Angel Invest Boston

In the final episode of the podcast I, Sal Daher, review important lessons I learned in seven years of interviews and decades of investing. In my voice and in the voice of my guests, I recapitulate the discoveries most salient to me and invite listeners to find their own nuggets in the sound archive which will remain available on Apple Podcasts and other platforms. AngelInvestBoston.com will have 250 episode pages with sound, notes, and in most cases, annotated transcripts. I'll be publishing new content at Substack.com focused on keeping fit as we age. You can find me there under Sal Daher or under Aging Fit. Startups will show up occasionally. Here's a link to the Substack: Sal Daher's Substack - Aging Fit Thanks for listening. Highlights: ·      Lesson 1: Company-Specific Risk – The Bad & The Good – Why It Matters in Startup Investing ·      Lesson 2A: “You know nothing, Jon Snow” – The Need for Tight Risk Control ·      Lesson 2B: “You Know Nothing, Jon Snow” – Whence a Real 400X Return ·      Lesson 3A: What to Look for in a Startup? What to Look for in a Founding Team? ·      Lesson 3B: The Most Significant Results from Ed Roberts' Research ·      Lesson 4A: It's Important Not to Keep Your Idea Secret but to Talk to Many People About It ·      Lesson 4B: The Google Problem – Why Founders Should Be Open About their Ideas ·      Lesson 3B Recapitulated: Robust Finding: Larger Teams Do Better; Startups Tend to Have Teams that Are Too Small ·      Lesson 5A: Focus, Focus, Focus ·      Lesson 5B: Focus, Focus, Focus ·      Lesson 6: Take the Money & Run ·      Lesson 7:  It's a Long Way from the Lab to the Clinic ·      Why I Am Ending the Podcast – Archive Available – See You at Substack.com     Guest: Sal Daher      Topics: angel investing strategies, co-founders, biotech, exits, pivots, partnerships with strategics

Lessons Learned is a compilation of hard-won lessons in angel investing. They come from my podcast interviews over these seven years as well as from my three decades of angel investing. Hints on how to build your portfolio, how to eliminate sure losers and other practical advice will be offered in the voice of my guests and in my own voice. Sorry that the release of the episode is delayed until Friday 12/29 due to personal matters and this year's Christmas calendar. Thanks for listening.

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Repeat life science entrepreneur Tom Weldon is now taking on aging. He is commercializing a compound to extend health span developed at a prominent institution. Composed of substances generally considered as safe by the FDA, the formula has shown impressive results in mice and, to date, in one human, Tom himself. Intriguing chat with a dynamic founder.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Tom Weldon What Problem Rejuvant Addresses "... Then the first time the combination is not additive, take it out. That's a process that would probably take a year or two, but it ensures that you'll have an optimal result. Or, you can buy Rejuvant, because we did all that work already..." "... if you decide that you'd like to try Rejuvant and you go on subscription, we give you a free DNA methylation test at time zero and then we give you another one after six months, which is included in the cost ... They're different and they have different algorithms. All of them except two that I'm aware of, one of which is what we provide, requires your current chronologic age as an input..." "... It was actually discovered by Steve Horvath and he developed the first biologic clock ... Your DNA is damaged every second that you're alive. Prior to puberty, your body does an exceptional job of repairing all of that. However, after that, it starts to decline..." "... Is there any evidence that repair is actually at work? How do we know that it's not just removing the methyl molecule from the DNA, and you have damaged the DNA that's just not methylated?..." "... How long have you been on Rejuvant?..." How Tom Became an Entrepreneur "... This company had this trajectory and now it's just gone Chapter 7 recently. That is the tough side of these life science technology companies because the technology moves so fast..." "... very difficult space. What I have seen in the medical device space, these 510k pathway devices where there is an existing predicate device, and then you can design something which is, no worse and perhaps much better than the predicate device..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Life science board member and advisor Paul Hartung is back with wise tips on how to fund your biotech startup in these had times. Listen or read below.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Paul Hartung, Experienced Biotech Board Member & Advisor Paul Hartung Closed a Financing in the Midst of the Last Recession Seek Out the Right Grant Funding, Watch Expenses Pitch Contests Don't Provide Much Money but Can Spotlight Your Startup Peer-Reviewed Publications Can Raise Visibility of Life Science Startups Look Outside Your Area, Consider Syndication Across Angel Groups Watch Out for Funds That Can't Make Good on Term Sheets – It Happens More than You Think Be Upfront About Your Future Funding Plans “The nature of the investors change. For each stage of financing what you want to do is make sure that you identify who the lead investor is. Very important.” Lead Investors Summation About Strategic Investors   Topics: biotech, fundraising, raising money

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   In my fourth decade of angel investing, I'm happy with my investments but regret having put them in my IRAs. Here are pros and cons of having illiquid, operationally complex and hard-to-value assets in IRAs.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Investing in Startups via an IRA Can Be Burdensome, Here's Why How I came to Have so Much of my Net Worth in my IRAs Thank You Citibank for Encouraging a Young Banker to Save Thank You Bob Smith for Allowing Me to Fish When the Fish Were Running Why The Fish Are Not Running Any More “Some weeks I spend half my time dealing with IRA-related paperwork. I have many better things to do with my life.” The Initial Investment Is a Lot of Work for Everyone Involved Corporate Actions Guarantee Constant Attention to the IRA Is Required Then There Are the Required Annual Valuations It Gets Worse! The Upside of Investing in Startups from the IRAs Conclusion   Topics: angel investing strategies

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Raul Rosa, artist, musician, and sound engineer, discusses his work with the Angel Invest Boston Podcast, some of his favorite interviews, and his own startup, Podspot.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Raul Rosa Raul's Favorite Interviews Fortified Bike Howard Stevenson PodSpot Wistia Piction Health Savran Technologies Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, COVID, robotics/AI

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Katharine Woodman-Maynard has for seven years created a gorgeous and enduring graphic manifestation of this podcast on the web. I am fortunate to have this gifted artist enhancing my work with her talent and wisdom. She returns to talk about her favorite interviews, to share her journey as a professional artist and to offer valuable advice for those starting out.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights:  Sal Daher Introduces Katharine Woodman-Maynard Katharine's Perspective of Startups "... I'm very grateful to you for having connected me with Drew Madson, who founded Readlee. Tell a little bit of the story. How did you connect with Drew?..." EndeavorOTC "... I found it fascinating in the interview that Eddie talked about how it was actually shown in trials to be more effective for adults than it was for children..." "... Human interaction resets us, brings us back to normalcy because if we're off on our own, we go batty..." Katharine's Professional Artistic Journey Sticking to a Schedule "... Once you can learn self-compassion for yourself and realize you're human and you make mistakes and not waste so much energy on being negative and hard, I think you're a lot freer to, advance in your career because you're not so hard on yourself..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, ed tech, platform

