Angel Invest Boston

Sal's Investment Syndicate: Click to Join Sponsored by: Purdue University entrepreneurship Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish & Richardson I invested in Savran Tech back in 2017 around the time of the first part of this interview. Recently I sat down with Cagri Savran to review the progress of his remarkable biotech startup in the last four years. Listen to the original interview followed by a recent update. Here is a list of the topics discussed: Çağrı Savran Bio (Çağrı Is Pronounced Cha-re) Accident that Took Çağrı Savran from Turkey to Indiana Purdue University’s Remarkable Support for the Commercialization of Faculty Inventions Çağrı Savran: “So, when I say "extremely rare," I mean one-in-a-billion rare.” Çağrı Savran: “Our technology can find those five or six or ten cells that are, among about a billion.“ “…from a blood sample, you have a glimpse into the tumor without cutting into the person.” The Promise of Monitoring Cancer Treatment with a Blood Draw “The advantage is if you can do this with a blood sample, it gives you a chance to do this test frequently, right?” Applicable to the Prenatal Monitoring of the Fetus Savran’s Tech Is Simple, Fast and Results in High Purity and Yield – 1000 Times Faster than Typical Microfluidic Systems Like Alexander with the Gordian Knot, Savran Has Loosened One Constraint to Great Effect Bigger Scale and Faster Flow Allows the Fast Separation of Rare Cells Device Seems Amenable to Large Scale Usage – Handling Many Patients at the Same Time How the Invention Came About Why Çağrı Savran Founded a Company Purdue’s New Commercialization Policy Played a Big Role in the Decision to Found the Company Why Turbocharging Cell Separation Is So Important Other Use Cases: People Are Always Suggesting New Ones but Need to Concentrate Savran’s Tech Is a Game Changer because of Throughput and Parallelization Other Techniques Look at Pieces of DNA – Savran’s Tech Is Capable of Finding the Entire Genome Sal Daher Reads the Review by Spizzy Spong on iTunes and Asks for Your Review How Savran Landed Bigwig Advisor Ken Morse How Savran Found Its CEO – Patrick Rivelli "Oh, you have no idea how I wish that somebody would say that about me, that I'm 'quietly competent.'” Savran’s Choice of the Right Patent Attorney Was Crucial – Peter Fasse Helped Way Beyond Patents Patrick Rivelli, CEO Proposed a New Go to Market Approach What Makes the Savran Lab at Purdue so Productive Çağrı Savran Urges Fellow Academics to Bring Their Inventions to Market Update on the Original Interview with Çağrı Savran, Ph.D. In December of 2017 Savran Was Operating with Essential Components Handmade in the Lab – In October 2021 the Main Components Are Produced by a Vendor Early Technology Was Used in a Major Clinical Trial at Indiana University School of Medicine and Significantly Improved the Ability to Predict Recurrence of a Breast Cancer The Existing Technology for Capturing Circulating Tumor Cells Is Not Scalable – Savran’s Tech Is Amenable to Scale Strategic Players in Prenatal Diagnostics Are Interested in Sequencing the Cells Captured – Savran Is Uniquely Positioned to Provide That Ability The Basic Technology Is Like a Kitchen, the Different Assays Are Like What’s Being Prepared in the Kitchen Savran Has Recruited a Capable and Involved Board Sal Daher Summarizes Savran’s Progress in the Last Four Years

Sponsored by: Purdue University entrepreneurship Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish & Richardson In December of 2017 I interviewed Çağrı Savran, Ph.D. about plans for his startup in which I had just invested. Almost four years later I interviewed him again to review the progress of the company which is changing the way breast cancer is followed up after treatment. Highlights: Update on the Original Interview with Çağrı Savran, Ph.D. In December of 2017 Savran Was Operating with Essential Components Handmade in the Lab – In October 2021 the Main Components Are Produced by a Vendor Early Technology Was Used in a Major Clinical Trial at Indiana University School of Medicine and Significantly Improved Prediction of Recurrence of a Breast Cancer The Existing Technology for Capturing Circulating Tumor Cells Is Not Scalable – Savran’s Tech Is Amenable to Scale Strategic Players in Prenatal Diagnostics Are Interested in Sequencing the Cells Captured – Savran Is Uniquely Positioned to Provide That Ability The Basic Technology Is Like a Kitchen, the Different Assays Are Like What’s Being Prepared in the Kitchen Savran Has Recruited a Capable and Involved Board Sal Daher Summarizes Savran’s Progress in the Last Four Years

