Angel Invest Boston

Sponsored by Peter Fasse of Fish and Richardson, Top Patent Attorney: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ A successful founder who has become a respected angel investor in Boston, Raza Shaikh is a pleasure to speak to and to learn from. Raza also has a podcast called On Boards which is great for people who are on boards or would like to be. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Raza Shaikh, Founder, Angel & Podcaster “I started angel investing actually on AngelList a bunch of years back and realized that that's a little hands-off and you don't connect with the companies for real.” Sal Daher Speaks Up for Syndicate Investing Raza Shaikh’s Favorite Startups: MentorWorks the Income Sharing Agreements Platform “…the founder, Karthik, is a professor at Northeastern and a Launchpad member, but knowing the higher education space, he really thought that there was an opportunity for an alternative to student loans…” Raza Shaikh’s Favorite Startups: KUVA Is a 10X Cheaper Way to Find Gas Leaks Raza Shaikh’s Favorite Startups: RaySecur Uses Millimeter Waves to Scan Incoming for Hazards Raza Shaikh Talks About His Fund: Beacon Venture Partners Sal Daher Talks About Peter Fasse of Fish & Richardson Who Sponsors the Podcast Raza Shaikh Bootstraps His First Startup, and His Second What Motivated Raza to Found His First Company Raza’s First Angel Investment Raza Shaikh’s Parting Thoughts Raul Rosa’s Startup, PodSpot

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Jay Batson is an angel investor’s angel investor. He’s the kind of guy who people like me, and lots of other people, go to ask really tough questions about angel investing. And, he always has really thoughtful ideas. Whenever I’m puzzling over something, I reach out to Jay. If I can get 10 minutes of his time it’s really precious. I really recommend this relaunch of my first interview with Jay Batson.   It is rare to hear reports from the frontiers of technology expressed so lucidly and accessibly by a real insider. This gem of an interview rewards the listener with Jay’s sensible and eloquently expressed explanations of the pitfalls of building products and companies. Jay recounts how angel investing taught him things he wishes he had known as a founder. He closes with wise words to recent college grads thinking of founding a startup. Jay Batson started out as a land man helping oil and gas explorers secure drilling rights. Computerizing part of his work led to his first startup. This made him realize that he loved technology. He would eventually embody this passion for tech in the founding of two venture-backed companies which brought significant innovation by way of the open source movement. Here are some of the topics included in this podcast: Sal Daher’s Intro: “Jay Batson is an angel investor’s angel investor.” Jay Batson Bio Born to a Family of Entrepreneurs – Land Man Studying Law at Night – Tech Founder Jay Batson Exits first Startup – Learns UNIX & C - Heads to Job with BBN in Boston – Massively Parallel Computing Jay Batson Goes from Engineering to Product Management At Forrester Research, Jay Batson Foresaw some of the Internet’s Potential Desktop Internet Phone – Pingtel – SIP – Bits of Code We still Use Today The Story of Acquia Open Source Primer Jay Batson Gets into Angel Investing What Jay Batson Looks for In a Startup What Jay Batson Has Learned from Being an Angel Investor Technique Jay Batson Uses in Mentoring Startups What Do Startups Most Frequently Not Do Well? Jay Batson Relates the Story of Pingtel’s Pivot Jay Batson’s Eloquent Statement of the Value of a Working Board of Directors Jay Batson’s Advice to Recent College Grads Thinking of Founding a Company Topics: software, product, management, exits, boards, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/ Joe Falcão is the CFO of Boston-based unicorn Thrasio. Learn the secrets of this uniquely successful startup. Retrace my friend’s exciting journey which started in Kenya and led to Boston via Brazil and other interesting places. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Joe Falcão, CFO & #5 Employee at Boston-based Unicorn Thrasio “Always be open to meet people.” “…we are playing within the Amazon ecosystem by acquiring Amazon third-party sellers.” “…what we are buying is basically a proven customer experience and a proven supply chain that they can use in our platform and build in scale.” “…from that point, onward it becomes very time-consuming or capital onerous for them to grow and scale. And that's a sweet spot where Thrasio can acquire these companies.” “And we want to make sure that they feel pride in what we are growing and helping them out.” “…we've got a unicorn status in the summer.” “…what we want to do is provide awesome products for the customers.” “One other element I will suggest for the founders of companies is to understand their numbers, the flow very well. How the company makes money, the business model.” “…create a strong relationship with investors, because investors can help you.” “Your mom may be more interested in your success, but your investors are second, a very close second.” “…doing the right thing and build up strong trust and relationships. That's the cornerstone of everything I do.” “Vasco da Gama went to India, and that was the startup of 500 years ago.” “…every company I joined, I tried to pick up a corner of the company, which had problems that needed to be fixed.” How Joe Met His Wife Cheryl on a Trip to India

Patrocinado pelo Peter Fasse, advogado de patentes da Fish & Richardson: https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/   José Falcão, Chefe de Finanças da Thrasio explica o que motiva esta companhia que adquire comércios na Amazon.com. Falamos também sobre a jornada de sua vida pela Africa, Asia e o Brasil.

