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Angel Invest Boston — Entrepreneurship
Angel Invest Boston

Boston exports ideas and imports money. The city’s unique concentration of academic talent and entrepreneurial culture is renowned for creating powerful new technologies and companies. These ideas and companies attract smart money from around the globe. This podcast surveys the companies that venture capitalists and strategic investors will be courting in a few years.

I’m Sal Daher, host of the Angel Invest Boston Podcast. After immigrating to Boston as a child and attending Belmont High School, I studied engineering at MIT and Stanford. Decades of work in international finance followed. During that time, I invested in a handful of ventures founded by friends and acquaintances. Now, I’m a member of Walnut Ventures and MIT Angels and spend most of my time as an angel investor. Startups in my portfolio include: SQZ Biotech, Gelesis, Akili Interactive, Vedanta Biosciences, FineTune Learning, Concrete Sensors, Squadle, doDoc, Pixability, Mavrck, Viral Gains, Streamroot, XMOS, Alice’s Table and others. Exits include: Exos (Microsoft), Rifiniti (KKR) and PIKA Energy (Generac).

Latest Episodes:

SQZ's IPO bears out Armon Sharei's vision of empowering cells to change lives. Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

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SQZ's successful IPO validates the vision laid out by Armon Sharei, PhD in this interview recorded two years ago. In accessible language, this genius founder explains the approach that has big strategic players excited. SQZ is the model I have in mind when I invest in biotech companies. Find out why.

Armon Sharei wants to train our immune system to fight cancer. We hear a lot of claims like this, however when a mega-pharmaceutical company like Roche inks a $500 million deal to work on it, we pay attention. At age 29, Armon convinced not only Roche but gimlet-eyed VCs to back him. How did he do this? How did he go from a boy living in Iran to being one of the stars of MIT’s storied Langer Lab?

Part of Armon’s secret is the ability to explain thickly complex ideas in accessible language that does not over simplify. He is that rarest of creatures, a scientist of the first rank who speaks lucidly and acts practically. I am grateful that Armon took time out from curing cancer to share his experiences with us in this inspiring interview.

If you are a scientist thinking of founding a company or an investor thinking of investing in a biotech startup you could learn a lot by listening to this interview with Armon Sharei and then going to AngelInvestBoston.com searching under the biotech topic.

Among the topics covered are:

Armon Sharei Bio
Childhood Spent in Iran & Dubai, Finished High School in Marin County
Why Armon Sharei Wanted to Be a Scientist
Why Leave Edenic Bay Area for Purgatorial Boston?
SQZ Technology Comes from Failed Attempt to Shoot Genetic Materials into Cells
How the Idea of Starting a Company Came About
“I think one of the main examples, which is kind of the subject we've been pursuing most deeply at the company in two different projects, is the idea of telling the immune system what to target in the context of cancer”.
SQZ Technology Excels at Getting Protein Fragments into Cells – Very Promising Method of Training Our Immune System to Fight Cancer
Sal Asks Listeners to Subscribe & Review on iTunes – Podcast Has Great Guests & Sound
Biotech Fundraising Is Hard – Armon Sharei’s Advice on Fundraising
Armon Sharei Finds a Lead Investor for His Angel Round
SQZ Biotech’s Pivot from Selling their Tech as a Tool to Looking for Therapies
“…over 70 or 80% of scientists want to put stuff into cells for some reason. I think aside from looking under a microscope there's nothing that they want to do more”.
Therapy Research Is Risky, But Tool Business Was Harder Than It Looked, Besides Armon Really Wanted to Do Science
The Board Was Essential in the Pivot from Being a Tool Company to Becoming a Therapy Company
How Does a 29-Year-old Negotiate a $500 Million Deal with a Major Corporation?
Hiring the Right People Is the Most Important Thing a Founder Does, Look for Cultural Fit

Senan Ebrahim, Founder - Hikma Health Nov 04, 2020

Show notes

The disrupted life of refugees keeps them from having good medical records. Med student Senan Ebrahim decided to do something about it and succeeded. Listen to the story of Hikma Health and of its promising founder.

Senan Ebrahim grew up in Silicon Valley but he experienced the Syrian refugee crisis via his grandmother. When he became interested in the problem of refugee health his initial solution was laughably unsuited to real life. Contact with health care workers serving the refugee population allowed Senan to zero in on a high-impact solution that is now serving 50,000 displaced people and is set to grow.

Beth Marcus - Startup Doc Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

There's no guest quite like Beth Marcus. She's founded a bunch of companies and has learned tons from it. I recommend this interview to founders and those who are thinking about becoming founders.