Aging Fit Substack: Learn More   Ethan Pierce's startup Adaptive Reader makes great literature accessible to kids not reading at grade level. Harnessing generative AI with sophisticated prompts and quality control by humans creates compelling texts based on the classics. Ethan and his co-founder even have a promising business model. Great chat!   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Ethan Pierce Adaptive Reader and What it is Solving "... It's much better if they have this contact with the author, albeit in a structure that's simplified. After all, we're always reading Dante in the translation. We're reading Homer in the translation. It doesn't make it any less compelling..." Teachers' Opinions of Adaptive Reader "... That controversy, the conversation, the passion around helping these students read is really important and that's why we've been really grounded in research here and these conversations with these experts. I think talking to these teachers, the biggest challenge that they face is just getting kids to read at all..." Ethan's Entrepreneurial Journey Palette How Adaptive Reader Came About How Can Listener's Participate in Adaptive Reader   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, product, robotics/AI

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Brian Denenberg is an angel investor, company advisor, and co-founder. Here, he discusses some of the companies he has been involved with, including Fairmarkit, Tive, and his work at Venture Lane Studio helping startups grow sales.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Brian Denenberg Fairmarkit How Fairmarkit Was Started Tive Inbound vs Outbound Marketing "... What Tive did, he innovated a tracker that goes on shipments, and it could go anywhere in the world, and it could not just tell you where the shipment was. It could tell you the condition of the shipment..." "... Scientists don't know the huge difference that exists between the lab and the clinic and industry. There's a massive gap and they think that something that works in the lab will work in a clinic or an industry very easily, but it mostly does not..." Venture Lane Studio "... We call it a studio. It gives us the flexibility to work in different ways. The best way to think of it is like an accelerator. It's really bespoke. We take three to four companies at a time. We're not looking to doing big cohorts..." Cedience CIRT Qase Brian's Background How Brian Got into Startups Advice to the Audience   Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, discovering entrepreneurship

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Brian Freeman, MD, co-founded Energesis to help overweight people lose weight by growing their energy-burning brown fat. Experiments in mice have shown this approach works with GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy in accentuating weight loss. Great chat with a compelling repeat founder.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Brian Freeman Energesis: The Problem it's Solving "... What we're doing is we're acting on those cells and basically nudging them to make more mature brown fat cells, so that the mass of the brown fat cells increases..." "... That's pretty much it. We're trying to recapitulate cold exposure in a pill. That's right..." "... one of the issues with weight loss due to, let's call it caloric restriction ... The body doesn't take it lightly because we've evolved not to starve, right? ... The normal physiologic response to that is to reduce metabolic rate. That makes it harder and harder to lose weight as your weight goes down, and it makes it very difficult to keep that weight off..." Further Thoughts on Energesis Brian's Entrepreneurial Journey "... What if you could magically make everybody in America lean overnight, think of what that would do to healthcare costs. It would be reduced by at least two-thirds..."   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, product, founding story

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

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Brazilian startup MirScience Therapeutics is working on reversing muscle loss. I had an illuminating chat with co-founder Milena Peregrino, PhD about the technology and the company's progress.    Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Milena Peregrino MicroRNAs and What They Do MirScience Therapeutics "... Keeping in mind that we're talking about mouse models, it has not gone into human trials yet, but this is very promising..." "... We are going to need the non-rodent species. For now, we are planning to go with non-human primates, so monkeys..." How MirScience Was Founded Milena's Background "... Most people die from the results from falls. It's not necessarily immediately, it's within six months. If they have a severe fall, old people decline very fast and so this has huge implication for people to age better. The ability to have muscular old people going around instead of frail people who fall over easily..." Why Milena Chose Biology Advice to the Audience   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story

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

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Rather than purloin my kids' Ritalin, I play EndeavorOTC daily to improve my attention and be sharper. Eddie Martucci, PhD is the founder of Akili that developed the app which is backed by real science. In fact, the kid's version is FDA-cleared to treat ADHD in 8-12 year olds. Don't miss this great chat.    Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Eddie Martucci The Science Behind EndeavorOTC "... This is not IQ. This is attention. You can have extremely high IQ or low IQ and have a high attention score and low IQ or vice versa..." "... people with ADHD, it is not that they don't want to pay attention ... It's that that system of the brain that allows you to filter out what's irrelevant to your goal and focus in on what's relevant, that part of the brain, that interference filter is weakened..." "... You cannot become addicted to it because can't do it for more than 25 minutes period..." Eddie's Entrepreneurial Journey Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, product  

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

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Richard Vlasimsky is using AI to create a low-cost way of vastly expanding our ability to detect lung cancer early. His algorithm for detecting lung nodules in chest x-rays just got FDA clearance. Listen to this remarkable founder who's done a lot with modest funding.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Richard Vlasimsky What IMIDEX is Solving "... how much your studies cost to get your 510k.." "... We had multiple radiologists looking at the image, and then we had a final truther that adjudicated these independent reads that the radiologist did..." "... Payers care about catching it early so that they have better outcomes and the costs are much lower ... The providers, being the medical systems or the physicians, typically hospitals, they care about it because of liability issues and also because they could have the opportunity to treat something and they would get the revenue stream..." "... It's like a very fine-tooth comb picks up all the nits. The specificity relates to how many of those things that you pick up are actually what you're looking for and not false positives..." Exit Possibilities "... his definition of a startup is an enterprise that uses resources that it does not yet command..." Richard's Entrepreneurial Journey "... You had this experience of joining a startup, then creating your own startup which was using machine learning..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, robotics/AI, founding story