Sponsored by Peter Fasse, Prominent Patent Attorney at Fish & Richardson (https://www.fr.com/team/j-peter-fasse/) Growing up in Northern Italy, Arrigo Bodda dreamed of becoming an architect. He chose instead to study law, a handy pre-requisite for a career in human resources in a country where staffing involves a lot of legal work. His corporate career neatly coincided with the emergence of the European Union, a phenomenon that deeply influenced his work and life. After much success in the executive suites of global enterprises, Arrigo now has the opportunity to pursue his passion for design and architecture as an angel investor with Walnut Venture Associates and as an entrepreneur. In this lighthearted interview, Arrigo shares some of the valuable wisdom gained in navigating large multinational enterprises across cultures and across disciplines. He offers valuable suggestions for founders of startups seeking to do business with multinational companies. He also provides an appealing model of finding the right balance between following your passions and making concessions to reality. Topics discussed in this podcast include: Sal Daher’s Intro of International Angel Investor Arrigo Bodda Arrigo Bodda Bio Living & Working in Europe vs. in the United States The Secrets of Successful Cross-cultural Relations in the Workplace How Arrigo Bodda found His Career Path – Deep Wisdom on Career Development from an HR Specialist “The suggestion that I have for everyone that is listening now, and that they are thinking where I should make my first move, my recommendation is make your first move in a place where the people around you are better than you.” European Union 2.0 Tips for Startups Navigating Huge Multinationals The Value of an MBA from IMD Starting a Company in Thailand What Kind of Companies Arrigo Bodda Likes to Invest In What Does Arrigo Bodda Look for in a Founding Team? Don’t Invest in Startups Alone – Join a Group, It will Save you Money & Be More Fun than Investing Alone

Podcast Sponsored by Peter Fasse of Fish & Richardson Dropping prices for solar panels sank many American clean tech companies. PIKA Energy, however, was able to benefit from the trend by innovating. Generac acquired them in 2019 because of their uniquely efficient home energy storage system. Bill Hetzel, former COO, tells the compelling story of this Maine Angel (and Sal)-backed success and more. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Bill Hetzel, Clean Tech Exec & Angel Investor “The original idea behind Pika Energy was to make the world's lowest cost, highest efficiency home/residential wind turbine.” “His wind turbines sold for around $10,000. They were sized to power part of your home.” “Every year, as we developed our wind turbine, the price of solar dropped faster, and that means one thing to a startup, pivot.” “…one of the great things about Pika Energy…were these power electronics and the power electronics we had had a special capability. It meant that each part of the system controlled itself without some fancy engineer coming in and programming it.” “You mean you had a more elegant design than Elon Musk's design?” “Well, our batteries, too, didn't come in one big, five-person carry Powerwall-sized monolith. Our models came part by part and you built them on-site for the battery as well. A solar installer felt very comfortable.” “The business community in Maine is really human-scale... I mean, you can get to know everybody and it's very supportive. I've invested in three Maine” “I just got on the phone and I called up Ben [Ben Polito, co-founder of PIKA] and said, "I'm interested in learning more about your company." Ben and Joshua, who are like all good entrepreneurs, were willing to open up their network.” “Pika Energy stood out as it was a small, but a seriously well-run company. Did things well, took care of investor money. It was serious about that.” “I think one of Pika's big strengths was the ability to listen to advice, and Ben Polito, the CEO, was really good at this.” Excellent Monthly Reporting to Investors Made Follow-On Rounds Much Easier “And we cycled and got better with each cycle.” “We got better at what we did and that made a huge difference when we were ready to pivot because we already had a foundation of business processes, and so our pivot wasn't the entire company.” “We showed them [Generac] a demonstration of our product and they were just thrilled. They'd been working on it in-house to build it themselves. They had looked at competitors and they were sophisticated enough and far enough along in their own investigation of this that they recognized our patented power electronics were special.” Angel Investing in Maine – A Strong Statewide Ecosystem “Maine Angels tend to go out of their way to support the company, not just in terms of money, but also in terms of advice, connections, providing all of the resources that the companies need.” Eighty Percent of Success Is Showing Up During a Maine Snow Storm ORONO Spectral Solutions – Highly Efficient Water Screening HighByte – Making Information from the Industrial Floor Easily Available for Analysis Junora – Tech for Depositing Thin Film of Different Elements on Architectural Materials VETRO – Mapping Optical Fiber Networks “…I can say that there's a certain pride that Maine has, and the Maine Angels have that same feeling and it makes for a really close-knit community. It's really a joy to work with this group of people.”