Wade Lange - Startups at Purdue Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

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Purdue wants to be Startup U. They are already the #3 university in the US for producing startups, right behind MIT and Columbia. One of my favorite companies, Savran Technologies, came out of Purdue. I spoke with Wade Lange of Purdue Foundry, responsible for promoting startups at Purdue. Several interesting Purdue startups were discussed.

Highlights:

Sal Daher Welcomes Listeners and Introduces Wade Lange from Purdue Foundry
Wade Lange Was Introduced by Çağrı Savran of “One Cell in a Billion” Fame
On Savran Tech: “It's a promising technology. I mean, it's all about capturing really, really rare cells.”
Purdue, being a Land Grant College Combines and Excellent School of Agriculture with a Top Engineering Program
“…good news for Purdue. We were ranked number three in the country in the number of startup companies in the period of 2008 to 2018 behind your own MIT and Columbia…”
“We called it Firestarter, it's a nine week-long program, pretty intense, but it really is kind of the basics of business.”
DDX Accelerator Program – All About Identifying & Removing Obstacles
“Marc Andreessen said it some years ago that software is eating the world. It actually now is biotech that's eating the world.”
Professor Phillip Low, Founder of Endocyte, Launching an Antiviral Company
SpeechVive Helps Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Communicate Reliably
Spensa Technologies Is Applying Machine Vision to Identifying Insects, Weeds and Other Problems in Agriculture
Perceive Inc. Helps Retailers Identify Patterns in Stores
Sal Daher Talks About His Investment Syndicate
Wade Lange’s Entrepreneurial Journey
“I would rather be a big fish in a small pond was my thinking. So, I joined a startup was started by a couple of faculty members, at Purdue.”
How Wade Lange Came to the Purdue Foundry
“Purdue’s President Daniels wants Purdue to be known as startup U, okay.”
Sal Daher Makes a Plug for Purdue as a Great Place to Be an Undergrad
“…my connection to Çağrı came because of my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law is a patent attorney at Fish and Richardson.”
“…founding entrepreneurs who have deep relationships with 25 other founders, 10 industry experts, and eight investors. They had double the revenue growth of founders who didn't.”
Wade Lange on the Advantages of Growing Your Startup Near Purdue

Jeff Behrens, PhD - Why You're Wrong About Biotech Funding Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

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Jeff Behren's doctoral dissertation suggests that life science startups are not funded the way we all think. Listen to our discussion of his work and learn why he believes we have to revise what is taught to founders about raising money.

Highlights:

Sal Daher Welcomes Jeff Behrens Back on the Podcast to Discuss His Findings on Biotech Funding
“We published papers. We had a world class SAB, and ultimately, we sold these drugs. So, during that, you'd think, "Well, we should be able to raise venture capital." We never could.”
The Conventional Wisdom about How Life Science Startups Are Funded
Casma Therapeutics as an Example of a Startup Born Inside a Venture Firm
“There was no Lisa and Joe… There [was] no outside founders. This was born inside the venture firm.”
Jeff’s Research Result: Only 8% of All Startups Follow Path of Angel Funding Then VC Funding
Jeff’s Research Result: For Biotech Startups, 4.5% of those that Started with Angel Money Got VC Funding
“So, it's almost like these are two distinct entrepreneurial streams that don't intermingle very much.”
Angel Investors Should Not Expect Future Rounds to Come from VCs – Should Think About How to Fund Future Rounds in the Absence of VC Money
"Well, we want to have fewer new companies and more companies that we invest longer and heavier and over time."
Jeff’s Research Result: In a Decade VC-Started Biotechs Went from Taking 20% of Funded Deals to Taking 80%
The Big Biotech VCs Don’t Take Pitches from Outside Companies Anymore
Only 3% Funding Goes to the Scrappy Biotechs Who Were Not VC-Founded or Did Not Have Famous Founders
Scrappy Biotech Startups Need to Draw a Credible Path that Does Not Include VC Funding
Corporate Venture Groups Created to Allow Big Players to Look at New Technologies
Being Funded by a Corporate VC Does Not Seem to Increase the Chances of a Venture Being Acquired
Trends Among Life-Science VCs Vary Geographically: Boston, NY vs. West Coast
“We never take pitches” – Dave Berry - Partner - Flagship Pioneering
Accelerators, Business Schools, Advisors Need to Revise their Ideas about Funding of Biotech Startups
“So, it is true that Polaris is probably... Of these companies that are doing venture creation, they're probably more balanced than the others.”
Path Dependency of Funding
“…unfortunately, great science can languish unfunded.”
Parting Thoughts from Jeff Behrens, PhD

Eilon Shalev - Elphi: Hacking Mortgages Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

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Mortgage origination is a massive business deeply stuck in the past. Proof: in 2020 it still takes an average of 45 days to approve a mortgage. Israeli founder Eilon Shalev and his buddies from MIT Sloan School aim to change all that with their startup Elphi.