Sponsored by: Purdue University Entrepreneurship Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson AI wiz, founder and angel investor Gil Syswerda on building algorithms and companies. This episode focuses on Gil’s biography and his startups. It’s the first in-studio interview since spring 2020. We had a blast! Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Gil Syswerda, Founder and Super Angel Gil Syswerda Lucked into a Great High School – Built His Own Calculator "Computer programming. What is that?" “Because programming a computer for the first time you have this machine that just does whatever you tell it to do. The power is just indescribable. It just seems like the possibilities are unlimited.” Selling Cutco Knives to Pay the Rent – Learned to Sell “...I taught myself programming on that computer at Calvin College...” “When I wasn't at a place working, I would just fly to a city where I had friends and hang out with them. I just literally lived nowhere for a year.” Gil Meets His Wife Carol - They’ve Been Married 38 Years Now “One day I was at my job as a programmer, the next day I'm in class.” Animation Toolkit Was a Flop Because It Was Too Much of a Niche Product “The target audience is miniscule. We just didn't realize it. It was the classic mistake. If we build it, they will come.” Genetic Algorithms: A Lesson from Evolutionary Biology Gil Syswerda Gets into Hot Water with His Advisor by Being a Know It All BBN Labs – Gil Syswerda Wrote Seminal Papers in AI that Are Still Frequently Cited “What I really wanted was a job where I could use genetic algorithms and the only place on the planet that I could find that did anything of the kind was BBN Labs...” “I tried every way I could think of to get a ride in an F-14 but I never succeeded.” “Just because you're the CEO doesn't mean you have complete decision authority.” Optimax Systems Was Bootstrapped by the Founders – Had Revenue Right Away Raised Money to Cover Working Capital – Michael Mark Invested Pitch for Pater Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson “...created a machine for making scheduling systems and user manuals.” “We did not want to try to perpetuate the engagement with a customer by doing consulting...” Optimax Systems Followed Its Business Plan; Never Pivoted Shell Oil’s Tank Farm Broke Opitmax’s Optimization Algorithm Built a Scheduling System for the Mayo Clinic, Made the Mistake of Thinking Mass General Would Buy It Too “It was a very rapid four-year run to get an acquisition offer from i2 Technologies. We beat them in every single sales situation.” Optimax’s Revenues Had a Direct Positive Impact on i2 Technologies’ Earnings What Gil Syswerda Did After Leaving i2 – Travel the World + Race Cars The Big Lesson for Startups from Being a Race Car Driver Gil Syswerda’s Management Workflow at Optimax Systems Gil Syswerda Believes in Putting Boards to Work “...instead of becoming a professional race car driver, I decided to go back to my roots and build another hammer. Again, it's based on genetic algorithms...” “Machine Insight was to correct a really big tactical error that we made with Optimax Systems.” “I didn't even have to finish the presentation and they're already sold.” More Gil Syswerda to Come in Future Episodes Topics: software, robotics / AI, product, selling, management, boards, co-founders    