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Growing new cartilage in your knees is a dream about to become reality. Listen to Ben Holmes, PhD, co-founder of Nanochon, to learn about his promising technology. Shoutout to Richard Meiklejohn of M2D2 for the introduction.    Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Ben Holmes What Problem Nanochon is Solving "... That's really what we're looking to do, is offer a solution that can be a much easier, much more cost-effective solution for providers, but also something that can really provide much better short and long-term outcomes for patients, and, ultimately, make the knee replacement obsolete..." The Solution: What it is, and How it Works "... We're seeing much better repair, and we're doing it with something that's an easy-to-use, off-the-shelf product..." What is I-Corps? Future Funding Plans Names and Numbers Ben's Entrepreneurial Journey Advice to the Audience   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   During COVID, Readlee, Drew Madson's startup, offered teachers a highly effective way to measure and remedy reading deficits among online learners. This led to the company being acquired by Paper, the tutoring platform. An inspiring interview.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Drew Madson What Readlee is Solving Behind the Scenes of Readlee How Readlee Came to Be "... COVID just highlighted this need that already existed..." "...I highly recommend checking out The Opportunity Atlas. If listeners haven't looked at this, it's an amazing analysis of how certain interventions can actually improve people's ability to make more money over the course of their lives and have more opportunity and flourishing..." "... What are large language models going to do to this space?..." How Drew Developed an Interest in Education Parting Thoughts   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, product

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Tech founder David Kessler discusses his journey as an angel investor in companies such as CleanFiber, Wasabi, and Hilltop Bio.   Sponsored by Purdue University enrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces David Kessler "... This is like a very counterintuitive investment for angel investors, but it was angel-funded..." The Importance of Updates What Hilltop Bio Does "... This is why I want to create infrastructure to help the angels support these academic founders with connections..." Wasabi "... helping founders hone their messaging, hone their presentation..." "... Basically, the question is, what other ways of looking at the world are there and are you flexible enough to say that there are other ideas out there, and you may wind up pivoting into one of those..." How David Kessler Got into Angel Investing "... Start slow, start small, and don't invest alone..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: angel investing strategies, building wealth, product

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Salvatore Viscomi, M.D. is CEO of Carna Health, a digital platform that is making it easier for patients with chronic conditions to do tests at home that would normally have to be done in the hospital.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Salvatore Viscomi What Carna Health is Solving "... We connect the device to our platform, we collect the data, we stage the disease, and then we share that information with the patient-provider..." "... The solution is really to bring the testing to the community, identify the 90% of people that don't know they have it, let them know they have it..." "... The devices on their own without connectivity and without a platform are really not a scalable solution for the type of programs that are needed to make an impact on these diseases ... The doctors are connected through a physician portal, and we identify all the people that are being screened..." Carna Health's Business Model "... We don't want our patients, necessarily, who are not feeling well, have medical conditions, to be exposed to other patients and potentially get infected..." "... One of the ways that Carna Health enables hospital home, is that it provides some of that testing in real-time, so patients don't need to go into a laboratory or phlebotomist..." Digital Twins: What Are They? Salvatore's Entrepreneurial Journey Advice to the Audience "... I think our system has been based on being very reactive to disease as opposed to prevention. The truth is that about 80% of longevity is determined by you and your environment and 20% by your genetics..."   Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, product, robotics/AI

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Nick LaRovere and Matt Hawkins co-founded Pryzm.io seeking to simplify the process of buying a home via technology.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Nick LaRovere and Matt Hawkins What Pryzm.io is Solving "... Nick and I are both technical co-founders. We love building things, and so we're really excited to actually have our product in the hands of our early agent partners here in Boston..." "... We take what is previously only agent-facing tooling, and we flip it around so that the consumer can really take charge of their own transaction. They can be empowered to work autonomously..." The Importance of Renter's Insurance "... real estate is a very congested space from technology perspective. What Pryzm is really trying to do is be that foundational information layer that the rest of the real estate experience can evolve from..." "... at Pryzm we are very much aware of where the opportunity for technology to help automate that space is, to understand documentation, to summarize documentation, to frame it, or repurpose it in useful ways that are understandable by somebody who hasn't read a full mortgage before, and that is very much part of the Pryzm experience..." How Pryzm.io Came to Be "... To make not just the entire ecosystem, but especially that consumer, that person who's really the core, the crux of the transaction, to have a better experience..." Parting Thoughts to the Audience   Topics: co-founders, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, robotics/AI  

Coach Jina Klapisch who helps Sal Daher keep off 100 pounds is our guest in this episode. Sal and Jina discuss how HMR clients are able to take off and keep off significant weight with no hunger or feeling of deprivation. Check out HMR Weight Loss and Lifestyle Coaching at: https://www.hmrnatick.com/about_us Highlights: ●  Sal Daher Introduces Jina Klapisch ●  What Sets HMR Apart From the Rest ●  How HMR Works ●  "... What you're doing here is helping people discover the things that are easy for them to do repeatedly and make them into habits, and not try to do stuff that's hard, impossible for them..." ●   Decision-Free ●   Sal's Diet Journey at the Age of Thirteen ●   Oprah and HMR ●    "... when you're trying to make a very big change in your life, whether it's quitting smoking or quitting drinking, or with food, you need to take a break from that substance ... so that you can see clearly as you lose this weight and start to really figure out who I am as an eater..." ●  How Your Environment Can Affect Your Weight ●   Outlive by Peter Attia MD ●    "... The first half mile that you walk every single day is the golden half mile. The first mile you walk is the golden mile. That is going to add years to your life..." ●   Advice to the Audience ●   Jina's Background ●    "... 80% of weight loss is keeping it off, the hard part..." ●   Jina's Parting Thoughts

After recording the full episode titled “Tech & Weight Control” I realized I left out some important technologies I use in making the shakes that support my keeping off 100 pounds. So, here's a mini-episode with that staircase wit, as the French call it. Highlights: ·      Ninja Creami Ice Cream Maker ·      Ninja Bullet & Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Are Smaller & Cheaper Alternatives ·      Shaker Bottles Are Real Calorie-Savers ·      Acaia Digital Scale   Topic:              Healthy Aging Guest:             Sal Daher Title:                Staircase Wit: Shake Tech

