Show #145 Listen (22:42) Download

Bob Morrison, Executive Director of the Desert Angels in Tuscon, is hosting the Southwest Regional Angel Summit March 24 and 25th in Tucson. One day for networking and the next day it's the Innovation Showcase at the University of Arizona. I'm making it a long weekend and bringing the family.

Show #144 Listen (36:16) Download

What do Cadforce, YouMail, Cluepedia and Vigilistics all have in common? Yes they're all Tech Coast Angels portfolio companies, but more to the point, they've all used venture debt to accelerate their growth.

Vencore Capital's Managing Director for Southern California, Eric Speer, joins me on the podcast and we discuss the options venture debt can offer entrepreneurs.

Show #136 Listen (43:37) Download

Located in the Silicon Valley, he coordinates the activities for the original angel investors, the Band of Angels. Imagine the stories Ian Sobieski can tell!

And the whole world wants to know! Ian hosts interested parties from the world-over as anyone who's interested tours the Valley.

Since it's year-end, we'll hear just what kind of the year the Band enjoyed in 2007. Without ruining the punchline, if you're an investor you'll wish you were in the Band. Ian, as you might expect, has great advice for investors and entrepreneurs.

He's intelligent, articulate and handsome; you'll love him, you'll hate him. Here's a great interview to celebrate your year-end.

Show #135 Listen (38:00) Download

What are the challenges to starting your own venture capital fund? What's "partner risk" and can Bill Collins assure his limited partners that he'll overcome this and many other hurdles as he kicks off Starboard Ventures. Starboard will target seed to early stage companies focusing on software, new media, hardware and new materials. How did he accumulate the wealth to become an angel investor? Working Sales for Intel certainly helped.

Show #134 Listen (37:55) Download

Travel & Leisure magazine and Money magazine both handed kudos for really cheap international airfares to Bill's portfolio company cFares.com. That's what got Bill and I thinking that it was time for a podcast. Garage Technology Ventures was a pioneer in the Valley and we discuss its impact both before and after the bubble.

Bill sits on the board of TCA portfolio company Vigilistics. Bill and his partner Guy have a long history of investing alongside the Tech Coast Angels, so when Bill offers some advice for angel investors, he knows what he's talking about.

Show #132 Listen (1:09:35) Download

20 ways to fund your startup
In the mood for something different? Here's an interview with 2 experts in angel investing and venture capital: Dave Berkus and Sid Mohasseb. Dave's been on the show several times, remember, he has the experience of 66 startup investments, many of them through The Tech Coast Angels. Sid is the founder behind Venture Farm; he's also been on the podcast and scored #1 on my Popularity Index several months ago.

We discuss Dave's list of 20 ways to get your business funded then we digress to discuss the conclusions of a study by Willamette University's Rob Wiltbank: Angels in Groups. Dave, of course, is very well qualified to comment; he contributed data on all his angel investments to Wiltbank. Some of the findings will surprise you.

Show #131 Listen (40:22) Download

Vantage Point Venture Partners brings its billion dollar fund to Orange County; meet the resident venture partner, Craig Cooper. You say Vantage Point sounds familiar? They're the funding source behind last week's interview subject: YouMail's Alex Quilici.

Craig has lots of experience in digital media and mobile web investments; he co-founded Boost Mobile USA in 2001 and sold it to Nextel in 2003. He's a former angel investor, too, so he has some great advice for my fellow angel investors.

Join me and we'll get to know Orange County's newest VC.

Show #119 Listen (31:07) Download

Most Investment Banks are in New York and San Francisco, but southern California has one booming firm: Montgomery & Company in Santa Monica. Kevin's one of the founders, the Managing Director of Investment Banking and Co-head of Media Banking. We discuss some of the happy outcomes over the past few years including Yahoo's acquisition of MusicMatch, MySpace by Fox and others including an IPO for DivX.

As an angel investor I ask him, "Why don't we have more exits?" He doesn't hesitate with his reply.

Show #115 Listen (44:25) Download

Yahoo acquires Redpoint Ventures' portfolio company Right Media, the part they don't already own, for $680M. Brad talks about the company, the fund and his career in this podcast interview.

