Angel Invest Boston

Sponsored by Peter Fasse of Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ To Join Sal's Syndicate: Click Here A terrible error in a lab led Tim Spong to start a company to improve the reliability and efficiency of pathology labs; big industry players are noticing. This interview was part of my due diligence on Tim’s startup, VistaPath Bio. Subsequently, I invested in the company. Highlights include: Sal Daher Introduces Tim Spong, Co-Founder of VistaPath Bio “Fast forward a hundred years, even if you walked into some of the best labs in the country, it's still a room full of people cutting tissue and staining tissue and sitting over jars.” “…VistaPath is really aiming to do is build the next generation pathology lab using automation, AI, advanced imaging practices, and then put that into every lab in the world…” “The rest of the time and a lot of the costs is spent in these labs, in histology labs, making the slides so that a pathologist can render a diagnosis.” The Horror Story that Motivates Tim Spong to Improve the Lab Sample Workflow How Tim Spong Connected with His Co-founder Ben Burley “When I decided to actually quit my job and do it, it was really with him. We made that leap together. Like I said, he is amazing. I couldn't imagine getting this far without him.” VistaPath Has Had to Overcome Investors’ Lack of Interest in Pathology VistaPath Has a Smart Benchtop for Grossing of Samples that Is Equipped with Cameras to Reduce Error and Automate the Process VistaPath Business Model “What we wanted to do with our business model is make our product something that anybody could have, any lab could afford…” “…our initial evaluations, we're already seeing that we're more accurate than humans, much faster than humans.” “We really strove and worked a long time to make our products something that someone can take out of a box, plug into a lab, it's an easy-to-use interface, and they can use it as part of their workflow immediately.” Sal Daher Is Considering Making an Investment in VistaPath Bio Sal Daher Invites Accredited Investors to Join His Syndicate List Tim’s Entrepreneurial Journey Tim Spong Met His Wife at a Pathology Lab Tim Spong Credits Advisors for Helping Him Decide to Become a Founder “Some people have led us to some of our best advisors and investors were investors that actually turned us down.” Tim Spong Encourages Industry Experts to Start Companies to Solve the Problems they See First-Hand

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Sal's Syndicate List: Click to Join Writing software never seemed like work to young Ham Lord. In high school and then in college, coding is what got him rolling with his other courses; he loved it. This passion, and the happy coincidence of being at the right place (Brown University) at the right time (early 1980s) led to a brilliantly productive career in computing and entrepreneurship. Ham’s early work in computer graphics would eventually lead to innovation in applying 3D imaging to the creation of new molecules. Later he helped build software with applications in medicine, oil & gas exploration and engineering analysis. He even did work that presaged today’s drone technology. After 16 years as a software engineer and entrepreneur, Ham cashed in his chips and began a hugely consequential career as one of Boston’s super angel investors. He was the engine behind the relaunch of Launchpad, one of the country’s most respected angel groups. In a frank and accessible interview, Ham discusses the workings of this group, talks about companies that excite him and addresses current trends in the ambit of angel investing. Topics covered include: Ham Lord Bio Ham Lord Discovers His Love of Computer Programming How Ham Lord Connected with His First Job After Brown Building a New Display for the F-14 Navy Jet Why Ham Lord Founded His First Startup AVS Rises from the Ashes of Stellar Ham Lord’s Transition from Software Development to Marketing After 16 Years Building Startups Ham Lord Takes a Sabbatical Year & Starts Investing Ham Lord Discovers Angel Investing Ham Lord Relaunches Launchpad Ham Lord & Christopher Mirabile Get Together What Does Ham Lord Look for in a Startup? The Ones That Got Away Ham Lord’s Favorite Pivot Story Ham Lord & Cambridge Trust Ham Lord Talks About Launchpads’ Early-stage Track, the Catalyst Program Two Companies in the Machine Learning Space – Netra.io & Smartvid.io Seraf-investors.com & Seraf Compass Trends: Professionalization of Angel Investing & the Angel Capital Association