Highlights:

Sal Daher Welcomes Listeners & Introduces Eilon Shalev of Elphi
What Elphi Does
The Non-Linearity of Mortgage Applications Is a Huge Problem – Average Time to Approval: 45 Days
“We have a paying customer and the software is live today with that lender. That lender is a non-depository mortgage lender, which means it is not a bank.”
The Current State of the Mortgage Origination Business
A Shout out to Sonal Singh of Spatio Metrics for Connecting Sal Daher and Eilon Shalev
The Founding Story of Elphi
Why University Tuition Is So Astronomically High
How Eilon Shalev Shifted His Focus from Student Financing to Mortgages
“I was obligated to just try to choose the most problematic problem I can find from that large industry and try to solve it.”
The Elphi Team
Sal Daher Plugs His Investment Syndicate
Eilon Shalev’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Parting Thoughts from Eilon Shalev
“…one of the main reasons that there was no innovation in that particular space for those particular problems is the high barriers to entry. Once you overcome those barriers to entry, you are that kid in a candy shop…”

Matt Fates, VC & Angel Investor Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

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Tech VC Matt Fates of Ascent Venture Partners talks about his portfolio and his investing career and ponders becoming more active as an angel investor. A frank and informative conversation with a delightful guest.

Highlights:

Sal Daher Welcomes Listeners & Introduces Matt Fates, Venture Capitalist
Matt Fate’s VC Portfolio: Connected2Fiber
“The power of connectivity is becoming strategic again as most of your software applications reside outside of your four walls. The need for this intelligence, the need for this data has just become absolutely mission critical for that industry. So, they're growing rapidly.”
Vee24
“I would say Vee24 is really that next level of very professional interaction…”
Augmented Reality (AR) as a Tool for Online Engagement
Matt Fates’ and Sal Daher’s Investment in Streamroot
The VC Industry Is Focusing on Fewer & Bigger Deals – Leaving Many Interesting Companies Behind
Finding the Holy Grail
Sal Daher Makes a Pitch for His Syndicate List
“That wasn't luck. That was Ernie, my boss, telling me, "There's nothing you're going to be able to do to convince me to make another investment in this environment. It's too crazy.”
Paths to Becoming a VC
Parting Thoughts from Matt Fates

David Glazer - Biotech Deal Wiz Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

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Unlike software startups that can scale with minimal resources, biotech startups need frequently to rely on collaborations with big strategic players to get to scale. This is an interview with one of the top attorneys in arranging such deals, David Glazer of Morgan Lewis. I learned much from David; I hope you will too.

Highlights:

Sal Daher Introduces David Glazer of Morgan Lewis, the Biotech Deal Wiz
Why Collaborations with Strategic Partners Are So Necessary for Biotech Startups
Sal Connected with David by Courtesy of Armon Sharei of SQZ Biotech; David Advised SQZ on the $1.3 Billion Roche Deal
Collaborations May Last Ten or Twenty Year; Picking the Right Partner is Crucial
A Strategic Partner Can Be Immensely Valuable with Dealing with the Complexities & Cost of Getting a Compound of Technology to Market
Strategics Offer Clinical, Regulatory & Commercial Expertise Startups Lack
“You got one partner signed up and then the dominoes start to fall, it provides a validation.”
The Topics that Dominate the Discussions Between Biotech Startups and Strategic Partners
The Tradeoffs Central to the Negotiations
An Important Metric of Biotech Deals Is Elucidated
Picking Mechanisms Determine Who Takes the Lead in Which Circumstance
Reward Follows Risk in Biotech Deals
“Careful what you ask for when you're the biotech company…” – The Law of Unintended Consequences
Collaborations Can Give Startups the Capacity to Develop Their Own Internal Projects
Resources from Collaborations Can Help Startups Mature Their Tech
“I would say I spend about 50% of my time with the pharmaceutical, the strategic players, and about 50% with biotechs.”
Since They Represent both Biotechs & Strategics, Morgan Lewis Has a Good Sense of What Motivates the Players and What Deals Can Get Done
How Deals Go Awry
Sal Daher Puts in a Plug for His Syndicate List
How David Glazer Became a Biotech Deal Maker
“…then in 2000, the [tech] bubble popped and I ended up spending almost all of my time working for the pharmaceutical and biotech companies back in the day.”
How the Acquisition of One of His Clients Expanded David Glazer’s Network
Morgan Lewis Has Afforded David Glazer the Opportunity to Do Interesting Pro Bono Work
David Glazer’s Closing Advice to Biotechnology Companies Thinking About Collaborations
“…I've always found it helpful to have a champion at the pharmaceutical company who is very interested in your deal.”