Sponsored by: Purdue University Entrepreneurship Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson Medical records are way less informative to doctors than patients imagine. Electronic health records (EHRs) have failed to deliver on their promise to improve health care for forty years. Ryan Hess, founder of Connective Health, means to change that. I invited digital health founder Martín Aboitiz to co-host this valuable interview with me. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Co-Host Martín Aboitiz & Guest Ryan Hess, Founder of Connective Health Connective Health Aims to Deliver to Primary Care Physicians What Electronic Health Records Have Promised for Forty Years Ryan Hess Tells Us About What Surescripts Does Martín Aboitiz Introduces His Startup, Healthjump The Pillars on Which Ryan Hess’ Work Rests Connective Health Seeks to Provide the Primary Care Physician with a Complete Picture of Where the Patient Has Been and What Care Has Been Received “Even the basic information is helpful with behavioral health patients, because those are the ones that typically have been to multiple locations and the patient may not remember every place that they've been to...” The Potential Uses for Healthjump’s Data Lake of 80 Million Patient Records Healthjump Is Focused on Discovering Things About Patients in the Aggregate; Connective Health Works to Provide Such Useful Information When It Applies to an Individual Patient Being Seen by a Physician The Information has to Be in the Doctors Workflow & Has to Be Timely and Relevant “How do we get them to trust it?” “What protects you as a startup from just being blown up because somehow your algorithm missed something?" The Role of Independent Review Boards How Not to Do It: Practice Fusion Being Paid by Purdue Pharma to Recommend Oxycodone for Back Pain Healthjump Makes Money by Solving Interoperability Problems Between Electronic Health Record Systems Connective Health Aims to Get Paid for Lowering the Cost to Payors of Providing Care to Behavioral Health Patients How Much Volume Connective Health Needs to Break Even Regulatory and Legal Changes that May Help Connective Health Martín Aboitiz Believes Industry Over-Estimates the Technological Difficulties of Sharing Data Ryan Hess Points to Basic Difficulties Such as Identifying a Patient Across EHRs Institutional Investors Have a Hard Time Understanding Digital Health Due to Dizzying Number of Moving Parts “If there's been some really very impressive exits for companies in certain areas, all of a sudden, the limited partners are all excited about companies in this space, and venture capitalists are going to be raising funds to invest in companies in this particular space...” Virtual Health Is a Lot Easier to Understand than EHR-Based Digital Health Ryan Hess Is Targeting Behavioral Health Because Payors See It Driving One Third of their Total Spend Topics: software, product, fundraising

A curious but orderly mind prepared to take advantage of serendipity has taken Adam de Sola Pool on a remarkable journey during his career. His father, Ithiel de Sola Pool, the brilliant political scientist (look up Six Degrees of Separation or Convergence) took young Adam to many different countries. These travels sparked in Adam an interest in geography which led to a job on Wall Street. From Salomon Brothers he went to the EBRD to restructure companies emerging from communism. This grew into setting up Central Europe’s first cleantech fund which produced excellent results. Now Adam is an investor and advisor in the Boston area; much respected for his fresh approach to building young companies. Topics covered in this charming interview include: Adam de Sola Pool Bio From Geography Major at University of Chicago to Wall Street From Salomon Brothers to the EBRD Adam Poole Has a Chance Encounter in the Bathroom & Gets a New Job Overheated Factories in Poland Adam Pool Discovers that Local Businesses Can Be Extremely Profitable How Adam de Sola Pool Got into Angel Investing Adam Pool Compares & Contrasts Angel Groups in Boston Adam Pool Talks About Squadle, a Promising Startup Just Added to His Portfolio Adam Pool Looks for a Defensible Market Position in the Startups in Which He Invests Adam Pool’s Favorite Pivot Adam Pool’s Approach to “Inoculating” Startups Against Risk Adam Pool’s Poetic Statement of the Need for Founders to Give Way to Managers as the Company Grows Topics: cleantech, founding story, angel investing strategies, portfolio, returns