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Sal's Syndicate List: Click to Join 4,000 people per year die in the US from uncontrolled epilepsy, many of them young. Vivek Ganesh and Jay Shah started Neurava to build sensors and algorithms to prevent such deaths. Here’s my chat with these doctoral candidates from Purdue trying to bring their tech from the lab to the market. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Vivek Ganesh and Jay Shah of Neurava “looking to develop a wearable device for epilepsy patients at risk for sudden unexpected death” The 40% of Epilepsy Patients with Uncontrolled Epilepsy Are at Risk of Sudden Death People Who Die from Uncontrolled Epilepsy Tend to Be Young The Neurava Algorithm and Device Are Meant to Detect SUDEP as It’s Occurring So the Patient Can Get Help Neurava Has Top Advisors on the Technology and on the Clinical Aspects Neurava Is Hoping to Test Its Devices on Patients at Epilepsy Monitoring Units Patients Whose Epilepsy Is Still Uncontrolled After the Administration of Three or More Drugs Are Referred to Surgery Another Strategy to Control Epilepsy Is the Implantation of “Pacemakers” for the Brain Patients with Uncontrolled Epilepsy Have to Wait Months to Get into an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit Founders’ Entrepreneurial Journey “My grandfather used to have a toothbrush factory out in India…” “Epilepsy and SUDEP in specific is one area where there really wasn't anything that people are using.” “Our relationship is very strong; we work very well together.” People with Uncontrolled Epilepsy Should Reach out to Neurava.org Closing Thoughts from Vivek Ganesh and Jay Shah

Ed Roberts started the scholarly study of startups. Learn from this brilliant academic pioneer and seasoned investor in Sohu.com and HubSpot about the keys to success in founding a tech company. Along the way you will be entertained and charmed by his most engaging narrative style. He grew up in working-class Chelsea, Massachusetts. At Chelsea High, he received preparation that would allow him to explore the academic delights offered by MIT’s curriculum. Four MIT degrees later he was on the faculty at MIT’s Sloan School of Management studying the impact of NASA’s research on the economy. From there it was a short hop to founding the study of tech startups. He also co-founded two successful companies, including Meditech. His course on entrepreneurship incubated Beijing's Sohu.com and Boston's HubSpot. Ed Roberts was an early investor in both. The oft-cited result that companies founded by MIT alums generate revenues equivalent to the 10th largest economy in the world is one of the products of his scholarship. He also delves into his work on the optimal composition of founding teams. Among the many topics covered in this bravura interview are: Ed Roberts Bio High School in Working-class Town of Chelsea Thoroughly Prepared Ed Roberts for Success at MIT Sound Preparation from Chelsea High Allowed Ed Roberts to Explore the MIT Curriculum Ed Roberts Meets Jay Forrester, Co-inventor of the Core Memory and Founder of System Dynamics Research into Entrepreneurship Springs from NASA Project to Measure Impact of Its Technology Ed Roberts Starts His First Company, Pugh-Roberts Associates MIT Faculty Form Consulting Firms, MIT Grads Form Product Companies Ed Roberts Founds Meditech Engineers Debate the Need for a Marketing Person on the Meditech Team – Hired the Only Marketing Person They Knew Sal Daher’s Pitch for Listeners to Give Back by Reviewing the Podcast on iTunes and Telling Others About It The Most Significant Results from Ed Roberts’ Research It’s Important Not to Keep Your Idea Secret but to Talk to Many People About It Eric von Hippel & User Innovation Ideas Are Overvalued – Person Who Has It Gets Too Much Credit – Pivots Are the Norm – Nobody Remembers All the Pivots – Example: Founders of HubSpot Ed Roberts Invests in Founders, Not Ideas Charles Zhang & the Founding of Sohu.com – Ed Roberts Was Surprised Charles Zhang Wanted to Return to China – Amazing Story! “I’ve always focused on ground zero companies. I do not regard a ground zero company as a frightening and risky thing. I regard it as the place to be because that’s where the fun is, that’s where you can have impact and, to me, if you’ve passed my test, that you’re passionate, you’re dedicated, you’re trying to do something that seems worthwhile, you’re smart, you’re open. I’m going to be able to relate to you. Then, I don’t see it as a risky thing”. Data on PhDs as Founders? Why Are MIT Students & Alums So Likely to Invest in Startups? 30% of MIT Alumni Go to Work for a Startup – Of Those 25% Go on to Found Their Own Company – Those Companies Outperform the Market Second Companies Outperform First Companies; Third Outperform Second – Studies of Universities as Sources of Innovation – Chuck Easley Did Similar Study at Stanford

