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 Motivate

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 th

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 Epile

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.

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 sculptur

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-fo

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 sta

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 C

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 Harv

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

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 se

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, 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

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 r

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 wit

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? Su

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, Accord

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 mu

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