Sal's Syndicate: Click to Join Podcast Sponsored by: Purdue University's Entrepreneurship Center Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson Greg Raiz founded app-building colossus Raizlabs and sold it in 2017. He’s now the head of Techstars Boston and has big ideas in mind. Be you founder or angel, listen to this luminous interview for practical advice and inspiration on building startups. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Greg Raiz, Founder of Raizlabs, the App-building Colossus and Head of Techstars Boston Founding Story of Raizlabs “As soon as engineering starts to implement, they learn things, they discover things through the process of implementation that impact the design.” Steve Job’s Launch of the iPhone Galvanized Greg Raiz to Build Apps for the New Device RunKeeper Put Raizlabs on the Map, Then Came Rue La La The importance of Focus on Building a Brand “I think a lot of early-stage founders, they tried to boil the ocean.” “Amazon's master plan may have been to dominate e-commerce but in their first several years of Amazon's history, the only thing they did was sell books.” “Founders really need to think about the long-term growth and trajectory of their business and what elements are okay to outsource.” Raizlabs Was Sold in 2017, This Intensified Greg’s Angel Investing – Why Raizlabs Ran an Accelerator Fintech Startup Own Up Grew Out of Raizlabs’ Accelerator and Has Gone on to a Series B Round Greg Raiz’s Big Ideas for Techstars Boston: (1) Save Lives, (2) Save the Planet and (3) Improve How We Work and Live Sal’s Story Illustrating How Our Lives Have Improved Since the 1980s “It's funny we sometimes don't reflect on how fast society and technology can change the day-to-day of interactions.” Techstars Boston Is Leaning into the Coming Decade of Biotech “I think biotech and medical specifically, Boston has one of the hottest markets, if not the hottest markets for many of those technologies.” “...we have an incredible Fintech sector. We have an incredible robotic sector. We have incredible 3D printing sector...” Sal Daher Talks About One of the Big Differences between Biotech Investing and Software Investing Sal Daher Expresses a Need to Train Angels in Biotech Investing “I want to accelerate companies that are really important and meaningful and I expect to get a capital return to allow me to do more of that.” Check Out Greg Raiz’s YouTube Channel – Half Ideas What Are Half Ideas? YouTube Is the Number 2 Search Engine It’s Hard to View or Listen to One’s Early Content How Greg Raiz Discovered Computer Programming The Vast Horizons of Software How Bad User Interfaces Create Inequality PURE GOLD: Greg Raiz’s Parting Advice to Angels & Founders

Want to get rich and to pass money to your kids? Listen closely to Howard Stevenson. Here’s condensed wisdom from the heart of the investing world delivered with dry humor and charm. Professor Stevenson was a co-founder of storied Baupost Group and helped hire its legendary manager Seth Klarman. He began the study of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School and eventually became HBS’ biggest fundraiser. His book “Wealth & Families” gives invaluable advice on how to make money and keep enough of it to hand down to the generations. My personal favorite is illustrated by this quote from the interview: “Whereas, some of my colleagues were going off consulting ... They were making a lot of money every day, and they go their XKE [Jaguar XKE, a coveted sports car of the era] quite quickly. I went off to places like Lima, Ohio, and I was paid $300 a day, but I got 1% of the company.” Howard Stevenson was forgoing high current income, and consumption, for the ability to own promising assets that would build his wealth in the long term. This approach contributed to Professor Stevenson becoming rich enough to need a family office to manage his money. iTunes Page for the Podcast Where You Can Review and Subscribe The topics covered in this dynamic conversation include: Howard Stevenson Bio How Howard Stevenson Started His Career Fear of the “Velvet Rut” Causes Howard Stevenson to Leave a Tenured Position at Harvard Business School Howard Stevenson: “A lot of people are fairly miserable in their job, but they fear change more than they look for the optionality that comes in change.” After a Sojourn in Entrepreneurship & Real Estate, Howard Stevenson Was Lured back to HBS Sal Daher: “There are not a lot of people that would turn down tenured positions at The Harvard Business School…” Howard Stevenson replies: “That's sad. I'm a trustee at Olin College, and they have no tenure. It's amazing what that does, because people are there voluntarily.” Howard Stevenson on Building Wealth: “I've always been experimental, because I don't