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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:

Ben Littauer, Founder and Angel Investor - #1 Fundraising Mistake Sep 02, 2020

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Ben Littauer travelled an unlikely path from philosophy to communications technology. He brings to life the exciting turns in his careers as founder and angel investor. In his light-hearted style, Ben provides a thoughtful tour of Boston’s angel scene in this episode that ranges over many topics including equity crowdfunding. In particular, he explains what leads founders to make the worst fund-raising mistake of all. The philosopher’s clarity of thought and the engineer’s practicality are in evidence.

Klaudyne Hong, Founder - AI Improving Clinical Outcomes Aug 26, 2020

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The sense of purpose and focus that led Klaudyne Hong to do her PhD at MIT in two years helped her turn a chance comment during a fly-fishing trip into a groundbreaking startup. Peach IntelliHealth is building AI for acute medical care. Her project was seeded by the Government of Singapore where she found great help in building her data set. She’s now seeking FDA approval.

Highlights include:

Sal Daher Introduces Klaudyne Hong, PhD, Founder of Peach Intellihealth
What Peach Intellihealth Does
Peach Intellihealth’s AI Can Predict a Patient’s Response to Treatment
The Founding Story of Peach Intellihealth
“So, if you don't remember anything about what I say today, remember the next point. It's the highlight of the show, okay? I actually caught two striped bass that morning.”
“And we started then doing a historical analysis, and we realized that our algorithms actually fit that data very nicely.”
Peach’s AI Got Regulatory Approval in Singapore – Now Replicating Pivotal Study in the U.S.
“Sepsis, by the way, is the most expensive health care condition, hospitalized condition, in the U.S.”
“If someone's going to go into cardiac arrest, and you know it several hours in advance, you can make a huge difference.”
Current Status of Peach Intellihealth
Funding for Peach Intellihealth – the Government of Singapore Came in as a Seed Investor
“I grew up in Singapore, and I left when I was relatively young. So, I was as an undergrad in California.”
Her Favorite Show “Cheers” Showed Boston in Such a Good Light that Klaudyne Chose to Apply to MIT
“…my thesis…was about controlling gene expression for gene therapy applications.”
Klaudyne’s Two-Year PhD
“I drew him a picture of this DNA that was wearing cowboy boots, and somehow told him it's all about the cowboy boot being a gene therapy vector. And somehow, he understood what I was saying. He said, "Yeah, come join me in the lab."”
Klaudyne Hong’s Entrepreneurial Journey
After J&J Klaudyne Consulted but Found It Unrewarding, Lacking Ownership – Enter Entrepreneurship
Peach Benefitted from the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Singapore that Allowed the Rapid Acquisition of Patient Data
“But I find that the larger the company, sometimes the slower things can be, because I think they call way too many meetings that you have to attend.”
“They see that you have this passion. And they see that look, if it's that crazy, why do you have so many good people embarking on this journey with you?"
“It is the most robustly supported result in the study of entrepreneurship that more co-founders, better chance of success.”
Where the AI Will Fit in the Clinic
“I also see AI in a sense of helping make informed choices about the kinds of medicine we take.”
Sal Talks About Portfolio Company Leuko
Klaudyne Hong’s Closing Comments

Alex Sakatos, PhD - Founder of Ancilia Aug 19, 2020

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Microbiologist Alex Sakatos felt strongly that valuable science was not making it from the lab to the clinic. This led her to start Ancilia which is finding ways to protect good bacteria in our gut from attack by viruses. A great chat about an exciting field in biotech.

Highlights from our interview:

Sal Daher Introduces Alex Sakatos, PhD
Ancilia is Creating Ways to Protect Healthy Gut Bacteria from the Viruses That Can Attack Them
“...these viruses could directly prevent the efficacy of bacterial therapies…”
Founding Story of Ancilia
“... we actually know very well the mechanisms by which bacteria become resistant to phages, and so we can actually directly engineer those bacteria to be resistant to our phages…”
“So yeah, a co-founder is so helpful because founding a company is very, very lonely.”
Alex Sakatos. PhD’s Decision to Become a Founder
“...I leaped from academia into entrepreneurship was because I felt that there's more potential to actually develop research into therapies that impact patients.”
“...I learned from being in academia...if you don't do it, it's not necessarily guaranteed that someone else will. So, I think that it's important for more scientists to take their work towards translation.”
Parting Wisdom from Alex Sakatos

Amanda Drobnis and Jess McLear - Duet for Founder and Board Member Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate: Click Here

Vets have known for a century that injecting extract from fetal tissue helps wounds heal faster However, the procedures required were arduous. Hilltop Bio is taking the hassles out of this time-tested therapy and creating a new revenue stream for clinics. Amanda Drobnis, founder and Jess McLear, board member update us on the company's progress.