Technology has long conspired against our health by making us fatter, more sedentary and sleepless. However, we can recruit tech as our ally in building healthy habits. Here is a review of the tech that is helping me keep off 100 pounds.   Highlights:   ·      Tech Can Make Us Less Healthy but It Can Be Good for Us Too ·      Getting Help in Weight Loss Is Really Powerful, You Can't Do It Alone ·      MyFitnessPal App ·      Noom App ·      Fitbit Charge 4 Tracker + Fitbit App ·      WHOOP Band and App ·      Shoutout to the Great Products from Hoplark ·      Plenity, FDA-Cleared Weight Control Device (Does Not Act Systemically) ·      “I used it [Plenity] as an on-ramp for my HMR diet...” ·      Fitbod ·      Life Fitness Elliptical Cross-Trainer ·      NordicTrack Cross Country Exerciser ·      Tonal ·      Bowflex SelectTech ·      $19.99 Chin-up Bar from Amazon ·      Marathon Sports ·      PowerStep Arch Support ·      The Drive: Podcast with Peter Attia, M.D. ·      Huberman Lab Podcast ·      HMR: for When You Are Really Serious About Losing Weight Topic:              Healthy Aging Guest:              Sal Daher Title:                Tech & Weight Control

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Getting enough sleep is important to Sal Daher's effort to keep off 100 pounds. This short episode discusses how sleep connects with weight and how to improve sleep in support of weight control.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Why We Don't Sleep Enough Markets & Technological Innovation Are to Blame but the Solutions Need to Come from Individuals and Voluntary Associations, not from Leviathan We Know We Need to Sleep More but the Cards Are Stacked Against It Why Is Sleep So Important to Weight Control? As We Age Our Need for Sleep Does Not Decline but Our Ability to Sleep Does Why I do Early Morning Exercises Outdoors – GoodLux Technologies Huberman Lab Podcast Offers Valuable Tips   Topic: Healthy Aging

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Sal Daher, CFA discusses the role of exercise in his keeping off 100 pounds of body weight with no drugs and no surgery, just good habits for eating, exercising and sleeping. Listen for tips and for encouragement on building your exercise plan.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Why Exercise? How Much Exercise Do I need? Don't Get Overly Ambitious – Start Slowly but Build Steadily Within Safe Limits Do Try to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone – Here's Why Think You Can't Exercise? Listen to These Stories Then, Tell Me You Can't Exercise No Financial Stake in HMR, Just Immense Gratitude for How Much They Have Helped Me It Matters When You Exercise Short Bouts Build Up Do a Variety of Exercises Zone 2 / Zone 5 Training Exercise Has an Unexpected Side Effect for Me I've Never Regretted Exercising   Topic: Healthy Aging

Nearly two years after starting the effort to take off and keep off 100 pounds, I took a series of trips. Here's how I coped with the challenges of being on the road and maintaining my weight. Highlights: ·      Trips to Napa Valley, Hamburg and San Sebastián Took Me Away from my Usual Supports ·      Travelling Heavy to Napa Valley ·      “…there may be people who can travel and not gain weight. But I'm not one of them. Therefore, I have to do unreasonable things to keep off those 100 pounds.” ·      Traveled Ultra-light to Hamburg – Just Carry-on ·      A Thought about the Effects of Alcohol on Sleep ·      Traveled Medium-heavy to San Sebastián – 23 Days Away Is a Long Time

I'm Sal Daher and I'm keeping off 100 pounds of body weight with no drugs and no surgery. I'm doing it by building and reinforcing healthy habits. I eat a lot but do not put on weight. It was not easy to build the healthy habits I practice but it can be done. Highlights: ·      Introduction ·      Food Intake Is the Main Driver of Weight Management, Not Exercise ·      Repeatable Changes You Can Live With ·      What I Eat for Lunch Regularly Now ·      My Fat but Fit Delusion ·      Your Longevity Is Up to You, Nature Does Not Care About It ·      I Could Not Change My Habits Alone, Not Even in Singapore ·      I Needed Help to Build and Maintain My New Habits ·      A Cool Mind Trick ·      There's a Reason They Are Called “Support Groups” ·      Getting Back to Diet – Here's What I Eat Throughout the Day ·      Breakfast – This One Is for You Ralph Wagner ·      Hydration Is Really Crucial – Always Trying Cool New Drinks ·      Mid-morning Snack – Efficiency Is the Keyword ·      Lunch – See Above – But There's More ·      Vegetables and Fruits Are My Best Friends ·      Mid-afternoon Snack – My Vitamix Blender Comes in Handy ·      Supper – It's a Lot of Food So I Try Not to Eat Too Close to Bed Time ·      Evening Snack – The Treat I Look Forward to All Day Long ·      After My Evening Snack, My Probiotic ·      The Biggest Aha! Moment of My Dieting Career ·      Conclusion

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Layne Sadler founded KeyBio to help pharmaceutical companies better identify genetic traits in patients that may explain differing responses to cancer treatments. KeyBio's computational approach promises to add a new dimension to precision medicine, which now looks at the genetics of the tumor, by also incorporating the genetics of the patient to improve outcomes in clinical trials.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Layne Sadler What KeyBio is Solving "... The revenue is solely focused on cancer drug discovery and the reason for that is because that's where all the money is in the pharmaceutical industry..." "... 90% of clinical trials fail and the cost averages around 792 million, spending about a billion dollars to run a trial..." "... I developed this AI platform and I wanted to start collaborating with other principal investigators or heads of labs in the Boston area..." "... The DNA of tumors, over time, it mutates and it becomes very different from the DNA of the host..." Why Layne Chose Entrepreneurship   Topics: biotech, founding story, discovering entrepreneurship

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   After a career at DARPA, defending America from cyber threats, Jason Syversen founded Siege Technologies which had a great exit. He now focuses on angel investing and philanthropy. Inspiring chat.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship, and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Jason Syversen What Problem Siege Technologies is Solving "... How do you measure and predict probability of success and collateral damage for a cyberattack? That is actually the technology we end up being acquired for when we sold..." "... I took over 10X Venture Partners, which is an angel group..." SportsVisio and What it is Solving "... That was a really interesting example of you think that this is all figured out even in pro leagues, and yet it really isn't..." Jason's Background "... if you had a choice between being born in a family with trust funds where your parents really don't care about you or being born in a hardscrabble family where the parents do care about you, choose the latter..." "... Human infants need nurturing and then beyond that, and when we're grown, we need a society around us that supports us ... This lack of connection is the biggest problem in America today..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, product