Join Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate: Click to Join Peter Fasse comes from a family of patent attorneys. He is a highly respected partner at Fish & Richardson, the storied Boston-based (now global) firm that represented Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers. Peter’s work continues that tradition by representing some of the leading technological innovators of today. Peter also invests as an angel in technology companies. In this practical and accessible conversation he revealed valuable insights and resources for founders and investors in technology companies. He also relayed some interesting and instructive stories of intellectual property success and calamity. Among the topics covered were: Introduction by Sal Daher of the Interview with Peter Fasse, Patent Attorney Peter Fasse Bio Young Cornell Grad in Textiles & Fabrics Becomes Patent Office Examiner Peter Fasse’s Practice In What Areas Is it Important to Have Patents and Why? Software Patents, Why Have Them and Why Not? Supreme Court Taking Harsh Views on Patents Patent Attorney Horror Stories – Theft, Suicide, Rogue Wave, Bear Mauling & Hasty Firing How Institutions Can Claim Intellectual Property of Employees Freedom to Operate – Should Be a Big Concern for Tech Startup Founders & Investors “There's a common misconception that if you have a patent on something, that it allows you to practice and commercialize that invention, but that's not true.” Different Levels of Freedom to Operate Analysis Two Extreme Freedom to Operate Cases & Outcomes Strong IP Position a Vital Ingredient in Sale of Tech Startups Mass Tech Transfer Center (MTTC) Is a Great Resource for Technology Startups Transcytos & SQZ Biotech Most Patents Are Not Commercially Viable, But Fish & Richardson Has a Special Package for Highly Promising Startups – Fish Steps Unsolicited Client Testimonial for Peter Fasse! Why Investing Through a Vehicle Rather than Directly Can Make Sense Trade Secrets – Formula for Coca Cola Trademarks – Frequently Overlooked Trouble with Chinese Partners – Capital Controls & Theft of Intellectual Property

Join Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate: Click to Join What if an injection could cure your diabetes? Meng Deng, PhD and Karen Wurster were on the podcast to talk about Adipo Therapeutics’ ambitious plan to remake the metabolism of diabetic people. Informative and accessible. Highlights include: Sal Daher Introduces the Founder and the CEO of Adipo Therapeutics “…we're talking about having too much white fat and not enough brown fat.” “…transform that energy-storing white fat into energy-burning brown fat.” “…a nanoparticle that you inject into the white fat and it converts the white fat into brown fat…” “…you can eat the same amount and continue to lose weight.” “…because the sizes are so small that the particles are easily uptaken by the fat cells…” Adipo Will Need Five to Six Million Dollars in Funding to Get to a Deal with a Strategic Player “…it's a large market that has a proven, well understood regulatory pathway.” Purdue’s Entrepreneurial Infrastructure Was Vital to Getting Adipo Off the Ground, According to Founder Meng Deng, PhD The Podcast Is Sponsored by Pater Fasse of Fish & Richardson Karen Wurster Took Early Retirement at Eli Lilly and Was Looking for an Entrepreneurial Activity

Join Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate: Click to Join Frank Ferguson had a knack for building companies. He headed Bose at a time of rapid growth and built Curriculum Associates into a great success. Frank Ferguson’s angel investing was unusual in that he invested in just a few startups but lavished support on those few. The results were great. Frank was active well into his nineties but passed away recently; this relaunch of an interview I recorded with him is a memorial for his life of achievement and passion. It’s loaded with lessons for angels and founders. Rest in peace, Frank Ferguson. My favorite observation from the conversation with Frank Fergusson neatly encapsulates his 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?” Click Here to read the transcript of the interview.   TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDE: 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 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  

Join Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate: Click to Join The hardships faced by parents of babies with developmental problems led Matt Breen and his co-founder / fiancée, Erica Costa, both pediatric occupational therapists, to start Rahoo Baby to make it easier for parents to support their baby’s development.Their first product is now at buybuy BABY and Target. A fun chat with a down-to earth founder. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Matt Breen, Founder of Rahoo Baby “…how acutely aware parents have become about how important brain development is from birth to three years old…” “…something's happened to them or they've just fallen behind in one category of development.” “…he's not rolling independently at five months old, but quite literally within two minutes of this session starting with this baby, by implementing just the most simple fundamental therapy technique, this baby was rolling over independently from his back to his belly once, twice, three times.” “We can be curating education for parents that gives them the ability to help their own baby reach these developmental milestones…” “…not only is tummy time important for strengthening, but it also reduces pressure on the back off the baby's head.” “The way it supports tummy time is because it makes far more engaging for the baby and the parent together.” “We are in buybuy BABY which is the number one premium baby wear We're launching with Target in just a couple of months.” “One of those advisors… he has hands-on experience in this industry working directly with factories, overseas, going all the way from the design phase to the supply chain phase, to your own warehouse.” “…we're really going after is building a brand that's really synonymous with early childhood development, early childhood well-being…” “We want parents to feel comfortable around this idea that their baby is working towards developmental milestones.” “We're trying to make sure that all parents can have access to these tools, this information that sparks early childhood development.” “We know the bumps in the road where babies tend to stumble developmentally.” Matt’s Co-Founder Is His Fiancée “Erica and I together, we are a really, really strong team, but separate. We wouldn't have had any success so far, I'm sure of that.” Matt Breen Points to Valuable Advice from Ed Belove