believe I understand and can predict the future. By the way, when you look that the facts, very few people can.” Howard Stevenson’s 400x Investment in a Company with a “Stupid Business Plan” Howard Stevenson’s Four Criteria for Investing Howard Stevenson’s Portfolio Returns; Warren Buffett-Like Howard Stevenson on whether Entrepreneurship Can Be Taught Howard Stevenson’s Definition of Entrepreneurship The Best Due Diligence Is Time How Baupost Got Started and How Investing Wizard Seth Klarman Was Hired How Howard Stevenson Shops for Cars Howard Stevenson’s Advice for How Young People Can Build Wealth Mitt Romney & a Young Colleague on Spending Why You Should Review this Podcast on iTunes – It Really Helps Us iTunes Page for the Podcast Where You Can Review and Subscribe "Most of the wealthy people I know, are better at making money than managing it." Howard Stevenson’s Journey in Investing Began by Reading Graham, Dodd & Cottle in 1961 "I was smart that I recognized the quality of the people. But, whether it was coming out at 2X or 400X, wasn't in my control." Talking to Your Kids About Money

Sal's Investment Syndicate List: Click to Join Sponsors: Purdue University Entrepreneurship Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish & Richardson Thrice-exited founder Jon Hirschtick of SolidWorks and Onshape fame, talks about the promise of cloud-based technologies and how to build successful businesses in the space. Jon’s a good sport and a fun guest. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Jon Hirschtick, Founder of SolidWorks and Onshape “...the problem we were solving with Onshape is around the use of CAD, Computer-Aided-Design t” “...I had a year off and I could see the emergence of cloud technologies and I thought back to the problems I had seen users having.” “...Onshape is the Google Docs of CAD...SolidWorks was the Microsoft Word of Onshape. What came before SolidWorks was like the Wang Word Processor of CAD.” “...Marc Andreessen, he was an investor in Onshape” It Was hard to Raise Money for SolidWorks but Its Success Made It Easy to Get Onshape Funded Jon Hirschtick Was on the Famous MIT Blackjack Team SolidWorks Was Jon’s Idea of Taking Computer-Aided Design from Specialized Work Stations to Desktop PCs Jon Hirschtick Proved All the Naysayers Wrong on SolidWorks Why Jon Hirschtick Thinks Boston Is a Great Place to Start a CAD Company New York’s Unlikely Rise as a Startup Hub “...Boston city government is not perfect but...compared to San Francisco and...New York City, we're models of efficiency, we're Singapore.” Jon Hirschtick Thinks There’s Room for Improvement in Massachusetts’ Non-Compete Law How Cloud-based Technologies Drive Innovation The Way Data Is Organized Is Archaic, It’s Trying to Emulate Paper Records The Cloud Shatters Barriers Imposed by Paper Emulation, Making Fast Iteration and Communication Possible Saying Goodbye to Version Control Jon Hirschtick’s Most Important Factors of Success by Founders Jon Hirschtick: “...it's easier than ever to start a company and harder than ever to build a great business.” Topics: founding stories, fundraising, software, venture funding

Sponsors: Purdue University Entrepreneurship Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish & Richardson Sal's Syndicate: Click to Join Ty Danco is an outlier in a population of outliers. His interests are varied and pursued passionately. He’s founded two fintech companies, he’s invested in a gazillion startups and he’s been a hugely generous advisor to companies, in fact the chief advisor at Techstars. Oh, I forgot to mention he’s an Olympian and also deeply involved with crypto-currencies. In this really meaty interview, Ty and I covered a wide range of topics. He explained his ideas in his affably quirky way. This was a super fun conversation. Quotes: "Danco, why are you here? You're a marketing guy." And I said that I was here to see Lever Brothers and he goes, "You idiot, you signed up for Lehman Brothers." “So, I took a leave of absence from school, and Wharton let me make up my remaining credits over the summer, and so I tried doing all three things at the same time. It was a success on paper, I did make the 84 [Olympic] team, I did complete the MBA, I did work at Lehman Brothers, but in truth I was overwhelmed, I did everything