He's brainy. Starting with a major in Chemisry and a Masters in Physics from Harvard then off to Stanford Law School and Business School, Brad skipped an operating career and went straight into venture capital with Brentwood Venture Capital in 1981. Soon Brentwood split into Versant Ventures to pursue life science and Redpoint Ventures to pursue technology opportunities.

Show #108 Listen (53:12) Download

Want to be a better board member without micro-managing? Meet Dave Berkus. He's invested in 66 startups, he's led 10 deals through Tech Coast Angels, he's Chairman of 6 boards and he sits on 4 more. Ask him anything and I do. Deja vu? Yes, he appeared in podcast #66.

What's he done recently? LiesureLink, Teresis Media Management and My Shape. Check out his latest book, Extending the Runway; author proceeds benefit the Boy Scouts.

Show #104 Listen (47:04) Download

He was there at the beginning, when Tech Coast Angels first started. It's part of my continuing series to get the story straight: hear how the angels got their name. He was the first recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1986. He's a pilot and belongs to the Flying Samaritans; listen to his tales of these medical flights.

He's the author of How to Value a Business, a cult classic in the angel investment world. He's on the board of Concordia University's School of Business.

And the podcast has another tidbit for the entrepreneur just starting a business; listen to Stradling Yocca's Mark Skaist on non-competition agreements.

Show #103 Listen (41:36) Download

It's a story that had to be told! Well, I'm not sure about that, but many of my pals at Tech Coast Angels have been encouraging me to step in front of the camera. I hesitated, but then Don Kasle approached and mentioned his experience in radio, so how could I refuse?

Was I nervous? Let's say that I now know how my guests must feel before an interview. But I had one big advantage... I would edit my own interview, something I'm sure many of my guests wish they could do, too.

What was I doing in enterprise software, how did I become a dance photographer and why did I become a podcaster? It's all hear ;)

Show #98 Listen (38:03) Download

Ken Deemer was there at the beginning of Tech Coast Angels; he was the 2nd chairman and the original website designer. Listen to Ken describe his strategy for angel investing. He was a founder of Los Angeles Social Venture Partners which supports local innovative non-profits; he's the treasurer on the national board, too. One of Ken's social venture interests: charter schools.

Show #96 Listen (42:09) Download

Steve Weiss is the founder of the North Bay Angels and now that he winters in the Palm Springs area he's kicking off the Coachella Valley Angel Network. The area attracts a large community of wealthy retirees which he'll need to enlist to get CVAN off the ground. Will he be able to maintain the interest of investors and entrepreneurs with the seasonal nature of life in the desert? He has a lot of support and a beautiful new facility, The Heckmann International Center for Entrepreneurial Management at the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. Steve's personal philosophy: he has a formula for dividing his time between business and leisure; listen to his rule of thirds.

Show #94 Listen (35:26) Download

Building a fundable team, that's what Momentum Venture Management is all about. Matt Ridenour and his partner place themselves into the management team of startups. With their experience and credibility they close those first big customers and begin the funding process.

How do investors react to this kind of deal? In 2006 Thermark attracted the interest of more than 60 members of Tech Coast Angels and the Pasadena Angels to raise a $1.7M Series A.

Mentions
IntraLase to be acquired by Advanced Medical Optics. See my interview with AMO's CEO, Jim Mazzo. Stradling partner Bruce Feuchter represented IntraLase in the transaction.

LA Tech Week
Plan to attend the Tech Coast Angels Fast Pitch Competition, 4-9pm Jan 22 at UCLA's Anderson School of Business.

Jan 24th from 3-7pm I'll be appearing on an LA Tech Week panel at CSULB discussing issues related to the ports of Long Beach and LA: The Future of Movement, Materials and Manufacturing, Plus Security

Show #92 Listen (48:38) Download

Jim Armstrong of Clearstone Venture Partners offers up many pearls of wisdom for entrepreneurs and angel investors. "All early stage and all big leadership positions," Jim describes the firm, "learning to love to take risk."