Losing and keeping off 100 pounds is hard. Having done it, Sal wants to convince you that you too can gain control of your weight. No drugs, no surgery, just new habits patiently created and reinforced. Sal's daughter Grace Daher conducted this frank interview. Highlights: Here's the Story of How Sal Daher Lost 100 Pounds with No Drugs and No Surgery –  You Can Do It Too Sal Introduces His Daughter Grace Daher Who Is Asking the Questions When Sal Was First Told He Needed to Lose Weight A Big 13-Year-Old on a 1,300 Calorie Diet – Misery! Early On It Was Evident that Sal Was Triggered by Food but His Brother William Was Not Sal Became More Active in College but Bad Diet Caused Weight Gain Lost Weight During Summer Break in Brazil – Less Eating More Moving Sal Was Fit in College, But Still Overweight – Did Not Realize the Burden He Was Carrying Around Sal Got Down to His Ideal Body Weight in His Mid 30s Out of Concern for His Blood Pressure Lost the Weight on the HMR Program – No Hunger – More Is Better How the Weight Came Back On – Grace Remembers Sal's Struggles HMR Program Turns Down Chance to Coach Oprah Winfrey Individually Because They Did Not Have Data to Support that Approach Attending Weekly Support Group Is Essential for Success Long Term – Alcoholics Anonymous Example Grace Was Shocked to See Sal's Weight Loss After the Isolation from COVID Sal Was Proud to Be Fat but Fit – His Doctor's Warnings Were Not for Fit People Like Him Being Overweight Has a Lot to Do with Genetics – We Have to Fight Our Genes A Painful Health Event Motivated Sal to Take the Weight Off for Good How the HMR Program Works The First Three Weeks Were Hard – Plenity Helped Maintaining Your Weight Loss Means Acquiring a Whole New Set of Habits The Multiple and Marvelous Benefits of Exercise There are No Magic Pills – Except Exercise The Importance of Human Connectedness in Weight Control Sal's Regrets for Not Having Taken Off the Weight Earlier Sal Is a Big Supporter of Statins “How are you managing to keep off those 100 pounds?” Committed to a Baseline of 10,000 Steps Per Day Highly Structured Eating Cool Facts About Coffee “Why Is getting sleep so important?” “…you need the support of a coach to help you work out those particulars…”

With minimal funding, Gloria Kolb and her husband Eric Kolb have created a device to treat urinary incontinence that has received a coveted clearance from the FDA. Elidah, their startup, expects to exceed $3 million in DTC sales this year. I really enjoyed this story of a couple bootstrapping a promising business together. Highlight: ·       Sal Daher, CFA Introduces Gloria Kolb, Co-Founder of Elidah ·       Elidah Is Solving Urinary Incontinence in Women – Device Induces Kegel Exercises ·      Just Got FDA Clearance for Overactive Bladder ·       “She only needs to wear it for 20 minutes a day, and then it turns off automatically.” ·       Differentiation from Other Devices: FDA Cleared for Incontinence ·       Randomized Control Trial Result: 75% of Women Experienced Statistically Significant Improvement ·       “It drives me crazy that women do wait so long and they don't tell anyone and they just deal with it for a long, long time. I think part of it is they don't think that there's any other good options for them.” ·       Seeking FDA Clearance for Over-the-counter Sales, Like Gelesis ·       Medicare Covers the Device ·       About 8,000 Customers Have Purchased ELITONE, Elidah's Device ·       “You have shocked me. I'm not easily shocked. That airline magazines will not talk about urinary incontinence.” ·       “It's not quite the razor blade model. It is definitely about the treatment kit, which cost the $400.” ·      Have Built Sales of $3 MM with Just $750K in Angel Funding Plus $1.8 MM in Grants ·       “A third of women have the issues, over the age of 30, but then you go to over the age of 50 and it's 1 out of 2.” ·       “It's actually the number one issue of why people entered nursing homes. “ ·       “To women out there, I just encourage them to get treated early.” ·       How You Can Help Podcasts Like Gloria's Be Found ·       Gloria Kolb Studied Engineering at MIT & Stanford, Worked at Johnson & Johnson then Got Her MBA at Babson ·       Wife-and-Husband Founding Team ·       “...over the counter doesn't mean it's less of a product. It is a medical device, regulated product that went through all the hoops.”

Spinal fractures from osteoporosis cause many to lose their independence. Industry veteran Dom Messerli has a better way of fixing the problem than the risky practice of injecting liquid epoxy into the spine. Using engineered human bone, Lenoss Medical is offering a treatment that is safer, effective and easier to administer than the current standard. Highlights: ·      Sal Daher, CFA Introduces Dom Messerli, Founder of Lenoss Medical ·      “Many times, the patients lose their independence when those fractures happen.” ·      Current Standard of Care is to Inject Liquid Epoxy into the Spine – What Could Go Wrong? ·      Liquid Epoxy Can Leak into Blood Vessels and Create Blockages ·      “When it's in the heart, usually what's prescribed is open heart surgery to take out the piece of cured cement out of the heart.” ·      Lenoss Medical's Solution: Engineered Human Bone Material to Build Up the Weakened Spine ·      Grafting of Same-Species Bone Material Is Decades Old – What's new Is Applying the Approach to Spinal Fractures ·      “...conducive for new bone formation.” ·      There's No Donor Matching or Donor Rejection Issue Since No Living Cells Are Implanted ·      Lenoss Medical Was the Subject of Dom's MBA Degree Project ·      Lenoss Medical Plans to Go to Market Via Distributors Specializing in Products for Spinal Treatments ·      The Argument for Hospitals Is Reducing Risk and Simplifying the Process ·      FDA Approval Process Was Relatively Low-Burden, Human Cell and Tissue Product Pathway ·      Dom Messerli's Immigrant Story ·      “Eventually, I was affected with the layoff. I was waiting for that day. The next day is when I started Lenoss Medical.” ·      “...I feel we can have a positive impact with these patients with osteoporosis and the spinal fractures. That drives me.”