badly. I ended up breaking my heel and didn't compete in Sarajevo. I learned nothing in my last classes at school and I was just lost and floundering my first year on Wall Street. So, there's a pretty obvious lesson there about the need to focus and my inability to multi-task. That's maybe why they say focus on one metric that matters, don't try to do five balls in the air at once.” Topics covered include: Ty Danco’s Bio How Ty Danco Stated His Career – Lehman Brothers vs. Lever Brothers – Olympic Team "Danco, why are you here? You're a marketing guy." And I said that I was here to see Lever Brothers and he goes, "You idiot, you signed up for Lehman Brothers." Ty Danco Doing Too Much Ty Danco and the Importance of Focus Ty Danco on the Cover of Sports Illustrated Ty Danco Moves from New York City to Burlington, Vermont Ty Danco Discovers that, Thanks to Michael Bloomberg, It Was Possible to Do Investing in Vermont Ty Danco Founds His First Startup - eSecLending Ty Danco Recalls Wall Street Misogyny of the Past – Women Found a Haven in Hugely Complex CMO Deals Ty Danco’s Company is Hit by the Crash of 2008 Sal Daher Asks for you to Review the Podcast on iTunes – It Really Helps! Why Ty Danco’s Second Startup Failed Ty Danco’s Angel Investments Ty Danco Thinks Crypto-currencies Are Worthy Alternative Investments Ty Danco Believes One Can Eliminate Many Losers - But at a Cost Ty Danco’s Philosophy of Angel Investing Why Mass Medical Angels Is the Only Angel Group Ty Danco Attends Why Ty Danco Does Not Invest Based on Cold Calls Ty Danco Reveals the Secret of Getting into Techstars Ty Danco Likes VCs Involved in Every Deal, Why? “Virtually all of my deals, 99% of the deals come not from me directly stumbling over something, but from a lead from my network.” Boston Angel Pantheon: Michael Mark, Joe Caruso and Jean Hammond What Are ICOs and Why should VCs be Scared of Them? Some of Ty Danco’s Favorite Startups Ty Danco’s Categorization of Mentoring Styles What Sets Accelerators Apart in Ty Danco’s Estimation Ty Danco Takes a Page from Manu Kumar in Starting His Next Venture Topics: fintech, crypto, angel investing strategies, techstars

Join Sal Daher's Syndicate List: Click to Join Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson Born out of COVID in 2020, TBD Angels is Boston’s newest angel group. In its first seventeen months it has already invested in forty startups. Members David Chang and Yael deCapo spoke about what TBD offers startups and investors. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Yael deCapo and David Chang of TBD Angels TBD Angel’s Process is Real-Time Not Batch “We try to match their velocity, which is pretty hard to do, but we occasionally succeed at that.” “There is a tool-based voting that if enough members vote that they're interested in hearing a pitch, we have an automatic way to schedule that pitch.” TBD Angels Invests via a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) “It's a little bit of an experiment from our standpoint. We started this group in the middle of a pandemic, the beginning of 2020.” Sal Daher Thanks Matt Fates for Introducing Him to TBD Angels In Seventeen Months, TBD Angels Has Invested in 40 Companies Choice of Startups Is Driven by Member Interest and Not by Rigid Criteria Sal Daher Introduces His Effort to Help Angels Invest in Life-Science Startups Sal Daher Credits the Research of Jeff Behrens, PhD on Biotech Funding “...I think it's a great value to the founders also, that they have that broader reach and it's not so siloed...” Sal Daher Continues to Be Involved with Walnut Ventures Which Has a Lot of AI Expertise TBD Angels Has Investors and Startups from Across the Country The Singular Opportunity of Purdue University and Its 500 Professors of Engineering AOA Diagnostics - Addressing Ovarian Cancer, a Silent Killer of Women Kytopen - Scalable Production of Gene Therapies How TBD Angels Connected with AOA Diagnostics Brief Bios of David Chang and Yael deCapo What Moved Yael deCapo to Write Her First Angel Check David Chang and His Interest in Student Entrepreneurship Boston as the World’s Bazaar of Biotech Talent “...over a third of the CEOs that we've funded are women over a third, I believe are also people of color...” Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, robotics / AI