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Italy, an advanced country of 60 million people, gets 20 times less startup money than Boston. My angel investing buddy Arrigo Bodda thinks there’s ample room for growth. He is working with 42N, a consultancy focused on bringing Italian startups to the US. At the junction of design and cleantech, Italy has intriguing things to offer. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Arrigo Bodda, Angel Investor Arrigo’s Startups: TireTutor, the Marketplace for Buyers of Tires TireTutor Connects Buyers with Independent Local Suppliers The Startup Scene in Italy Is Beginning to Develop com, a Marketplace for Design Items Sal’s Italian Designer Office Chair The 42N Initiative to Mentor Italian Startups Room to Grow: Boston & Cambridge Get 20X the Startup Funding of All Italy “This hunger to succeed is not something that is unique to the United States.” com: Design Objects the Generate Solar Power “What if your sculpture could charge your Tesla?” 42N Is Working with Cleantech Open Accelerator to Find Italian Startups Black Soldier Fleas to Break Down Organic Waste in the Home 20 to 1 Weight Reduction for Organic Refuse Self-Adjusting Ecosystem of Black Soldier Fleas in a Small Form Factor 42N Plans to Work with Startups and Private Companies Acquired a Producer of Plant-Based Protein in Latvia Becoming an Advisor as a Prelude to Investing

The family of Wan Li Zhu emigrated to America seeking new opportunities. Wan Li benefited from high-quality public education at Bronx High School of Science and went on to a perfect grade-point average at MIT. He studied under renowned quant wiz Andrew Lo and was poised for a career on Wall Street but was lured away by the prospect of hands-on responsibility for product features at Microsoft. After a prodigiously successful stint, during which he was involved in building and marketing Dynamics CRM, Microsoft’s fastest-growing product, he went to Harvard Business School. From HBS he was recruited by early-stage VC firm Fairhaven Capital.  The firm, known for its expertise in web security and digital advertising, now sees promise in various applications of artificial intelligence starting with self-driving technology. Wan Li is deeply engaged in bringing on the next generation of winning investments at Fairhaven Capital. Despite a busy professional life, Wan Li Zhu has found time to advise startups and to co-found MIT Angels in Boston. I learned a ton from my conversation with this wise, yet unassuming early-stage VC and angel.  HERE'S A LIST OF THE TOPICS COVERED: Wan Li Zhu Bio Studied with MIT Professor Andrew Lo – Used Natural Language Processing to Assess Market Sentiment Why Wan Li Zhu Went to Microsoft – Three Years at MS – Shipped Three Versions of the Product Wan Li Zhu Connects with Fairhaven Capital through HBS Resume Book Fairhaven Capital Is Thesis-driven – Attentive to Market Trends that Could Create Large Opportunities How the Fairhaven Capital Portfolio Is Doing What Wan Li Zhu Looks for in a Startup Investment Experienced Founders Can Actually Time Markets TVision Came Via MIT Angels – Measuring Engagement of TV Viewers AirFox – Enabling Wireless Carriers to Offer More Affordable Data Plans MIT Angels Company PathAI’s Deep Learning System Is Better at Detecting Tumor Cells than Human Pathologists Latch – Enterprise-grade Keyless Access System for Apartment Buildings The Investment Wan Li Zhu Regrets Not Making Wise VC Wan Li Zhu Continues to Be Very Bullish on AI

Sponsored by Peter Fasse of Fish & Richardson, Patent Attorney: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Austin-based super angel Hall Martin has an intriguing approach to investing in technology startups that can benefit investors and founders. He’s also done quite a bit of equity crowdfunding. This interview was rich in lessons for me. I recommend you listen. “…my conclusion after looking at it 20 years, it's not that I'm investing in the wrong deals. I'm investing with the wrong deal structure.” Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Hall Martin, Super Angel from Texas “Put my money in. In about six months, lost all of it. I started to realize this is harder than it looks and decided I needed to join a group to invest in, rather than do it by myself.” “In Austin, we didn't have an angel network until about 2006. When they started it, I was the first member to sign up for it.” “We got about 5 million invested in 20 deals and got a 40x return out of one of the deals.” “We were in the home of Whole Foods. We started accelerator incubator and we started doing angel investing as well into food and beverage deals, mostly.” “I found is that it's very hard to make a return in angel investing. You're in these deals a long time.” "Half the deals that are coming through here are good businesses, but they're not really venture businesses. They're not going to sell for 40 or 50x." “I came up with a model called Define the Exit, where I came up with my own term sheet, I discovered that was a key factor of success with angel investing is you don't sign someone else's term sheet; you sign your own.” Built in Option to Exit at Year Three “When they go on to market-rate salaries, what they're basically saying is we're not eating ramen noodles anymore, we're going to take our exit out of the salary. You, unfortunately, are not on the payroll, and you don't get that choice.” “Seven years later, they exit the business and there was a 50% return to the investors. Well, 50% after 10 years is about a 4% IRR. It's really not much of anything. I went back and looked at it. I estimate this executive team took out about $7 million worth of salaries over those years…” “If the C team is going on the payroll exit, I'm right there with you.” Define the Exit versus Revenue-Based Finance “My experience has been, so far that 70% want you to leave all the money in and 30% want you to take all the money out because they want the equity back.” “…if in three years I have a choice of pulling 3x my money out, the dynamic is very different.” “It's also a Facilities Management A What it is, is we get access to the bank account and to the accounting system. Every month, we go in and pull out the information rights that are owed to the investors and we send it to the investors.” “…my conclusion after looking at it 20 years, it's not that I'm investing in the wrong deals. I'm investing with the wrong deal structure.” Crowdfunding: “The rule of thumb in that world is you're going to spend 20% of your fundraise on marketing. There's a real expense.” “I think a fair number of angel groups I see are moving to later stage to move out of the way of that [crowdfunding]. Some are moving into starting their own funds or going into a syndicate model where they can get carry from those who invest.” Scrappy Biotechs: QSM Diagnostics & Hillside BioSciences CSIdentity: Hall Martin’s 40X Exit Parting Wisdom from Hall Martin, Super Angel “For every million dollars you want to raise, it'll take you one calendar year to raise it. It's the rule.”