"Get on the balance sheet" and "entrepreneurs who have seen the movie," Jim has so many pertinent comments. During the interview I pop-off with a reference to H.W. Brands' book on the California gold rush, The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream, where the author describes those times as the first time in history when an 'entrepreneur' isn't tarnished for life because of a business failure. From then on I let Jim do the talking.

Show #91 Listen (38:39) Download

He's Chairman for life at the Pasadena Angels, meet DuWayne Peterson.

Remember Sid Mohasseb of Venture Farm, Show #81? In the podcast I announce his first investment in TrendPoint.

And the show features a pitch from Riverside entrepreneur Amro Albanna regarding QMOTIONS. The new Nintendo Wii has created quite a buzz for his gaming accessory products.

Show #90 Listen (28:45) Download

Doug Giese runs Tech Coast Angels high tech pre-screening committee in San Diego. They have a new approach to funding early stage startups; Doug calls it SEED TRACK.

One of the first companies to apply: Joe Moreno's Ambaza.

Show #89 Listen (34:18) Download

He's the driving force behind Tech Coast Angels' new network chapter in Westlake Village and Santa Barbara. For listeners in Riverside, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, take note: Gary describes the critical pieces required to build an angel network.

Show #88 Listen (35:31) Download

He's a generalist with no favorite sectors. What does he feel strongly about: the people behind the deal. Meet Eric Manlunas of the Frontera Group in Sherman Oaks, CA. He's a member of Tech Coast Angels and he has his own fund.

Show #87 Listen (47:17) Download

My guest today is Bruce Hallett, Managing Partner, Miramar Venture Partners in Newport Beach. You'll recall that Miramar funded last week's guest Gannon Giguiere, CEO of getlower.com.

Show #85 Listen (38:34) Download
Suzanne Patrick is visiting the Southland this week, she took time out to describe the contacts she's making in the business community to connect startup businesses to major defense companies. She's able to make those connections due to her previous role as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. In that position she focused on the government's process for global and domestic M&A. Listen to her describe her career from the U.S. Navy through Wall Street and eventually the Bush administration and now her own consulting services company.

Show #81 Listen (40:30) Download

It's a new concept, formulated by Tech Coast Angels member Sid Mohasseb: Venture Farm. It's a fund for seed stage deals in southern California. It's daring, it's different, but Sid has a history of tackling new opportunities.

Show #79 Listen (48:13) Download

It's information technology and early stage deals at Palomar Ventures and so many winners in the Palomar portfolio that we only have time to discuss a few, but Randy mentions future winners like DATAllegro and Cellynx.

He's been involved with many VC firms on his way to Palomar and he's involved everywhere in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: OCTANe, Okapi and OCVG to name a few.

After the interview I post my first listener-based pitch: check out Joe Moreno's Ambaza.

Mentions: Qiagen, Henry Samueli, Stuart Frost, DATAllegro, NetworkPhysics, PairGain, Cellynx

Show #78 Listen (50:20) Download

He's a Managing Director at GKM Ventures in Los Angeles, a later-stage enterprise software and IT services fund, and he's the Chairman of Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel network in the U.S. This combination of later stage and early stage deals gives John a unique perspective on the state of venture capital today.

Show #77 Listen (35:07) Download

Together with co-founder Marc Averitt, Sharon Stevenson started Okapi Venture Capital earlier this year to focus on seed and early stage opportunities. The emphasis is on information technology and life science deals in southern California. Responsibilities seem neatly divided with Sharon in charge of the life science investments. Although they closed their fund in May, it might take till year end to fund their first deal.

How does one get to become a venture capitalist? Sharon's route has taken many turns along the way through academia at Case Western, as an executive of a specialty pharmaceutical company, SkinMedica, and eventually to Domain before co-founding Okapi.

Mentions: Don Milder, Versant, AMO, Conexant, WesternDigital, OCTANe, Domain, SkinMedica

Show #72 Listen (46:38) Download

A special edition of the Frank Peters Show, an interview with Luis Villalobos, founder of the Tech Coast Angels.