I'm back from the Angel Capital Association's Annual Summit in San Diego; what a super event! So this podcast is for all my new listeners from around the world. I made friends in Chile, EBAN: the European Business Angel Network, Puerto Rico, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Oh Canada!, Texas, Mississippi and Ohio, too.

UCSB's Director of the Venture Acceleration Initiative, Don Oparah, is out to commercialize more of the university's research. He has his work cut out.

Show #156 (43:16)

On the podcast for his 5th appearance, Tech Coast Angel Dave Berkus talks about the 10 boards he sits on. "Non-profit boards have to have 3 different kinds of members," and what about the for-profits? Dave has great perspective and offers many jewels of experience.

Dave "doesn't want to discourage other angel investors, but... " We discuss the long life cycle of these early stage investments. Just when can angels expect to see some exits?

Dave's a real gadget freak and he mentions many things like a high quality USB microphone, Skype and Sight Speed.

Show #155 (48:30)

Events
Register today to attend the Tech Coast Angels 8th Annual Fast Pitch, 6pm Monday May 19th.

Don assures me that the open bar will not close early to accommodate the larger field; come hungry and thirsty, "we will have 3 wine bars, a roast beef stand, a pasta station, a pizza bar, and a veggie table".

Where else can you network with a room full of angel investors and VCs? Only at Fast Pitch. It's not too late to register for the 6pm Monday May 19th Fast Pitch, details.

Last year's winner was OCTANe's Gary Augusta. This year SYSPRO President Joey Benadretti was named a finalist for High-Impact and his company was a finalist in the categories of "Outstanding Private Company" and "Outstanding Software." See the full list of award recipients here.

The birds are singing, it's a beautiful day in southern California so I meet over coffee with USC Executive MBA students: Sasha Zubatov, Mario Robles and Andy Meyer. They wanted to interview me, for some extra credit I'm sure, so I oblige and it's an upside down podcast where I do all the talking. Together we dig deep into entrepreneurship in the real world.

Show #154 (01:00:09)

Events
May 7-9 Angel Capital Association's Annual Summit in San Diego, register now
May 19 the Tech Coast Angels host Fast Pitch at the Anaheim Marriott, details.

The show is Live and it combines art and technology at the Beall Center at UC Irvine. How are these artists like entrepreneurs? Besides all of them needing money, you'll hear many similarities. For seed funding some applied to Creative Capital in NYC. They're building prototypes, pitching their concepts and some won't know until opening night if the "dogs will eat the dog food".

Technology + Art, it's entertainment for investors interested in creative, high-tech, artist entrepreneurs.

Show #153 (59:03)

Welcome my new sponsor, David McNeil with TechRiskPro.com

Recently the Pasadena Angels and the Tech Coast Angels teamed up to fund Kim Kovacs' OptionEase. What is OptionEase? It's software as a service, to value your company's options, a compliance tool.

Not all investors like husband and wife teams; listen how Kim answered their concerns.

Show #152 (40:48)

Trends in venture capital from the point of view of a long term auditor, Deloitte's Mark Jensen has seen it all. How long is the average life to exit for a VC backed company? With this life cycle taking many years longer, how are VC funds changing to meet their needs for big returns? If you're an entrepreneur, it's not getting any easier to get funded. Why? Mark explains that nearly half the US funds are looking to deploy their capital elsewhere in the world.

What can you do to even the odds of getting funded? Mark has some ideas...

Show #151 (42:41)

James Geshwiler was the founding chairman of the Angel Capital Association, the founding chairman of the Angel Capital Education Foundation and today he's the Managing Director of the Common Angels, the largest angel group in the northeast. You might say, he has some relevant experience.

What kind of year did the Common Angels have in '07? They funded 5 new startups and did 14 follow-on rounds. Those are big numbers! And it speaks to their ability to be included in follow-on rounds and not get overlooked when VCs ante up for the B round. How do they fight their way to the table? And what kind of a year will 2008 be for them? James knows...

Show #150 (53:36)

As investors, angels and venture capitalists, we enjoy many luxuries; life is good! We've all heard it: many angels say they're in it as a way to give back.

Let's consider some historical perspective... during the Renaissance the Medici family of Florence fed and educated many artists who eventually thrived and are well known today. Today at UC Irvine, Dean Nohema Fernandez has initiated the Medici Circle with the idea of supporting budding artists with scholarships for exceptional opportunities during the summer.

On this special podcast you'll hear from 2 investors, Don Kasle and Rich Linting, Dean Fernandez and two Medici recipients; Michelle Nielsen describes her trip to Cambodia and Byeong Sam Jeon describes his robotic Telematic Drum Circle project. It's philanthropy in five parts.

Medici program details Pledge form

Show #149 (1:02:19)

Why are there so few women entrepreneurs? Is that why we see so few women angel investors?
How well do black entrepreneurs fare in this country? What role should public agencies, like the SBA, have in promoting entrepreneurship? The Kauffman Foundation, what illusions do they have?

The answers in Scott Shane's new book, The Illusions of Entrepreneurship may surprise you.

Before you listen to the interview, take Scott's Entrepreneurship Quiz; very likely, your score will increase your motivation to explore the myths and illusions behind entrepreneurship.

Show #148 (39:29)

Today Guy Kawasaki added me to the list.

Jan Norman scooped me when she broke the story about Craig Cooper leaving Vantage Point Venture Partners for Saban Capital Group.

Is he now OC's most notorius VC?
Where does this leave YouMail? The smallest investment in Vantage Point's portfolio.
Craig's keeping his Fashion Island digs, so we should be happy that he'll have an OC focus with his new fund.

Think he'd make a good Fast Pitch judge? We'll find out! He's agreed to join us at the May 19th event.

If you haven't listened to his podcast interview, it's a good one: "transformative deals" are what he's looking for. Listen.

She's using VBrick video technology to record entrepreneur presentations, combined with their Powerpoint slides then hosting it all on their website. How does this help? Many members spend the winter months in the sun belt, but they can login and still participate in the funding process.

Show #147 (35:07)

Non-profit Entretech has grown from a modest little organization focused on Pasadena to a juggernaut that has teamed together with Caltech, USC and UCLA to support university based startups across the Los Angeles basin. Executive Director Stephanie Yanchinski refers me to Elena Medo, Prolacta Bioscience founder, and to Mike Giardello, CEO of Caltech spinout Materia, Inc; three interesting perspectives on a entrepreneur networking organization that's working to change Los Angeles.