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Tivan Amour, repeat founder, bristles with energy but is also capable of contemplation. He is a growth hacker familiar with the Socratic Dialogue. He is hugely ambitious yet generous with the less fortunate.  It was great fun interviewing him and he taught me a bunch of things. Among these were the real value of Techstars to founders and some pointers on growing a customer base. Here is a list of the topics covered: Tivan Amour Bio What Effect Did Working for AT&T While Still in College Have in Tivan’s Life? Tivan as a Product Manager at Abercrombie & Fitch Tivan Starts His First Company Tivan Decides Boston Is Just Right for Him What Tivan Learned from Volunteering at BUILD How Tivan Structures His Day Tivan’s First Company Pivots Genesis of Fortified Bike – New Way to Market to Bike Shops – Cutting Out Distributors Fortified Bike Goes into Techstars The Real Value of Techstars to the Founder Changing Co-founders com Has Won Plaudits from Experts for Its Efficacy – Tivan’s Advice on Building a Website

Bill Arnold of Purdue University’s innovation center asked me to put together a panel discussion about what makes Boston’s startup ecosystem so strong and how these lessons might translate to other places. Naturally I invited my angel investing buddy Ben Littauer to participate and we had a productive chat which gives founders, and prospective angels, a valuable glimpse into how angel investing works.

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish and Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ David Chang seems to have a lifetime of achievement behind him. Six startup exits, stints with TripAdvisor, PayPal and Goldman Sachs as well as close connections in the world of VCs give David a most informed perspective on startups. In this candid and instructive interview, David highlights the dos and don’ts of tech startups in clear and engaging prose. He provides a wealth of suggestions on how to approach markets and technologies. He immigrated to America from Taiwan as a child and grew up on Long Island. David Chang distinguished himself in computer science as an undergrad at Cornell. Later on he attended Harvard Business School after seven years on Wall Street. Topics covered in this interview include: David Chang Bio Came to US from Taiwan with His Family at Age 3 – Grew Up on Long Island Job Market Tight in 1992 – 38 Rejection Letters – 2 Job Offers – Wall Street vs. Silicon Valley Applied to Harvard Business School Thrice - Third Time Lucky – Stays in Boston Working at a Small Startup Dumb Luck Had Brought Him to a Phenomenal Company - edocs Co-founds Mobicious – Just in Time for Financial Crisis Quits Fulltime Stable Job – Decides to Start Company – Daughter Is Born – All in One Weekend! Mobicious Sells for Pennies on the Dollar – Thought Would Never Work in Tech Again – Lands in Where, a Company into Location Awareness – David Beisel of NextView Ventures Decision to Sell Where to PayPal Genesis of Where Angel Fund David Chang’s Biggest Failure as a Startup Operator – Lacked Focus on First Startup – Guardrail to Guardrail The Role of Thrift in Startups How David Chang Came to Make His First Angel Investment Great Startups David Chang Passed On Why Is David Chang Not a Full-time VC? David Chang’s Advice to Startups Raising Money Be Clear About What’s Your Basecamp and What’s Your Summit What David Chang Looks for In a Founding Team David Chang’s Favorite Pivot – TripAdvisor Stumbles upon the Idea of Doing Reviews Startups David Chang Is Excited About Nightmare Mistakes Founders Make How Do Founders Decide to Raise Another Round or Shut Down? The Value of Knowing Your Place in the Market You Serve