a mole they're worried about, or a case like that, they submit a case, we review that case within 24 hours with our board-certified dermatologist, we call in prescriptions..." A Typical Consultation at Piction Health "... How did you discover this? How is it that it dawned on you that this is the direction to go in?..." "... Dermatologists loving working with us is one of our really important metrics that we want to make it really easy for them..." "... How can our listeners be helpful to Piction Health?" Thoughts to the Audience Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, robotics/AI

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More Rotator cuff tears are debilitating. What if you could take action to avoid them? Rabeeh Majidi, PhD founded OrthoKinetic Track to do just that through a wearable device and a predictive algorithm. Listen to our chat to learn more. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Rabeeh Majidi What OrthoKinetic Track is Solving "... What I would say is that orthopedic telemedicine lacks comprehensive physical exams..." "... How is it that your system solves a problem that is of real interest to the providers?..." "... it's not just about what you know, but also who you know..." How Rabeeh Became an Entrepreneur Parting Thoughts to the Audience Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story

Richard Vlasimsky, founder using AI to detect lung cancer early, discusses the challenges faced by radiologists and the development of a low-cost algorithm for analyzing chest x-rays. They also talk about the cost of studies, collaborations with hospitals, different imaging techniques, and potential buyers and exit possibilities. The conversation concludes with the speaker's experience in overcoming obstacles and finding mentors.