A miserable New England day had avid cyclist Eric Janszen dreaming of better indoor riding. Together with co-founder Eric Malafeew, he launched VirZOOM which now has 40,000 users on its virtual reality platform with great engagement. Fascinating conversation about virtual games becoming sport. Highlights: ·      VirZOOM Gets Grant from Major VR Player for a Joint Development Project ·      Sal Daher Introduces Eric Janszen, Co-Founder of VirZOOM ·      Ongoing Crowdfunding Raise on StartEngine ·      VirZOOM Meets the Challenge of Helping People Enjoy Exercise ·      Technical Co-Founder Eric Malafeew Worked on Big Hits at Harmonix Music ·      VirZOOM Tech Lets Users to Do Cool Things Without Getting Motion Sickness ·      Broke Out of the Limitations Imposed by Being a Bike-Based Platform ·      “It sounds like you could actually play Quidditch on this.” ·      How the Pivot Came About ·      “Where we're heading is 100% without a bike.” ·      Making It a Sport Rather than a Game Has Huge Economic Consequences ·      Sal Speculates on the Possibility of VR Sport Slowing Cognitive Decline ·      “What gets us up in the morning is all of the reviews that we get from our customers...” ·      Average VirZOOM Customer Exceeds CDC Recommended Weekly Exercise ·      The Cost of Getting on VirZOOM Is Modest: $300 for the Quest Headset & $12 per Month

Caleb Wursten is an entrepreneurial prodigy who paid for college at Babson with a bike rental business. He's now building a platform to provide digital nomads with fractional ownership of properties in desirable locations. International business executive Jon Aboitiz joined as co-host. Highlights: ·       Sal Daher Introduces Co-Host Jon Aboitiz and Caleb Wursten, Founder of Worldhaus.co ·       “The pandemic unlocked this digital nomad lifestyle for millions of people.” ·       Getting Expensive to Be a Digital Nomad as Airbnb Prices Go Up ·       Fractional Ownership vs. Timeshares ·       Owning 1/13 of Properties in Desirable Locations via an LLC ·       “You're addressing a key factor, it seems, which is the cost of living and how to make it even more affordable...” ·       “The first property is a $220,000 condo in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.” ·       Can Choose Between Occupancy or Renting for Income ·       Comparison to Fractional Ownership of Yachts ·       Developers Are Responding to Demand from Digital Nomads with Attractive Designs ·       How Cobu Intersects with Worldhaus ·       “...we wanted it to be simple and scalable, so we can also expand to Portugal and Colombia, Thailand easily...” ·       Examples of Exciting New Communities: Culdesac and Las Catalinas ·       Property Developers Can Be Remarkably Inventive ·       “They don't need to put up with the $3,000 rent for an isolating experience in a hundred-year-old house.” ·       “It's not so much that Gen Z doesn't want home ownership, it's that no one can afford home ownership...” ·       “I was super lucky in that both my parents are small business entrepreneurs...” ·       Caleb Wursten's Bike Rental Business Paid for Babson ·       “Then in that time I got a couple rental properties, which is also a common theme with digital nomads...” ·       Real Estate Developers Are Already Designing Projects for Digital Nomads ·       “For, let's say $4,000, you can now own a season, an entire season in Bulgaria.” ·       Jon Aboitiz's Parting Thoughts Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, platform Title: Worldhaus.co

Angel investor John Williams comes from a background of leadership in sales and marketing in Big Pharma. He puts his experiences to work in helping his portfolio companies which include Lenoss Medical, Elidah and Eflex Energy. John's affable personality made this really a fun chat.   Highlights:   ·      Sal Daher Introduces Angel Investor John Williams ·      Elidah – Solving Postpartum Incontinence ·      Gloria Kolb of Elidah Embodies Howard Stevenson's Definition of the Startup Founder ·      Lenoss Medical: Better Treatment for Fractures of the Spine Due to Aging ·      “...a guy who's 63 years old made the cut at the Masters this weekend. They [seniors] have higher expectations...” ·      No More Heart Attacks in 40 Year Olds Thanks to Statin Drugs Controlling Blood Lipids ·      “It's also fun to watch pitches. Because you're like, "Wow."” ·      Robotic Gloves Keep popping Up in Sal's Angel Investing Career ·      Eflex Energy: Load Management for Your Home Backup Power ·      “I would have been able to manage my energy and my battery for five days with my phone if I had one of these connected digital circuit breakers in my home.” ·      How John Williams Started His Angel Investing ·      Became an Angel Investor but Never Watched Shark Tank ·      Interesting Startups That Have Pitched at Walnut Ventures Recently ·      John Williams' Parting Thoughts Topics: angel investing strategies, management, portfolio

The loss of two grandmothers to cancer propelled the daughter of an entrepreneurial family, Stephanie Culler, to a Ph.D. at Caltech and eventually to founding Persephone Microbiome. The VC-funded startup seeks to use gut bacteria to increase the success of cancer therapies. Persephone is also launching a probiotic for infants. Fascinating chat with a brilliant and articulate scientific founder. Highlights: ·       Sal Daher Introduces Stephanie Culler, Ph.D. Co-Founder of Persephone Microbiome ·       Persephone's Business Model Is to Partner with Big Pharma to Develop Products Based on Its Platform ·       A Probiotic for Babies and Infants Is Coming in Early 2024 ·       Results from the Largest Study in the US of Infant Gut Microbiome Were Unsettling ·       Causes of Insufficiencies in the Gut Biome of Babies ·       “Upwards of 80% of cells of our immune system is in our gut.” ·       “...if you have a good microbiome, you're much more likely to respond to treatment.” ·       “We are wet lab and in silico.” ·       How Persephone Got Funded ·       The Importance of Enrolling Populations Previously Under-represented in Studies ·       The Promise of Population-Scale Data Sets ·       Scanning Large Patient Populations Unencumbered by Animal Studies ·       Why You Should Help This Podcast Get Found ·       Stephanie Culler, Ph.D.'s Entrepreneurial Journey ·       Entrepreneurial Family that Lost Two Grandmothers to Cancer ·       Sal's Appreciation of Articulate Chemical Engineers Like Stephanie ·       Stephanie's Experience at Y Combinator ·       How Stephanie Culler Connected with Leen Kawas ·       Stephanie's Parting Thoughts on Biotech Winter Topics: biotech, robotics / AI, venture funding, discovering entrepreneurship  

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Fiza Shaukat founded Patient First.AI to make a difference in the healthcare systems in areas outside the US, such as Pakistan. She decided to create a platform which would allow patients to keep their healthcare data on a digital health card. This card would make the check-in process much faster and efficient.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights:   Sal Daher Introduces Fiza Shaukat "...How PatientFirst.AI is creating value for patients in places where right now there's no really easy way except for a wad of notes, a notebook, to keep track from visit to visit..." "... You see all the digitization happening over there, but why don't you have the same seamless experience within healthcare? That's what we want to enable with this digital health card. They'll go at a clinic and they scan their digital health card or a QR code, and as soon as they scan that in, they basically are checked in..." The Patient First Business Model Next Steps for Patient  First Fiza's Entrepreneurial Journey Familial Role Models for Entrepreneurship "... Somehow a brother and sister you have known each other for your whole life, so chances are you're going to get along more or less. Whereas husband and wife sometimes it can be you've known each other for three years and the stress of founding a company together can be very painful..."   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, robotics/AI, founding story