Fred Bamber - Tech VC Becomes an Angel Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

Join Sal's Investment Syndicate: Click Here

As a venture capitalist Fred Bamber helped build such successful companies as Interleaf, Q1 Labs and Volt Server. Now working as an angel investor Fred is invested such exciting companies as SQZ Biotech, Pixability, ViralGains and Streamroot (exited). In his self-effacing and modest way, Fred reveals deep wisdom gained from 75 investments in his career as a VC.

Topics include:

Fred Bamber Finds His Career Path
Avoiding the Military Draft Led Him to Work for His First Startup
Fred Bamber & Friend Found a Venture Fund – Consulting vs. Venture Capital
IPOs Then & Now
Investment in Interleaf Makes His First Fund a Success!
Two Ways of Connecting in the World of Venture Capital – Via Success & Via Failure
Several Losing Investments in Companies Seeking to Exploit the Piezoelectric Effect
Themes In Angel Investing – Investing in Brand New Fields i.e. White Spaces
‘…Oracle has a huge go-to-market cost, and engineering is a tiny bit of it.’
Technology Causing Convergence of Consumer & Enterprise Businesses
Startups with Jeff Weiss - The Perils of Being Early – Early Augmented Reality (AR)
Rich Lane & Reflection Technology – Augmented Reality-like – Projecting Text into the Eye
Progress of Technology Is Painful – “Thread Across The Ocean” by John Steele Gordon
Michael Lewis & Drama in Business – Paul English & “A Truck Full of Money”
Paul English Finds His Inner Entrepreneur after Interleaf
Robert P. Smith & “Riches Among the Ruins” – Not Made for Working In Large Companies
VCs Should Be Humble
Fred Bamber Talks About His Investment in Volt Server
Uber & Washington, D.C. Cabs
Peter Thiel’s Critique of Entrepreneurship – “We Were Promised Flying Cars and We Got 140 Characters”
SQZ Biotech & Massachusetts Materials Technology
What Fred Bamber Looks For In a Startup – Technology, Coachability, Tenacity, Openess – VC vs Angel
Startups Should Report Frequently – Reports Should Tie In to Previous Reports i.e. Close the Loop
Angel Investor Should Be Father Confessor without the Ave Marias
Bettina Hein & Pixability – Example of Determination Combined with Openess
Beth Marcus’ Test For Listening
Fred Bamber’s Suggestion of the Perfect Number of Angel Investments in a Portfolio
Why Sal Daher Is Invested In About 42 Companies
The Role of a Board of Directors – Father Confessor
Fred Bamber’s Favorite Pivot – Q1 Labs (IBM)
Fred Bamber Also Like Streamroot’s Pivots
Q1 Labs Pivot Runs Counter the Received Wisdom of Startups Needing a Narrow Focus to Succeed
“Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey A. Moore
“Why Knowledge Matters” by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.

Derek Canton, Founder and CEO - Paerpay: Contactless Pay at the Table" Sep 09, 2020

Show notes

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Young founder Derek Canton was obsessed with making restaurant payments frictionless. COVID scrambled his product plans but opened up a huge opportunity to provide contactless payment. Throughout lockdown Paerpay has gotten traction for its text-driven payment system which is a perfect fit for the times.

Highlights:

Sal Introduces Founder Derek Canton of Paerpay
What Paerpay Does
How Paerpay Makes Money
The Competition is Device-Centric, Paerpay Is Software that Runs on Legacy Devices
How the Paerpay Solution Is Implemented
A Possible Collaboration with Squadle?
Derek Canton Has Ambitions Beyond the Restaurant Space for Paerpay
Sal’s Pitch for His Investment Syndicate
Derek Canton’s Discovery that He Was an Entrepreneur
Derek’s Dad Gives Him “The Talk” About Entrepreneurship
“But I tell people it's the most rewarding, most painful experience you can have, being an entrepreneur, but candidly I'm addicted to it, man. I love it.”
“…on a personal side was as simple as do what you love and if your dream doesn't scare you, it's not big enough.”
“…the first times in history where operators are thinking about contactless payments being the number one way of form of accepting payments, period, period. That's never happened before.”
“…a few months from now the world is going to be completely different. And so, for the first time in history, we have this opportunity to really help shape what that world looks like. And our tech is doing it already and it's been incredible.”
How Derek Canton Got His Co-Founder Alan Inacio – How They Seized the Opportunity for Contactless Payments Created by COVID
“…, if you are a founder and you're looking for a problem to solve, now's the perfect time to be able to do that. The world is quickly changing…”

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