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 in such exciting companies as SQZ Biotech, Pixability, Streamroot and ViralGains. In his self-effacing and modest way, Fred reveals deep wisdom gained from 75 investments in his venture capital career. Here are some of the topics covered:
Dr. Marcus has founded several startups including Exos and Zeemote. The technologies on which her companies are based tend to be widely adopted. Very few inventors can say that their invention is in the hands of ten million people. Beth has those bragging rights. She is a recognized expert in the hand-device interface and has provided strategic advice to leading firms in the space. She is also a highly sought-after advisor to startups with particular understanding of product design and fundraising for technology-based enterprises. Her thoughts can be found on Twitter @StartupDoc. Beth, is a graduate of MIT and Imperial College, London, and continues to be involved with both institutions. She is Entrepreneur In Residence at Imperial College London.
In this chatty and candid episode, Beth Marcus imparts some of the hard-earned lessons that can help an entrepreneur turn a defeat into victory. She recounts the story of the remarkable pivot she executed at Exos which led the company from a rout to a very attractive sale to Microsoft. She provides her views on IP strategy, boards of directors, venture capitalists and hiring.
Among the luminaries that play a role in the conversation are Bob Metcalfe, Ed Roberts and Pierluigi Zappacosta.
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.
Sign up at https://www.AngelInvestBoston.com if you want to be made aware of upcoming in-person events. Obviously, this is of particular interest if you are in Boston or environs.
You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and on Twitter @AngelInvestBOS
Topics on this podcast:
Fundraising
Equity Crowdfunding
Angel Investing in New England
Cornell University
Harvard Law School
Baranof Software
Walnut Venture Associates, Boston Harbor Angels, Launchpad, Comparison & Contrast
The Capital Network
Mass Challenge
Connection between Coding & Philosophy
COBOL
BBN, Lotus, Lotus 123, Sun Microsystems
ARPANET
MS Excel
VisiCalc, Bob Frankston
Mitch Kapor
Symantec
UNIX
Oracle
Java
MS-DOS, Notework
LAN, Local Area Network, Ethernet, Bob Metcalfe
EMA, Electronic Messaging Association
Paul Graham, Y Combinator
Michael Mark
Babson College
Christopher Mirabile, Ham Lord
Angel Treaty
Boston vs. Silicon Valley
CIC, Cambridge Innovation Center
Kickstarter, Indiegogo
JOBS Act, Reg CF
WeFunder, Mike Norman
NetCapital, Troupe Jewelery, Kitsy Lane
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.
If you liked this episode subscribe in iTunes or Google Play so that new episodes will automatically appear in your player. You can find us by searching for Sal Daher or Angel Invest Boston. Do take the time to review us.
Sign up at Angel Invest Boston Signup if you want to be made aware of upcoming in-person events. Obviously, this is of particular interest if you are in Boston or environs.
You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and on Twitter @AngelInvestBOS
Topics we touched on:
Success after flunking calculus
IBM
Apple Computers
Kurzweil Learning Systems, Ray Kurzweil
Microsource
KeyFile, Jim Stenzel
Bob Moll, Moll Associates
Arthur D. Little
Meditech, Ed Roberts, Neil Pappalardo
Michael Mark, Interleaf
Steve Watson, Computerland
Visicalc, impact of the first spreadsheet software available on a personal computer
Rent-a-byte
Steve Gaal, TA Associates
Tony Helies
Walnut Venture Associates, Jim Massarelli, Data General
Julian Lange, Visicalc, Software Arts, Babson College
Microsoft Excel, Lotus 123
Eyal Shavit, Software Development Corporation, Underware, Brief, Barry Bycoff, Netegrity
Stefan Mehlhorn, Permessa, Collego, Loop Pay
Jay Singh, Dan Levin, Doron Gan, Tod Loofbourrow, ViralGains
Kendall Tucker, Polis, David Solomont
In our inaugural episode, angel investing prodigy Michael Marks tells fascinating stories that take us from the precocious founding of his first company to his being a highly-prized investor in hundreds of startups today. The narratives are interwoven with 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.
If you liked this episode subscribe in iTunes or Google Play so that new episodes will automatically appear in your player. You can find us by searching for Sal Daher or Angel Invest Boston.
Sign up at AngelInvestBoston.com Sign Up if you want to be made aware of upcoming in-person events. Obviously, this is of particular interest if you are in Boston or environs.
You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and on Twitter @AngelInvestBOS
In this conversation 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
I 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
Interleaf
Netegrity
Underware