Interview highlights include:

Sal Daher Introduces Amanda Drobnis and Jessica McLear
What Hilltop Biosciences Does and What Pain Points It Addresses
How Jess McLear Came to be an Investor in Amanda Drobnis’ Company
“…they tend to be leaders. If Launchpad signs up for a deal, other angels tend to follow.”
“But what we can patent is how we collect the tissue, how we process the tissue, the methods that we're going to use the tissue for.”
“…even through COVID we've had repeat sales.”
“So, she's right on track with what she said she was going to do again on track on budget. We don't see those very often either.”
“Our big breakthrough that we've been working towards is having our room temperature regenerative therapies available that are off the shelf and ready for our vets to use.”
Jess McLear: “I kind of grew up around startups. My father has been investing in startups over 30 years, so I've grown up around startups…”
“That's an interesting collection of companies. Hilltop Biosciences, Knip Bio, 99Degrees…”
Angel Investor Jess McLear’s Advice to Founders
Angel Investor Jess McLear’s Advice to Founders about Fundraising
“Female entrepreneurs, I find it definitely takes much longer for a lot of them, which is a really sad state of affairs.”
“I can't stress that enough. My board members, Jess, and all my other board members, they really make a difference…”
“…you are always fundraising. It never ends. And when you think it's over, it's not over.”
"You also want to update the people that didn't invest, but might be on the fence because they may invest at some point too. That's one thing that a lot of people don't do."
“I salute Amanda as a really stellar founder and she's got a board, she's got a product. She keeps her investors updated. She keeps even the ones that said no updated. Well done.”

Ralph Wagner, Angel Investor and Founder - Flunk Calculus, Ace Life Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

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Ralph Wagner recalls his journey of self-discovery that led from failure in engineering to incandescent success in marketing and sales. The man who could not do calculus or write code excelled at identifying and exploiting opportunities created by computer technology. In this interview one sees that Ralph’s captivating personality is firmly ballasted by good sense and common decency. It is made evident how his interest in people was vital to the success of his many ventures.

Joe Selvaggi, Entrepreneur and Podcaster - "HubWonk" Aug 05, 2020

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Joe Selvaggi, entrepreneur and podcaster straddles the worlds of business and policy in his podcast HubWonk, one of two podcasts from Boston’s Pioneer Institute. Joe and I talked about compelling interviews of founders and how they relate to the work of the free-market think tank. Fun & Instructive.

Highlights include:

Sal Daher’s Introduction of Joseph Selvaggi
The Pioneer Institute and Entrepreneurship
Joe Selvaggi’s Business – Plaster Fun Time
“It could be easier. Our tax regime, our regulation regime." Everything has an effect on your clients, your business, your employees. You kind of become an honorary policy wonk…”
“My ingenuity, my hard work, makes you richer.”
COVID-19 Highlights the Bounty Brought to Us by Free Markets that We Take for Granted – The Fish Counter at Whole Foods
Buoy Health – HubWonk Podcast
Buoy Health’s AI Interviews Patients and Advises Them on What Type of Care to Seek & Where
Joe Selvaggi Addresses Issues Such Education and Transportation that Are Crucial to Entrepreneurs
“I just think that the retirement homes have to do a whole lot better about protecting the elderly from transmission of diseases.”
Gauss Medical – Machine Vison in the Operating Room
Joe Selvaggi Talks about His Interview with the Founder of Telehealth Firm Amwell
Joe Selvaggi’s Entrepreneurial Journey
“What I love about HubWonk and really the podcast medium is, you get to eavesdrop on a conversation with people who are really making hard decisions…”
Example of Podcast Candor: Russ Wilcox – Frank Conversation about All His Mistakes as a Founder
“To the superficiality of Twitter? Oh, no doubt. Marshall McLuhan said “the medium is the message.””

Michael Mark, Super Angel Investor and Founder - Best Pivots Ever Jul 29, 2020

Show notes

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Super angel investor Michael Mark tells fascinating stories that take us from the precocious founding of his first startup straight out of MIT to his being a highly-prized investor in hundreds of startups today. The narratives are interwoven with valuable lessons on how tech startups are built in Boston's vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. They include entertaining observations of subjects ranging from comedians to co-founders. Some of the most interesting pivots (radical changes of business plan) are elucidated. Michael’s dry wit and unassuming manner make his deep wisdom accessible to all of us.

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Topics we touched on:

The best pivots ever!
Need for focus
When to pivot
How frequently business plans work out
Hiring a CEO
Qualities of the founders
Role of luck in startups
What a board of directors can do for the startup
How Michael got started in entrepreneurship
Pixability
Exos
Loop Pay
Bettina Hein
Beth Marcus
Will Graylin
Progress Software
Cadmus
Interleaf
Netegrity
Underware

Jenny Ro, PhD, Founder and CEO - AI Connecting Humans Jul 22, 2020

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Curious Reactor, the AI built by founder Jenny Ro, PhD, helps participants at life science conferences figure out who to meet. It's only the first step in a promising road map. Loved the chat with this compelling founder.

Gillian Isabelle - COVID-19 Update Jul 15, 2020

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Founder Gillian Isabelle, Ph.D. returns to give us an update on how her startup Enlivity is navigating the COVID crisis.

Here is Gillian's origin story: Gillian Isabelle's Full Interview

Sonal Singh & Jim Peraino - Co-Founders of Spatiometrics Jul 15, 2020

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An MBA and an architect who got together as co-founders at MIT to build software that helps designers make decisions based on numbers and science. Spatiometrics is now helping to make offices COVID-resistant.

During the interview we discussed the company's founding story, its workflow and how they are helping with back to work planning.

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