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Yousof Naderi, professor at Northeastern University, is co-founder of DeepCharge, which is commercializing a new technology for charging batteries without cables. Intriguing look at how our lives could change as our devices are untethered.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights:   Sal Daher Introduces Yousof Naderi What DeepCharge is Solving "... In a case of the wireless charging, DeepCharge has selected and carefully from the beginning are working in a non-radiative technology, which means it's just coil by coil..." How DeepCharge Came About "... Also, there is this piece of sustainability that we can't go through all that, but we think that working with enterprise is really going to help us in our mission, also, to build a wire-free sustainable future..." "... Now, to go to the next level, we feel that this is a right timing to look at the strategic investor and partner that can stay, share our vision, and be able to provide resources and help to make this success for everybody..." The Future of DeepCharge Yousof's Immigrant Story Why Yousof Started DeepCharge Advice to the Audience "... I think one of the biggest pivots was just that type of technology that they use..."   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, product

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   The deep experience Carolina Alarco has gained in the biotech industry now informs her work as an advisor to startups and as an angel investor. Her incisive contributions at Walnut Ventures made me eager to learn more about her story and approach.    Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Carolina Alarco SYTE.bio and What it is Solving SYTE.bio Founders' Backgrounds Why Invest in SYTE.bio? Verbina Latinos in Bio "... I do want to say that Latinos in Bio will be raising awareness of some lack of representation of Latinos in the industry..." Carolina's Background "... I came up in the '90s. I came to study a graduate degree in International Management Harvard..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, discovering entrepreneurship

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Chris Selland works at Squark.AI, a startup company that uses AI and machine learning with customer data from things such as games and delivery services to help with predictions of delivery time.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Chris Selland Squark AI and What It's Solving "... All of those types of predictions is essentially what we do with the model. Now, we do have some other customers using us for other purposes. For instance, a very large package delivery firm is using us, actually, for prediction of packages that might be late..." "... This, I think, highlights really the importance of networking and staying in touch with people that you've worked with successfully. Make sure that you stay in touch with them because you will have that twice annual conversation that you might have with someone that you worked two companies back with..." Squark in the Gaming Industry The Future of Squark Advice to the Audience   Topics: discovering entrepreneurship, founding story, robotics/AI  

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Mike Nolan is an angel investor specializing in machine learning. As an officer in the Air Force he trained fighter pilots on F-15s. Mike relates the opportunities offered by graduate work at MIT both professionally and in investing. Fun chat with a buddy from Walnut and a listener to the podcast.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Mike Nolan Piction Health and Machine Learning "... we don't frequently see companies that are on the bleeding edge of the academic research or the bleeding edge of what's going on and the top presentations at conferences and so forth, but that's okay..." The Capabilities of Machine Learning In the Health Field Mike Nolan's Background "... You got to picture this beautiful country, the White Sands, New Mexico, close by, and so forth, and here's this chimp running away from this 10-mile-long sled track..." "... They're highly creative people in a highly regimented situation. They are people who think in very creative ways, and so forth, and they have big personalities ... I suspect that there is a lot of room for creativity with fighter pilots..." "... Yes, things can go wrong, whether you're a founder or a pilot..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, robotics/AI

What founders and investors in startups need to know about the history of bankruns and how to protect themselves from them in the future. Here's the text on which my talk was based: Historical Perspective on SVB's Failure for Investors & Founders  This is Sal Daher of the Angel Invest Boston podcast. Prior to becoming an investor in tech startups, I spent decades as a banker and trader involved with the distressed debt of countries. My experience came in handy recently in allowing me to reassure the startups in my portfolio with deposits at SVB that the FDIC would have no option but to make all depositors whole.  This piece aims to explain why the business model of banks and past government decisions precluded any other options. It also points to ways that founders can manage deposit risk. While it bothers me to see well-off people bailed out by the taxpayer, it is the necessary if imperfect course of action until we make structural changes to hold bank management more accountable. Why was I so certain in my assurances? Because financial authorities in the US and other countries had learned a hard lesson back when Lehman Brothers (not a deposit-taking bank) was allowed to fail in September of 2008. Lehman's bankruptcy set off an inevitable chain of events that led to the meltdown of the market for credit risk insurance.  This revealed pervasive rot in financial instruments widely held by institutions starved for yields. Thus began the Sub-Prime Crisis that ruined millions and blighted the career of so many of my colleagues in finance for nearly a decade.  The hard lesson learned was that when a financial panic gets going it's impossible to tell where it will stop. The term contagion is apt. Financial authorities understood the need to take prompt steps to reassure investors not to make irrational moves that could impoverish us all. Back in 2008 they ended up taking over banks which created lasting distortions, some of which are still with us today.  While the circumstances of SVB's failure are different from Lehman's, the fundamental lesson of maintaining the orderly functioning of financial markets still applies. If the FDIC had stuck strictly to its $250K deposit insurance limit (which BTW had been $100K until the Lehman event) chaos would have ensued. Depositors everywhere would have immediately started spreading any holding in excess of $250K to other banks to avoid the possibility of loss and could have melted down the entire banking system. An impaired banking system would have resulted in hundreds of thousands of companies going under and millions of people losing their jobs. So, preventing financial panic is a public service for the entire population. It's comparable to the fire department. Fire brigades were set up to prevent individual house fires from spreading and burning down entire neighborhoods. There is a fundamental flaw in the business model of banks. Banks lend long and borrow short. Borrowers want to repay banks months or years into the future. Depositors usually are not willing to tie up their money for more than a few months. This creates a mismatch between the maturity of loans made by banks (assets) and deposits taken by banks (liabilities). The delicate balance between assets and liabilities is hard to achieve. This is why banks keep cash reserves on hand, i.e., they don't lend out all their deposits. They also have short-term borrowing lines with other banks or the Federal Reserve to make sure they have cash meet all their obligations.  But if enough depositors decide that a bank is impaired, even the soundest bank would not be able to meet the demand for immediate payment without outside help. This is the role the FDIC has come to play. A role with which I am not entirely comfortable, but as we have seen, is essential as things stand.  Many argue that unlimited deposit guarantee removes the incentive from depositors to vet a banks' books. In the absence of this vetting there is a natural temptation for banks to take all the risk possible with depositor's money because if things go well the bank's shares will go up and the management will get bonuses. This moral hazard of deposit guarantees is supposedly mitigated by regulations that limit how much a bank can lend and impose minimum capital requirements.   Unfortunately, the regulations failed in the case of SVB. The bank appeared to meet its capital requirements but when depositors started to draw out money, it started to sell its reserves. This prompted changes as to how assets were valued and put it suddenly in default of capital requirements. This led to a failed attempt to raise more equity in the stock market. One moment SVB seemed fine, the next moment it was on the rocks. Bank books are complicated beyond the ability of even the most sophisticated depositor to figure out. The idea of savvy depositors keeping banks honest is fanciful. The only parties who have any hope of knowing enough about what's going on in the bank are its management and its board of directors. I support making bank directors and senior management personally liable if a federal rescue is needed.  So, what's a founder to do when holding more than $250,000 in cash? One thing to consider is to have the funds in more than one bank, if only to avoid a sleepless weekend as so many founders experienced recently. But that only gets you up to protecting $500,000 or $750,000. Another option to consider is putting funds into money market funds held by Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard. Funds held in custody for a beneficiary are legally protected from claims against the entity. This does not mean that there is no risk. Even safe money market instruments may lose value in times of stress, but the exposure to any one entity is much less concentrated. There's always the risk of fraud or unauthorized trades but those are not usually system-wide and the entities usually make good on those. Founders are in the business of sailing in uncharted waters. However, many of the risks that threaten a startup are known to accountants and board members. My advice is to bring up the matter of risk with your CFO and your board. If you don't have one it's time you found at least a fractional CFO and functioning board.  If found this brief piece useful I invite you to follow Angel Invest Boston on your podcast app. Thanks for listening. This is Sal Daher.  

A common sports injury left Rick McMullen incapacitated. His search for recovery led to the founding of Alleviate, a platform for physical therapy that is finding a lot of satisfied users. Thanks to Bryanne Leeming for introducing Rick to me. ·      Sal Daher Explains Why He Came Off the Sidelines to Invest in Alleviate ·      Rick McMullen, Co-Founder of Alleviate, Has the Ideal Background to Build Such a Company ·      Investing from a Self-Directed IRA Is High-Burden ·      The Problem Alleviate Is Solving ·      People Often Quit Before Physical Therapy Begins to Work ·      College Athletes Have a Lot of Support; When They Graduate There's Nobody to Advise them on Recovering from Injuries ·      Alleviate Aims to Fill the Gap in the Delivery of Physical Therapy in the US ·      “With all of these conditions, you've got to do the work [to get better].” ·      Atomic Habits by James Clear ·      Alleviate Is Getting Traction ·      Alleviate's Revenue Is Cash-Flow Positive ·      Product Returns Are Learning Opportunities ·      Clayton Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma ·      “...the specific subset of musculoskeletal pathologies that we serve. You can call it a niche, but it's like a $10 billion niche.” ·      Rick McMullen's Journey to Founding a Startup ·      “...this central idea that the golden rule is the most economically rational thing.” ·      Why Rick McMullen Is Focused on Capital Efficiency ·      Parting Thought from Rick McMullen Topics: product, management, discovering entrepreneurship Title: Physical Therapy That Works

Fintech founder and angel Aidan Yeaw discusses building and investing in companies such as NODE40 and Unruly Studios. Great chat with a Walnut colleague. Highlights: ●      Sal Daher Introduces Aidan Yeaw ●      NODE40 ●      NODE40 Founding Story ●      Unruly Studios ●      "... The other component to it is that they're programming, but they're doing physical movement, physical exercise, large motor, physical exercise, running around, jumping up and down, and so forth because kids are too sedentary..." ●      How Aidan Came to Angel Investing ●      "... There's an ecosystem of small-scale venture capitalists that are growing, but the opportunities are so numerous, and the venture capitalists are so few, that they're an excess of opportunities, and a lack of funding, a lack of capacity to address this..." ●      CoolSculpting ●      Aidan's Career Journey in Fintech ●      Advice to the Audience Topics: fin tech, angel investing strategies, crypto Title: Founder & Angel

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Jay DeVivo's angel investing ranges far from his insurance background. Here we discuss his involvement with startups such as Hubly Surgical, FleetNurse, and ApprentiScope. Fun chat with a lively guest.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights:   Sal Daher Introduces Jay DeVivo Hubly Surgical "... The advantage for Hubly is that doctors don't need to learn any new skills. It's pressing a button and in fact, there'll be a wider swath of clinicians that'll be able to use it than can use the current hand crank drill..." FleetNurse "... See, that's the thing with Angel investors. They may be new to Angel Investing, they're not new to business..." ApprentiScope How Jay DeVivo Came to Angel Investing "... It's really tough as an investor because you're not controlling things. You're along for the ride..." Jay's Career Journey "... Later on, I did some strategy work for larger companies as well. I started that business right before business school and then I consulted all through business school and things were good, so I did it for two years after business school..." "... It's like in the third ring out from there is where the jobs live. Basically, what you need to do is talk to a lot of people and do informational conversations, low pressure, just talk and you say, 'Hey, this is what I used to do. This is what I'm interested in'..." Advice to the Audience   Topics: angel investing strategies, biotech, product

Angel Scale Biotech: Learn More   Leen Kawas PhD, managing general partner at Propel Bio Partners, invests in life science companies such as Persephone Biosciences and Inherent Bio that promise immediate benefits for humanity. An uplifting chat with a dynamic VC and founder.   Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.   Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Leen Kawas What Propel Bio Partners Does Persephone Biosciences "... It's a pipeline for probiotics. They're starting with infant probiotics..." "... is anybody else working in the space of microbiome for babies? I haven't seen this..." Inherent Bio "... That's what Inherent is working on. They have identified an epigenetic signature that has the ability to better predict pregnancy outcome with men..." "...What is the profile of the kind of company that you find attractive in public markets now...?" Advice to the Audience Leen Kawas' Immigrant Story "... I want to tell entrepreneurs that are out there, no is typically not no. Just keep that in mind..." "... I just want to tell the entrepreneurs out there, you tell your own story, you work on your mission, you define your why. Keep going and you'll be successful..." Topics: building wealth, management, raising money